Whether as a student (or parent of) in a Montessori school, or as a teacher of Montessori. What’s it like? Can you explain the philosophy/curriculum guidelines to me? I just quit my job as a Pre-K teacher- I found that I disagreed with a lot of the curriculum & policies of the school (among other things). I’m going to go to the library soon and get out some books on Montessori, but I’d like to hear some first-hand experiences as well. I’ve heard that it’s supposed to be the type of thing where you teach each child at their level or something like that. Any opinions? Thanks.
OK, here’s my experience:
First, I’m the parent and uncle of Montessori students. My daughter and my nephew both attend the same school, are the same age, but are in two different classes (deliberately, upon my sister’s and my request). Montessori method is intended to achieve the best learning a child can achieve, without forcing the child. Maria Montessori must be one of history’s greatest unrecognized geniuses. What she did was to watch how children learn, and create a method of teaching that allows the child to essentially teach him- or her-self. The teacher is essentially the child’s guide to education, giving example, encouragement, and assistance. No child is pushed beyond their own pace, and the educational tasks and goals are always kept just within the child’s grasp, so the child never percieves a daunting, seemingly insurmountable task, just a string of seemingly unrelated tasks that are hard enough to be challenging, but do-able with just a bit of work and encouragement. In the end, the child has moved tremendous distances, never realizing just how far they’ve come, or how fast. Please note that the distance each child achieves is in relation to the individual child, not to ‘norms’ and ‘standards’, except in the broadest sense.
Montessori includes practical life as well as ‘academics’, developing the whole child. Individual respect is a common theme, as is individual responsibility. It is not about creating ‘Wonder Babies’, it’s about achieving the best for each child.
OK, now, specifics about my experience:
My daughter is brilliant, both intellectually, and (especially) socially. She’s been kicked out of daycare centers for being too smart: She was using-up the resources of three other children. My wife and I went looking for a school that could keep up with her, and were specifically looking for Montessori schools. I found several possiblilites, my wife did the detailed research. She settled on Hockessin Montessori, a grand school with a reputation that extends into Manhattan (Sharing a taxi with a Southeby’s VP, we discussed our children. Even He knew of HMS!). My sister looked in on the school, winced at the tuition, and signed-up her son. Two of the key factors in finalizing on HMS was the fact that they have male Montessori teachers, and the school draws a global student body. My daughter is taught by the program director for her program, a fine woman from India. Her teacher’s aid is from Jamaica, and she has classmates from Germany, England, India, South Africa, and Russia. It’s also Damned expensive. 40% of my take-home goes into keeping her in school. I figure: Pay it now, or pay it later. I’ll pay now, thank you! Despite the incredible tuition, it’s not the most expensive program in the area, just the best.
[soapbox]
While the Montessori Method works tremendously well for bright chilidren, it’s of the most value, IMO, to children that face learning challenges! My daughter will be a standout in any crowd, and will never be left behind. Less bright, or learning challenged children need every advantage they can get, and Montesori can take a child that may be falling behind, and give them a boost, bringing them up with everyone else, leveling the playing field for them. IMO, Montessori ought to be the primary teaching method (not all chidren benefit from Montessori, so other methods must be available) in all socially and economically disadvantaged areas.
[/soapbox]
Montessori teachers face a daunting challange to become certified, and must constantly keep on top of their certs, but are only paid a little, if any, more than their public school counterparts. They do it from love. Montessori students are the best behaved, most respectful children I’ve ever seen, and it’s accomplished without coersion. There are about 150-200 children at HMS, ranging in age from 2 to 11, and there are no discipline issues. None.
I tremendously encourage you to investigate a Montessori career. (Do it! Doitdoitdoit…!) But then, I may be biased. 
View from the other side.
I was in one between kindergarten and first grade (some bureaucratic snafu about my birthday being just after the admission date, so I was a few days too young enter 1st grade).
