It’s quite ironic since Montessori’s method was conceived from her work with mentally handicapped children. It’s true that Montessori schools aren’t for everyone, but I strongly believe that the Montessori Method is perfect for all children. Not many parents have the resources to get an in-home tutor, but if you do, I highly suggest looking into getting a private Montessori tutor, if you fear “mainstream” school isn’t right for your child.
It’s sad that our schools are still operating how they were 100 years ago. Rather than adapting to the learning styles of our children in this day and age, schools are still expecting children to adapt to the old methods of teaching. Many children are right-brain thinkers, and unfortunately our schools only cater to left-brain learners. It’s absurd to think that our schools still believe it’s ok to have our students sit in a desk for 6 hours a day, listening to teacher after teaching reciting the same old boring lessons!

It’s time for us to reinvent our education system. Rather than sticking to the old ways, because it’s “safe”, we need to think outside of the box. Clearly, our education isn’t as effective as we would like it to be. Since this is the case, why not restructure our schools to be more inviting to students of all abilities?

This thought isn’t new. In fact, Montessori had been preaching the same thing over 100 years ago. What will it take for us to finally realize that we need some serious change….our future depends on it.

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1. Illustrate all presentations (by hand) in my Language Album

2. Two quotes from each assigned Chapter from our reading log (A total of 26 quotes)

3. A 3-5 essay explaining the rationale behind Language

4. Describing a three period lesson using a language work (including diagrams)

5. An idea page for Nomenclature, Vocabulary Enchancement Cards, Sequencing, Patterns, Lotto, Oral Expression

6. A Language Quiz

7. A Child Development Project based on 2 children in the class which includes a Plan of Action for both children and a summary of the daily observations. (We are required to write down observations of our two children EVERY day)

8. Practice Log sheets documenting all of the Materials I have worked (dates and length of time)

9. A 3 page paper describing the Art area in the classroom with examples

10. Two Music Write ups and examples of different types of Music Activities you can do in the class

Yes, I did have 2 1/2 months to complete all of this, but GEEZ! This is a lot of work. My training center makes sure their graduates are ready and prepared to become Montessori Directresses. Only the strong survive!

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Enjoy!

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A must see Montessori Documentary! EDISON’S DAY (2006, 29 minutes)

Today at school we had a meeting for all of the assistant teachers. My school conducts meetings once a month to discuss ways we can improve ourselves and our classrooms. I personally think meetings are a GREAT way to open up the lines of communication between faculty and staff.

Anyways, during the meeting, we were shown a video called “Edison’s Day”. Let me tell you, my jaw was open the whole entire time! I couldn’t believe my eyes. The DVD documented a day in the life of a 20 month old boy named Edison, whose parents practiced the Montessori philosophy. At his age, he was able to dress himself, feed himself, express himself verbally, go to the bathroom and a bunch of other things I would have never expected a child his age be able to do. It was truly a remarkable thing to watch. His parents were so patient with him, and encouraged him to be independent. They created an environment for him in which he could explore the world around him, and be self-dependent. The boy was extremely bright and very confident in himself. I HIGHLY recommend anyone to check out the video. It just confirms why MONTESSORI is such a great philosophy. The video is a beautiful revelation. It’s a shame that more schools don’t implement the Montessori practice! What a different world we would be living in!

For more information on “Edison’s Day” check out the North American Montessori Teachers’ Association website. Under the “DVD’s/Videos Parents Education” you should find the DVD there.

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UPDATE: Thanks to Miri over at My Child’s Diary who told me about Meg at Sew Liberated, I was able to find the video online! Yipee! Enjoy!

