Montessori is utterly worthless and at times detrimental if the teacher isn’t versed in it and the school isn’t “all in”. Many schools in the states advertise themselves as montessori, but at the core of it, they just don’t deliver. If your kid has any signs of ADHD (no diagnosis, just tendencies), this is a very detrimental environment as they will be allowed to run amuck and completely on their own with the parents being told “he/she will figure it out, just believe!”. These are private schools (at least in my area), so the grading is arbitrary, especially considering this isn’t comparable to traditional school, so is your kid hitting the required goals educationally? Who knows, the school can just make it up (and they do!). “If your child masters this, we’ll give them more advanced work to guide the curiosity!” is a wonderful way to sell to parents, except, unless this surpasses the teacher’s ability to teach said advanced topics, in which case your kid goes and does whatever without any guidance.
I am the parent of such a kid, 4 years in Montessori, 2 separate Montessori schools, both with the same problems, teachers tend to just “nope” out at will, and since these teachers are scarce, the schools back them and keep them employed. Since they’re private, oversight is very lax and when questions to arise, they know what documents to “create” to show they’re doing everything.
If you’re a parent and you go this route, stay on the school like a hawk and make sure they deliver what they promise and not just pretty words, at the end of the day, it’s the kid that suffers. If your gut starts to sense they’re not doing what’s advertised, move on, they’re not delivering.
If my wife didn’t teach our child during COVID at home, we wouldn’t be as acutely aware of these issues as he regressed dramatically after return to classroom.
My child is in public school now, actually thriving in a structured environment.
Thanks for this experience and warning. It sounds like you might still believe in the idea of Montessori, when executed properly by trained teachers. Can you tell me what a proper Montessori experience could have done for your child, if anything?
I am the parent of such a kid, 4 years in Montessori, 2 separate Montessori schools, both with the same problems, teachers tend to just “nope” out at will, and since these teachers are scarce, the schools back them and keep them employed. Since they’re private, oversight is very lax and when questions to arise, they know what documents to “create” to show they’re doing everything.
If you’re a parent and you go this route, stay on the school like a hawk and make sure they deliver what they promise and not just pretty words, at the end of the day, it’s the kid that suffers. If your gut starts to sense they’re not doing what’s advertised, move on, they’re not delivering.
If my wife didn’t teach our child during COVID at home, we wouldn’t be as acutely aware of these issues as he regressed dramatically after return to classroom.
My child is in public school now, actually thriving in a structured environment.