I don’t remember a whole lot about it, but I do remember not spending the whole day sitting at a desk, like I did in kindergarten. I spent a lot of time playing math games and doing world map jigsaw puzzles, as math and maps were what interested me most. I don’t recall being prodded into doing things that didn’t interest me so much, so I don’t know how much my writing and grammar skills improved in that time. I think my social skills also improved tremendously, as I later heard from my kindergarten teachers that I had been incredibly shy.
In any case, for the next six years of public elementary school, I made friends, had fights, loved and despised my teachers and was at the top of the class most of the time.
Sorry I can’t give more input on how good or bad the school was, but I wasn’t taking very thorough notes at the time.
–sublight.
I can’t be as much help as Tranquilis, because my expierience with Montessori schools occured when I was a lot younger. I can’t really say how much of an effect it had on me, but I do remember that I enjoyed going to school and looked forward to going everyday. Never felt that way about school again until half way through college, when (surprise) I had finished my GD stuff and could focus on taking classes I wanted to, just like Montessori. Of course, just because I had fun doesn’t mean it was good for me. For one thing, after I graduated, I had to go into first grade, not second, because I was too far behind the other students my age. On the other hand, I was going into a very presitegeous middle school: it might simply have been a case of going from a good school to a great school. Hope (but doubt) that helps.
I went to a Montessori school for 11 years (K-8th), so I think I should relate my experiences.
I think the philosophy’s wonderful. I credit that school with giving me a lifelong love of learning. BUT, I was very severely affected by ADHD (couldn’t focus on anything without medication until 7th grade). I had a lot of trouble with proceeding at my own pace because my own pace was a standstill. I don’t know if the normal method would’ve been better (probably not), but I think that the Montessori school was tougher on me than it should’ve been.
So here’s the bottom line: Montessori is great for everyone except those rare students with severe ADHD. Personally, I think the diagnosis rate for ADHD would be very much lower if all schools used this method, but I think that’s more of a GD topic (which might show up soon, you never know).
ADHD and other medical/physical challanges can be a problem for Montessori method, just as they are for main-stream schools. While a Montessori school can handle mild cases quite well, serious cases require speciallists. When I went to school, I started in a school that attempted a semi-mainstreaming experiment with handicapped children. These children were in main class part of the day, and in special classes the rest of the day. Even when they were in their classes, normally-able children were included in their class, just not so many. All teachers were given special training, and the school hired a large number of special education teachers. As I recall, it worked fairly well.
As for writing ability, academic preparation, and the like, well I asked a couple of schools that have recieved a large number of transfers from HMS. HMS was quite proud to supply a list of schools. All the schools, including such prestigeous schools as Wilmington Friends School, all said roughly the same thing: The only academic area that HMS students were less than outstanding in, was the ability to write an essay. HMS is aware of this, and has hired a couple of new teachers for the upper class to specifically address the gap. This is just one more indication of just what a class act Hockessin is.
Caveat: Not all programs that indentify themselves as Montessori are, in fact, really Montessori. Check with the American Montessori Society if in any doubt. Hell, check even if you’re not in doubt. Also, not all programs are created equal. HMS has outstanding program directors, but not everyone is so fortunate.
My office recently finished a study of montessori programs in our school system. First, let me state that we are a public school system without dedicated montessori schools. We have montessori programs within schools. The classes are instructed by certified instructors and they do their best to adhere to the “true” curricula. Further, admission into the program is by acceptance. It is a magnet program and thus subject to admission criteria.
Our study looked at standardized test scores of students in the montessori program vs scores of non-program students in those schools. The cohort icluded students who had been in the same program (or non-program)in the same school from the beginning of their academic career up to the testing date. This would remove school effects above program effects. We found that in 3rd and 5th grade montessori students did the same or worse on standardized test scores than their non-montessori counterparts. At the 8th grade level, they did marginally better, but there was a much smaller sample size (remember, we hed to find students that were in the same school from grade 1 through 8.)