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There are two types of Montessorians. We have the die-hards, and the liberals. Die hard Montessorians follow Montessori to a T, without taking consideration the changes that have been made since the time Montessori was created. Liberals (which I consider myself) respect the Montessori philosophy, but believe that times have changed and are more likely to adjust their curriculum without straying far away from the original pedagogy. For example, there are some schools that gasp at the site of computers in the classroom. They believe that computers have no business being there. I take a different stance. While I do agree that computer usuage among children is becoming quite ridiculous, I still think that children should be trained and taught how to use a computer. There is no denying it. Computers are everywhere, and more and more companies are doing EVERYTHING on the computer. I believe that if Montessori was still living today, she would embrace technology. She was a scientist! Die hard Montessorians are the one’s that tell you if you place the spoon on the right side, as opposed to the left side, it will be detrimental to a child. OH come on! Give me a flippin break! I believe that as long as you are consistent, it doesn’t matter what freaking side you put the damn spoon. So to some it up in a nutshell, underneath the Montessori Umbrella are two very different types of Montessorians. Although they may differ in many aspects, the one important thing that unites them is their love for children and their passion towards helping them unleash their potential.

In conclusion, I believe that even though schools are adding more non-Montessori materials in the classroom, children can still learn and benefit from these works. Teachers have to use their discretion. When choosing a work for you students, analyze it. Ask yourself what is the purpose, and what are the goals. If you can give yourself some sound solid reasons, then go ahead and use it. That’s just my opinion. I would love to hear yours!

I had written this post on my old blog and a couple readers added their two cents. I wanted to share with you all what they wrote.

Anna said: Oooh - I love this debate! I am on the “liberal” side but with a sneaking envy of those on the “pure” side. It must be lovely to feel that sure about anything! In our classroom (in England) we have to step between 2 philosophies if we are to be allowed to open. We are a Montessori nursery and primary school - so ages 3 months-11 years. We have to be approved by OFSTED (a govornment agency) to be allowed to stay open. So we do have non-montessori materials (toys) out but they are presented on the shelves and worked with in the same way as the Montessori materials. The children use them at different times in their development but there is no distinction between them on the shelf. This means that if a child wants to work with lego - fine, if they want to work with the knobless cylinders - fine. For both they need a work mat, and choose a work area and tidy it away for the next child once they have finished. We also have alot of maths and language activities that are teacher made that do the same job as a montessori material but bring a bit of variety. For instance the Cards and Counters have only a limited time of being interesting before they become boring, but do the same activity using planets when we’re studying the Solar System, or butterflies when we’re studying the life cycle of the butterfly and you’ve got their attention again. Some children take longer than others to “get” things.

We also have….. wait for it… a role play area and a sand and water tray in the classroom. Both are very anti-montessori in the pure sense but are essential to getting a good OFSTED report. So, we work with them. If the role play area doesn’t work as we envisiaged we modify it, change it or remove it. Some amazing writing has come out of it so it isn’t all bad although it is my least favourite area of the classroom.

Also, although Montessori was a ground breaker who changed the world of education, the world didn’t stand still with her death and there is some incredible research that has been done since, that carries on what she started, or that independently has come to the similar conclusions and it needs to be taken account of. The great thing about the method is that the most important thing is to follow the child. The more we know about the child, the better we can do that. Also the classroom is set up to allow anything to be valuable if presented well.

Laura (My Montessori Journey) said: I am intrigued by this debate too. Anyone who reads my blog would know that I’m on the “liberal” side too. In my opinion, Maria Montessori herself would be on the liberal side if she were alive today. I believe she would embrace any classroom that clearly reflects preparedness and child-centeredness, even if the classroom contained materials she herself had not designed. Thanks for writing this insightful post.

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Have you ever watched “The Super Nanny”?  If not, don’t even bother. The show is a complete joke.  Jo Frost, (a.k.a. The Super Nanny) offers by far some of the worst parenting advice I’ve ever heard in my life. The sad thing is, many naive parents actually believe there is some truth to what she says! There are so many things wrong about the show, I don’t even know where to start. First off, it’s completely unrealistic to believe that someone, who has no prior connection to your family can come to your home for 2 weeks, and miraculously fix everything. Hello People! This is a TV show…not just any TV show…a Reality TV show.  So, don’t believe everything you see. Film Editors can do wonders!

