Has anyone heard anything negative about Montesouri pre schools?

The hard part about Montessori is that there is no universal standard to what is a Montessori school. You could open up a day care in your home, put a picture of Maria Montessori up, yell at the kids all day, give them plastic toys to play with, have them sit in their seats, and make them push around big chairs. You could then decide to call yourself the "Yahoo Answers Montessori School."

That said, I have yet to see a Montessori school operate quite THAT poorly, but it wouldn't surprise me any more with what I have seen. My mom even got a brochure once for a Montessori Pet Camp. (Seriously...here's a link that talks about their contact information: http://www.animaroo.com/professionals/trainers/115... )

My response to your question is that is a negative aspect of Montessori. It is important that you, as a parent, learn quite a bit before you go visit a school. The real issue is you might be paying for Montessori, but not really getting a Montessori experience.

People mentioned some incorrect statements in their answers and I think I should clear them up. Most of the statements are just inexact, but not horribly far off the mark.

"The Montessori philosophy has children competing to better themselves, not competing with everyone else."

Well...yes and no. I just want to clarify what competition means just so there is no confusion. The real goal of Montessori is creating an environment where children develop naturally. The idea of bettering themselves is not quite put in the context of competition as much as it is in terms of themselves wanting to excell. I agree with what it seems like this response is saying, but just want to be clear that "competition" brings a lot of negative images with it, so I try to avoid that term.

Competition does sometimes happen in a Montessori classroom, but it is brought about by the students and it supportive. It's not a case of "I am better than you." It is a case of, "You can do this well too. Let's go for it."

"in Montessori children are graded based on how they better themselves"

They're not graded. Many schools have had to adopt a grading system, however. Especially those in public schools. The children are observed with close observation to see if they have mastered a skill. The materials also provide an immediate feedback to whether they did the work properly.

Keeping that in mind, I would like to quote this. "Montessori is not opposed to competition. Dr. Montessori simply observed that competition is an ineffective tool to motivate children to learn and to work hard in school....

...In Montessori schools, children learn to collaborate with each other rather than mindlessly compete." (Epstein and Seldin, page 233)

You also had the response of:

"Activities always have a purpose, there is no random creative experiences as there may be in preschool. In my mind that stunts creativity."

To reply to that:

--"Although not definitive, because children were not randomly assigned to groups, one study comparing Montessori and non-Montessori children from similar populations found the Montessori children performed more highly on a standad test of creativity (Dreyer & Rigler, 1969). In addition, in the Miller and Dyer Head Start study (1975) in which children were randomly assigned, tests of creativity were among the first ones on which Montessori children showed an advantage." (Lillard, page 99).

"...students who two months earlier had described their classroom environment as more child controlled were rated as more creative in their stories." (Lillard, page 89)

"Fantasy and creativity are important aspects of a Montessori child's experience. Montessori classrooms incorporate art, music, dance, and creative drama throughout the curriculum. Imagination plays a central role, as children explore how the natural world works, visualize other cultures, and ancient civilizations, and search for creative solutions to real life problems. In Montessori schools, the arts are normally integrated into the rest of the curriculum." (Seldin and Epstein, page 234)

We then read:

"I have met a number of children who attended Montessori for their kindergarten years and were enrolled in public school for grade 1+. This children were exceptionally bright and well mannered with staff, however they lacked social skills with their peers."

I have never had that issue. The closest thing I can think of is that children from Montessori tend to appeal more for fairness and seek that over working things out with aggressive behavior. That may cause them to not make sense to some younger children. (See article listed in my resources page. It is so well researched that it became the first educational article to appear in Science Magazine)

The hard part about addressing this is I do not see this happening. I have seen students leave a Montessori environment and end up not liking the school they go to because they have to follow unecessary rules or practice things they already have mastered. I wonder if this is the cause of the problems the teacher sees. (??) However, I know several people that went to Montessori schools and they are able to say that they make friends easily.

"Montessori does not focus on group work, where daycare/preschool does."

That's just....incorrect.

Most traditional programs focus on teacher-focused work. The work is created by the teacher, guided by the teacher, and the teacher walks them step by step how to do things. This leaves for little to no room for creativity and, if it does develop, it is often in the context of what the teacher has set up; not something the child has developed himself.

Montessori, on the other hand, has children working independently. Part of independence and freedom also involves that ability to work with others. You often might see a few kindergarteners working on a large project together. You might see a 5 year old teaching a 3 year old a lesson. You might see two children working off to the side. You will also see people working on their own. In that 3 hour, uninterrupted work period, you will see many benefits come forth.

The last thing I want to comment on:

"Their parents tell me they learned to cursive write at age 4, before they even learned to print and they all knew how to read. This is very impressive, but did lead to behaviour problems as the year went on. The children were simply bored waiting for their classmates to catch up. In this sense, I would consider leaving my child in Montessori for their primary years to avoid this problem. Make the switch in older years when there can be some academic enrichment provided for the children who have already learned the skills their peers have not yet experienced."