Now, why were the findings such? Most likely, the montessori program is not implemented “correctly”. However, most public school systems cannot afford to implement the program “correctly”.
Other possibility is the fact that school effects account for 4 to 11% of the variance in student achievement (depending on the source/report). This means that close to 90% of the “stuff” that affects how well a student does in school is NOT school related. One of the biggest of these non-school factors is SocioEconomic Status (SES). Remember your stat work with the General Social Survey? MAEDUC and PAEDUC (maternal education and paternal education) were always huge predictors. This makes gobs of sense if you consider that parents who are better educated tend to make more money (educ and SES are strongly correlated).
Now, why is montessori so popular? One explanation is the Escort effect. Ford stated that Escort owners were more likely to buy another Escort than any other cars. They didnt’ state that that was mostly due to price. Parents and students who are involved in the montessori program like it and would do it again. Well, most people involved in public school education feel the exact same way.
A staggering difference in test scores between private montessori schools and public schools (or “generic” private schools and public schools for that matter) can often be explained with SES as a factor. More educated parents, who tend to make more money, tend to care more about education and can afford to send their children to private schools. As a result, it’s very difficult to compare (statistically) private and public schools because the populations are vastly different.
There’s also the inability to project outside of the student. We can say, “Suzie spent 8 years in montessori schools and scored 1550 on the SATs.” However, we will never know what her SAT score would have been had she spent all that time in public school. It’s very difficult to isolate a program within a school effect.
Now to the bigger question. Is it worth the money? Of course, it depends on the cost, your ability to pay and your expectations of the program. If you expect your child to become super smart, it’s probably not worth the money. (as stated above). If you expect your child to be taught in a nurturing environment, maybe.
I’ll just state that Bill Gates, Bill Clinton, Bill Cosby, Henry Kissinger, George Washington and countless other people who are political, social and industry leaders were never in a montessori program. Take that for what it’s worth.
A common problem. The Montessori Method isn’t inexpensive. Also, because Montessori is so * different*, there are at times resistance and barriers. To make a truly accurate determination is hard. I can say this: My SES is purely middle class (only a generation removed from lower working class), and I spend a huge proportion of my take-home keeping my daughter in a school that can afford to implement the program correctly. One thing I’ve fairly strong belief in, is that a love of learning will help a child better their lot throughout life, no matter what their SES. That belief, plus the fact that HMS can actually keep up with my girl, are the only reasons I’m willing to pay so much.
One point I haven’t seen raised is the foundation of Maria Montessori’s work: teaching children from post-WW II Italy. These kids were shellshocked by the war and incredibly withdrawn, so she came up with a teaching style which drew the kids out and allowed them to learn at their own pace.
This may not be the practice in some schools today, but it was firmly in place at the three Montessori schools we tried to put our kids into. The problem with this is that if your kids aren’t withdrawn, then the program can seem oppressivly stiff and slow. I have a very outgoing son (Worf: “Klingon children can be … willful …”) who did not fit the program. At every Montessori school we tried to place him in, the teachers couldn’t handle him. They wanted kids who were taking a very slow pace, and he wanted to take off like a rocket. They all said he was developmentally disabled and recommended he get some psychiatric treatment. We had him tested three times before 2nd grade and all three tests said he was a perfectly normal if energetic child.
We consulted with other parents of kids at that last Montessori school and found that they had all had the same experience. Every kid who went to that school who wasn’t a shy little wallflower was branded an ADHD proto-psychotic and recommended for serious counseling and psychiatric care. Upon testing, ALL of those kids were found to be perfectly normal kids.
These may not have been good Montessori schools. They may not have been representative teachers. But they sucked.
I have a friend who’s Mom was a Montessori teacher, and who went Montessori through eighth grade. For him, it was NOT the proper method. He needed far more structure than the Montessori method provided. He was not nearly self motivated enough for the method. He transferred to public school (the school his mother taught was K-8 and he had free tutition there), the transition was horrible, he never adjusted and never finished high school.