While I agree on keeping children in Montessori as long as possible (through high school, if you have it in your area), I do not quite see the point made with this post. Are we suggesting that we do not give students a fantastic educational start simply because the elementary program in public schools is behind the times of developmental research? She is right...many students do get bored once they get to first grade. That's first grade's fault -- not Montessori's fault. (It doesn't sound like she's blaming Montessori. I do not want to give that impression. It sounds like she blames the public school system for not being able to catch up and is just pointing this out as a problem). I'm not trying to blame the teacher, administrator, or even school board either. They have "No Child Left Behind" to worry about in the face of budget cuts and they certainly do not think it's beneficial. They're just a part of the system trying to do the best they can. I'm just saying don't give up your child's education just so they conform to unecessary rules and techniques that are inappropriate for children that age.

There are many options out there that have fantastic programs as well. Montessori is one of them and I encourage you to at least take a look at the schools in your area. The book by Epstein and Seldin have fantastic questions to ask. Let me know if your library doesn't have it (e-mail me) and I will throw them out there to you.

Matt

First I would ask the teacher to come in and observe a day or so. Then I would schedule an appointment with the teacher's supervisor to discuss your concerns. There might be another class your daughter can attend, or perhaps the supervisor is finding a replacement for this bad teacher already. The supervisor should know the ins and outs of how many parents handle situations like this, and may know of something that none of us on Answers know about. When I was in first grade my dad complained about my stupid teacher. A lot of the other parents complained as well. My teacher was pregnant and went on maternity leave for most of the year, and the following year she no longer taught there. I asked about her a few years later and they said she quit and was working at a different school. The school she went to work for paid less, had worse kids, and was quite a drive from her house. I have a feeling she was forced to quit.

The main concern about Montessori is that children who go to those types of schools will have difficulty integrating into the structures setting of the public schools. I am confused by the people who write that Montessori is more structured than other preschools. It is my understanding that children are given more time to explore their interests, which in my experience, rarely happens in preschool. I see many preschools where children are doing worksheets and aren't given any free choice time. I believe giving children that freedom is a focus of Montessori, hence the concern that children who attend Montessori schools will get used to doing what they want when they want and will have difficulty in public schools where the opposite is true.

My major concern with Montessori is how structured it is.

For example:

If a child is banging two counting sticks together and enjoys making music the teacher will tell him to stop and continue counting. Things are only used for what they are supposed to be used for in Montessori which I think takes away from the creativity of the children.

Also, children need to sit and listen and if they can't, too bad. If for some children not for all.

I like Science Creative based schools.

Hope this helps!

Personally I prefer play based centres as well. Granted part of that is a biased created through my Early Childhood Education training. We are taught "learning through play".

That being said, for some children I will agree 100% that Montessori is the best choice. Children that thrive on structure will do very well in this type of centre. Also children who do not handle competition well. The Montessori philosophy has children competing to better themselves, not competing with everyone else. Whereas in a public school for example grades may get posted on a list based on an expected outcome, in Montessori children are graded based on how they better themselves. Activities always have a purpose, there is no random creative experiences as there may be in preschool. In my mind that stunts creativity. However, as a parent you know your child best. If s/he is the type of child that does well given a task to complete without room for creative license, this child will thive and excel.

I have met a number of children who attended Montessori for their kindergarten years and were enrolled in public school for grade 1+. This children were exceptionally bright and well mannered with staff, however they lacked social skills with their peers. Montessori does not focus on group work, where daycare/preschool does. They also had difficulty paying attention in class, as they had already mastered many of the skills covered in early primary grades. Their parents tell me they learned to cursive write at age 4, before they even learned to print and they all knew how to read. This is very impressive, but did lead to behaviour problems as the year went on. The children were simply bored waiting for their classmates to catch up. In this sense, I would consider leaving my child in Montessori for their primary years to avoid this problem. Make the switch in older years when there can be some academic enrichment provided for the children who have already learned the skills their peers have not yet experienced.

I think it's up to the parents to visit many different types of daycare/preschools/schools before making a decision. There are many others besides play-based vs Montessori. Reggio Emila, Project Approach, Waldorf to name but a few. All have different philosophies and knowing your child will help you find one to match his/her personality the best.

No, but definitely ask for parent references. I sent my son to the Goddard School (another very reputable chain) and it turned out that I didn't like the teacher, so I changed schools. The school itself was great, but he wasn't being taught by the building, the name, or the reputation, he was being taught by the teacher. That's really all that matters.

I know that they are very structured. This can be good for some children. But some children need room to be more creative and have opportunitues for open-ended activities that they can build upon. I personally prefer play-based learning centers.

It is difficult to even think of that a book can help individuals to change their fates but } countless males and females, people that they have benefitted in a huge

no but i think children learn better by playing and you need to keep in mined that they are children and the only time that they are children and don't need to worry about learning and school is when they are in preschool so let them have fun and enjoy their childhood the time will come to worry about school and education

no, but check out personally any preschool you are considering. Make sure this is the right choice for YOUR child.