I went to a Montessori preschool and kindergarten and think it gave me a great jump on life. I also went to a “Montessori based” public school in fifth grade, and excelled - completing two standard grade levels in one year. My family then moved again, and I went back to traditional, grade/age based public school, where I did fine, but I had been much happier with the Montessori based program.
The upshot, people learn differently. It isn’t the best environment for some. Its probably perfectly ok for most, and for few, it is the best thing since slice bread.
Also, Montessori schools and teachers vary greatly in quality.
I attended a Montessori school and sent our two oldest children to one when we lived in a city where there was a good one to send them to. From my personal experience, Tranquilis’ post has hit most of the Montessori nails squarely on the head.
Now, my $.02 worth.
There are two main philosophies to the Montessori method: one is primarily American and the other is primarily European. Schools are aligned with and accredited by their respective assocations which have a catchy name like “American Montessori Association” or some such; I forget exactly. I’m not sure about the differences between the two, but IIRC, the European philosophy is a bit more dogmatic and “pure” about Montessori’s program. There are both types of schools in the U.S., and if you live in a big city, there are sometimes more than one of each within a few miles of one another. Usually the teachers will know one another and know how each school chooses to operate.
Not all Montessori schools are “Montessori” schools. Some just use the name. Programs accredited by either the “American” or “European” associations are more likely to utilize real Montessori methods.
The method has several components. I’m not going to get all of them correct here.
First, classes, though of mixed ages, are typically divided by developmental abilities. For example, the youngest students are in a young toddler - three year old class. The next class is often called a “Childrens’ House” and will have students aged three - six. This same pattern follows in the lower and upper elementary classes. IIRC from parent classes at the school our kids attended, kids make an intellectual leap at ages three (one divide between classes) and six (another divide). There are other leaps with older kids, but our kids were little and I didn’t pay attention to when they typically occur.
Second, the materials in the classroom are designed to do several things: to stimulate the child’s interest, to teach them different concepts (math, language, art, etc), to enhance their gross and fine motor skills, and (believe it or not) to strengthen their muscles (especially hands).
Third, materials are set up in such a way as to be “self-correcting,” especially for younger children. The puzzles fit together one way. The block cube goes together one way. You get the idea. The child usually can figure out how to get the “work” right w/o help.
Fourth, by mixing ages, older kids get to teach the younger kids how to do things and reinforce what they have learned.
Fifth, teachers do direct (or should direct) the kids in such a fashion that they get exposed to all aspects of learning (math, language, arts, etc.). While the children are (or should be) encouraged to master these different skills at their own pace, they get (or should get) individual attention from the teacher. In our daughter’s case, she avoided the math work and her teacher had to spend more time directing our daughter’s class time for a while.
My experience as a student was quite satisfactory. I started as a toddler and left to enter first grade. I was way ahead of my public-school peers in most areas. The drawback: I was accustomed to a fair amount of unstructured time to roam the room and do something I was interested in doing. Obviously, this created some difficulties as I moved into a fully-structured program.
My experience with our kids was mixed. They were going to a great school in Raleigh, NC. The teachers and staff were outstanding, and they strove to operate that school as if Dr. Montessori were running it. They had several classes for younger kids, a lower and upper elementary, and had just started buidling a middle school. While many of the parents “got” the Montessori method, others had their kids there because it was the trendy place to have them. This made some of the teachers a bit antsy; from what I hear, at least one long-term teacher left because of it. Were we still in Raleigh, and that trend continued, we’d likely no longer have our kids in that school.
I hope this helps. Montessori is largely misunderstood by many, even those in the education community. It is worth your time to read at least one of Dr. Montessori’s books about her method and to talk to some teachers and administrators. I recommend the staff at the Montessori School of Raleigh, NC; they’ll gladly answer any questions you might have. Good luck.
I went to a Montessori school since I was a year and a half old. When I was 5 years old, I started the school year in another, conventional school. (Well, at least more conventional than Montessori.)
My experience…I liked it. That is, at first I had trouble with the potty training(yep, they potty trained me at 19 months) and got constipation. I also had occasional tantrums of mom leaving me behind in the school. Of course, after a half hour of crying, I started to play and forgot it.
What they taught me:
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Basic numeracy- Counting, writing the numbers, knowing the right order, simple math and substraction. When I changed to the other school, they were teaching the kids to count…up to ten. When they asked me how high I could count, I went on and on until I got to 100. The teachers told me to stop.
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Alphabet- They have the method of teaching the kids to write in cursive, and I was not the best writer in that area. Also taught me the letters and vowels.
-
Science- Simple botany, like the parts of the flower and leaves (which I later forgot), and different types of flowers and leaves.
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Fine arts- drawing, painting, plastering(pressing my hand in a plaster mold to creat the form of it), simple crafts.
-
Independent living- Besides the potty training, there was also brushing the teeth, and washing hands (i.e. basic hygiene, also could include bathing if someone got really dirty). How to sit at the table, using forks, and good nutrition were also included. Also, how to name the things around me. Eh…they were the ones who taught me to name a fart a fart.
Also, manners and what to do(like not talking to strangers, be polite to elders, things like that) -
Social/political ideas- Think for yourself, ecology/conservation(our crafts were a form of reusing things), equality of genders(my teachers were all feminist women)
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Geography- Almost forgot it. Flags of countries, names of continents, important cities, names of the local towns and cities, and where they are located. Somtimes done in a form of Question and answer(I questioned, they answered)
Other things to add:
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I liked it when it was nap time and you couldn’t sleep. Some of the kids would rub your back until you were quiet, then they went to nap too.
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Also, their reading time. I loved those stories.
-
Playtime, either inside or outside, was good. I saw it mostly as play, everything I did, including writing sheet after sheet of numbers.
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What some other posters said about some schools only carrying the name Montessori, it is true. Search that the schools you apply to are REALLY Montessori and follow their methods.
-
If you decide to be a Montessori teacher, I hope the best for you. You will have a lot of little inquisitive human beings.
-
Personally, I think Montessori is the best kind of school for pre-school kids. Later on, specially in high school, I think other methods of teaching are better, but for the young curious minds, it is excellent.
I went to a Montessori school since I was a year and a half old. When I was 5 years old, I started the school year in another, conventional school. (Well, at least more conventional than Montessori.)
My experience…I liked it. That is, at first I had trouble with the potty training(yep, they potty trained me at 19 months) and got constipation. I also had occasional tantrums of mom leaving me behind in the school. Of course, after a half hour of crying, I started to play and forgot it.
What they taught me:
-
Basic numeracy- Counting, writing the numbers, knowing the right order, simple math and substraction. When I changed to the other school, they were teaching the kids to count…up to ten. When they asked me how high I could count, I went on and on until I got to 100. The teachers told me to stop.
-
Alphabet- They have the method of teaching the kids to write in cursive, and I was not the best writer in that area. Also taught me the letters and vowels.
-
Science- Simple botany, like the parts of the flower and leaves (which I later forgot), and different types of flowers and leaves.
-
Fine arts- drawing, painting, plastering(pressing my hand in a plaster mold to creat the form of it), simple crafts.
-
Independent living- Besides the potty training, there was also brushing the teeth, and washing hands (i.e. basic hygiene, also could include bathing if someone got really dirty). How to sit at the table, using forks, and good nutrition were also included. Also, how to name the things around me. Eh…they were the ones who taught me to name a fart a fart.
Also, manners and what to do(like not talking to strangers, be polite to elders, things like that) -
Social/political ideas- Think for yourself, ecology/conservation(our crafts were a form of reusing things), equality of genders(my teachers were all feminist women)
-
Geography- Almost forgot it. Flags of countries, names of continents, important cities, names of the local towns and cities, and where they are located. Somtimes done in a form of Question and answer(I questioned, they answered)
Other things to add:
-
I liked it when it was nap time and you couldn’t sleep. Some of the kids would rub your back until you were quiet, then they went to nap too.
-
Also, their reading time. I loved those stories.
-
Playtime, either inside or outside, was good. I saw it mostly as play, everything I did, including writing sheet after sheet of numbers.
-
What some other posters said about some schools only carrying the name Montessori, it is true. Search that the schools you apply to are REALLY Montessori and follow their methods.
-
If you decide to be a Montessori teacher, I hope the best for you. You will have a lot of little inquisitive human beings.
-
Personally, I think Montessori is the best kind of school for pre-school kids. Later on, specially in high school, I think other methods of teaching are better, but for the young curious minds, it is excellent.
Sorry to all for the double post (MY FIRST!!!). Moderators, delete one of them…and this stupid hijack too.
Tranquilis has many good points, but then, I’m biased, because he’s my brother.
Anyway, I only have a little to add (though it will take some space to explain it). The biggest problem that occurs with ‘general’ Montessori programs (IMHO) is too strict adherance to the standard program, rather than practical application based on a deeper understanding of the method. I guess this equates to the “American” vs “European” appraches.
As with Ivorybill’s experience, our school gently and persistently encouraged my son to explore the math area until he became proficient. Some schools do not ‘force’ the issue on the grounds that Montessori ‘doesn’t push’.
A goodprogram will avoid absolute strict adherance to the ‘rules’ of the Montessori program, and instead apply a practical and appropriate application of the deeper understanding of how kids learn as expressed in the Montessori method.
My son is a case in point. He’s just as brilliant as his cousin (tranquilis’ daughter), but in vastly different ways. In particular, she’s got ‘the engineering gene’ (loves math and ‘how things work’) and he doesn’t care for math, prefers music, and is much more of an observational science type than a hands-on type.
My son was gently guided toward the math materials, with the understanding that he is an auditory learner, which means that the teacher’s approach must be vastly different than with a visual learner, and that some of the concepts will be incredibly difficult for him to grasp untilhis visual learning skills advance a bit (such as volume and quantity, which are non-linear concepts, unlike number and sequence). They were patient, and as his autitory learning process became more complex and his visual learning process advanced a bit, he ‘got it’ and by the end of the year, he was slightly ahead of age-appropriate understanding of math. Extra bonus, he was not scared of math, and he has no doubts about his ability to do math. He also learned that if he kept working at something, he would eventually get it - I haven’t heard him say “I can’t do it” (and mean it) since mid-year. Actually, his problem solving skills can be a challenge for us at home - if he can’t (physically) do something, he’ll figure out how to do it anyway. Even if it takes getting a chair, first…
To add to what KarlGrenze said about what they learn - body-ownership and respect (everything from no pushing others, to awareness that they can tell someone to stop if something bothers them, to being polite), ecology/conservation/recycling (big one!), physical science (buoyancy, gravity), biology (parts of animals, plants, bugs - including innards), geography (land forms, continents, general regional geography including weather/plants/animals/people/culture - as a Geographer, I loved when my 3.25 yr old son looked up at the sky and said, “Look, mommy, that cloud looks just like Europe!” - and he was right, including the British Isles and Scandinavia…), phonics and letter symbols, pre-writing skills (hand coordination), French (his school has an immersion program), music and movement, geometry (he loves shapes - how many kids can tell the difference between an oval and an elipsoid, let alone identify a quadrafoil? heck, I don’t even know if I spelled that right…), plus anything any relative wants to come in to talk about (like India, Africa, China, or Gothic Architecture).
As a teacher in a Montessori program, the challenge (which I think would be a great and fascinating process) is to observe and understand the child, and creatively guide them toward a complete skill set even in areas they don’t naturally take to, rather than forcing the skills on them wholesale. And to know what skills are needed (though that is the program director’s job). Many of our local Montessori schools do give standardized tests - to teach essential test-taking skills, not to evaluate the students (this is one reason so many montessori programs test low initially - the kids don’t know how to take a test, because they never TAKE any!). Some also expose the kids to more formalized/rigid learning settings (say, a structured computer class) - to teach how to use that setting effectively. These are skills they will need later (college, at the least), even if they are not part of the original skill sets offered in the ‘standard’ Montessori program.
A good montessori program can be better than a good public school program - a bad program is a bad program, no matter what method. And indeed, it does not fit every child, though the vast majority of non-self-starters pick up the skill to do all their work themselves within two years (according to one of my friends who teaches at a different Montessori school).
If you want to find a lot of certified programs, come to Delaware. We have more of the certified schools than any state in the US. And there aren’t that many certified programs (fewer than 100 in the entire US, IIRC), though many more certified teachers. (Um, and actually, a lot of the teachers get paid lots less than public schools pay, so be prepared for a possible shock on the pay scale front! A lot more money goes into materials and training than take-home pay. The satisfaction factor can’t be counted out, though it doesn’t pay the bills.)
oh, and they didn’t potty train him. Actually they took him into an older-age class (based on social skills - they like to keep peer groups together by social and learning skills), DESPITE not being potty trained. Same for his cousin - both went into higher-age classes, neither were potty trained when they started (though both were clearly heading that direction), and neither were completely trained by end of year, even given the general ‘growing up’ part of that process. We kept being told by the teachers - do not worry about it, they’ll train when they train, let’s not stress them out over it. Guess that varies by program, too.
Hmmm… Totally opposite of my experience. My daughter is a raging extrovert, active, inquisitive, and possesed of an aggressive curiousity. My nephew is somewhat more withdrawn, is slower to plunge into things, and is generally a rules-based young man. They both fit right into the program, each shining-out. It may help that they’re both frightfully smart, but they’re permitted to be themselves, with no coersion from the staff.
I regret to hear your experience, and I’ll assume, barring further info, that you stumbled onto a bad batch of schools. The biggest drawback I’ve found to Montessori, that because there’s so much misunderstanding about it, and it’s trendy, that many schools and preschools adopt what they believe to be Montessori methods, but only get the superficial stuff. Spritle’s school district seems to have gone about it the right way, but many places have in ignorance, desperation, or worse (and yes, I’ve seen this), cynically, have just slapped something together and called it “Montessori”.
Always check out a new school, check it’s certifications and accreditation. Talk to the parents of children attending the school. See if you can arrange play dates with your child and a number of children attending the school. Audit a class or three, at least once by surprise. Have your child audit a class, and see if they like it. Ask parents and teachers of other area schools about the one you’re investigating. Ask the school for references from the parents of former students. You’re looking at a place that’ll impact your single most important responsibility for years, decades, maybe for life, so be thorough.
Hi, hedra! Sorry about your lunch hour!
Thank you everyone who replied! This has given me a lot of food for thought. It’s been about 2 weeks since I quit the preschool, and I’m taking some time off right now. And the initial dissatisfaction that I felt at my job has become clearer. I’m amazed at the people who have said that their pre-k aged children could do math skills and could identify geography. We were taught that 3-5 year-olds can’t understand math concepts, and geography- forget it! We had a lot of different levels of children in the classroom, and only one method of teaching them. Sometimes when we were practicing writing our names, I would find myself scolding the ones who were just goofing off, and I’d say, “Get to work!”, and then I’d think to myself, wait a minute, this kid is only 4 years old, and he’s not ready to sit down and learn to write. There were a few children who were ready to learn, and absorbed everything like a sponge, and were at the top of the class academically. Then there were a few children who just wanted to play, weren’t ready to sit down and concentrate, and didn’t pay attention during the “teaching” portion of the day. IMO, they weren’t “dumb”, they just weren’t ready! And we could not work with that because the program was not structured that way. It seemed to me that a lot of the curriculum decisions were made by people who hadn’t been in a classroom for 10 or more years, and they saw something in a study and said, “This looks good-let’s make it a requirement for our teachers”, even if what the teachers were doing before was working great. Montessori sounds like what I want! I think I found a couple websites on it before- I’ll have to go find them. And go to the library soon, too. Again, thanks so much to everyone. This has been a big help.
I was a Montessori kid from age 4 to 6 (this was in the years 1963-1966), before ecology, before feminism :(). My school was on the West Side of Cleveland and I had to commute every day from the East Side. They rented out a couple rooms from a regular school. The Montessori program was run by Mrs. Ruffing. This program definitely was the right stuff. But I have no idea if they did it American or European style. It was intensely Catholic, though. I remember reading the lives of the saints and stuff like that.
My first year was in the little kiddie program and then for the next 2 years I was in it with older kids, which was great. My intellect was free to roam. The combination of a teacher spending some one-on-one time with you, and then letting you explore stuff all on your own, was the best possible way to stimulate a young mind to learn on its own. I spent most of my time reading (also using the 100-bead squares and 1000-bead cubes to build elaborate structures with built-in booby traps).
My parents were struggling on a modest income at the time. My dad was the first in his family to ever go to college. I am very grateful for my parents’ foresight in sending me to Montessori for the first 3 years. They had to pull me out because they couldn’t afford it any more. 
They sadly explained as they were putting me into a regular Catholic school for 2d grade, “You’re gonna have to sit in a desk all day, not run around loose like you’re used to.”
Where else could a kid learn all the countries of the world at age 5? I learned to read at age 4½, and when I was 5 I wrote all the numbers from 1 to 1000 as a personal challenge — and when I reached 1000 I kept going. When I got to 1100 I was excited at first, thinking I may have achieved a hundred thousand! Where else could 6-year-olds learn the times tables? I had the greatest time there. I blame Montessori for turning me loose on the world with a hugely open-minded, voracious intellect. Life has always been interesting and never boring since I was encouraged from early on to figure out stuff for myself. Thank Goddess for Montessori!
moggy, sounds like you’d be a good fit for Montessori. Heck, my son is in some ways very much younger than his classmates, for example he does not enjoy participating in group activities (cautious, plus introvert, plus three years old…), and they just let him not participate (though he may not disrupt), ‘because he’s not ready’ - and that is okay. There are tons of ways to handle the exceptions in attention, focus, interest, and just day-to-day shifting of energy level.
RE: the math stuff - They had an ‘introduction to Montessori math’ night at our son’s school. epeepunk and I found it fascinating - because the materials are so hands-on, it is amazingly easy to ‘get’ math concepts at an early age. We both felt strongly that we’d have loved math a lot more (or sooner) if we’d started with the concepts in a physical sense, played the kinds of logic and thinking games they use, and used the same rational approach to things like placeholding and decimals. Simple stuff, like all the materials representing ‘10’s’ are in red, the ‘1’s’ are in blue, the ‘100’s’ are in green (though I may have the colors wrong) - just simple reinforcement, but makes it so much easier to comprehend. It was almost heartbreaking to see how much I could have grasped if only someone had presented it in a way that matched how I learned. We both were outright envious of our son being able to learn math that way, though of course, also thrilled that he’d get to. If you try to teach it using symbols (numbers and signs), yeah, 5 or up is your limit, because they haven’t developed the symbolic processing necessary for it.
And don’t even get me started on what passes for Geography teaching in the US. I’ve got a Master’s in it, and it is heart-rending to know that things I learned in college are basic material at the jr. high level almost everywhere else in the world. Plus, it is WAY more interesting than just places and names, it is all about how things are related and interrelated across not just physical space, but also across time, and cultures, and history, and economics, and … (okay, I’d better stop myself now!). They do cover much more than ‘just’ places and names in his class, thankfully!
Good luck! You’ll probably have to take courses for certification, but some places will let you work as a classroom assistant while you complete your coursework (so you still have a salary).