The biggest problem I have with The Supernanny is her thoughts on “rewards and punishments”. I think that it’s absurd that she’s teaching parents to praise kids with stickers and reprimand them with “naughty corners”. Anyone who has gone through Montessori training will tell you that Rewards are NOT advocated in classrooms. When a child is rewarded for something that they should be doing, they lack internal motivation. For example, if you give a child a sticker everytime they do a chore, they become conditioned to the chore because of the reward at the end.. When you take away the reward, you will be taking away their motivation. Montessori teaches our children to do things because they want to, not because there’s something attached to it.

Author Angeline Lillard  states that “Expecting and recieving rewards and evaulations not only influences interest and motivation, but also influences how well one does at the activity.” She also says that, ” although expected rewards may work to increased particpation in the short run, they serve to demotivate poeple when the rewards are removed.”

To learn more about the disadvantages of “Rewards and Punishments”, I highly recommend Lillard’s book, “Montessori:The Science Behind the Genius”. Chapter 5 goes more into depth on this issue and provides excellent examples and case studies. I was fortunate enough to see her speak live at workshop, and I must say she is AWESOME!

So parents, you might want to think twice about those reward charts.

There’s an article written by Alfie Kohn, entitled “Atrocious Advice from “Supernanny”. He breaks it down so much better than I can. Check it out here.

We’ll discuss how stupid the naughty step is at a later time. For now, take a look at this video.

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Today, 20/20 aired a special report on Universal Pre-K in the United States.

What exactly is Universal Pre-K? From my understanding, this is a program that would give every 4 year old in America access to “quality” preschool regardless of socioeconomic status. It is state-funded, meaning that all children would be able to go to school for free.

During Obama’s campaign, he  made it clear  that restructuring the U.S. education system was one of his priorities, and Universal Pre-K was added to his agenda.  Apparently, the rest of America agrees with the President because according to the report 67% support this program. But then again, this still leaves 33% of Americans who still aren’t sold on the idea.

Opposers of Universal Pre-K say the following:

1. Most American’s already have their children enrolled in Pre-schools and use their own money to pay for it. And for the parents who can’t afford sending their child to preschool, there are subsidies out there to assist them. If there were Universal Pre-K, taxpayers would have to shed out the dough to pay for EVERY child-regardless if they can afford it or not.

2. The government can’t even get K-12 right, so what makes us believe they can handle Pre-school programs.

3. Universal Pre-K would cost  taxpayer billions of dollars which many claim we do not have, especially in this economy.

4. Private Preschools that are already established and fully functioning would have to adhere to Government standards. This would strip part of their identity away and lessen the need for competition.

5. The governments attempt at Early Childhood intervention through the Head Start Program didn’t produce the results as expected. Studies have shown that the benefits of preschool fade with time, and as children get older, it’s hard to tell which one’s went to Headstart, and which one’s didn’t.

6. Some studies have shown that students who attend too much preschool can be aggressive and disruptive.

7. Oklahoma and Georgia currently have state-funded Pre-schools and the results aren’t impressive.

I like the idea of Universal Pre-K, but under certain criteria.

First off, I think more money needs to go into the PREPARATION of the teacher. Writing papers, reading books, attending classes are just the tip of the iceberg. I think more hours need to be in the classroom observing children and understanding child development. Preschool isn’t about singing songs and playing duck duck goose. If people recognized the importance of Early Childhood education, maybe they’d begin to take it more seriously.

Second, states need to make it MANDATORY for Parents to be involved in their child’s education. Whether it be monthly Parent meetings, Phone conferences, Emails, House visits, or whatever….Parents need to be accountable for their child!

Third, schools need to have an adminstration that is made up of highly qualified professionals who have a strong foundation in Early Childhood Education.

I believe that Universal Pre-K will work, but it is going to require a TEAM effort between Teachers, Parents, and Schools.

It’s kind of ironic that now people are beginning to realize how important Early Childhood Education is. This is something that MONTESSORI had said over 100 years ago! If we invest in the education of our children, we are investing in our future. Let’s just hope the government will get it right this time around.

The first 5 minutes of the video talks about Universal Pre-K and it’s benefits. Check it out!

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I had a fun time….Take a look for yourself!

If you want to make your own Obamicon, click here to visit their website!

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I get livid whenever I see schools call themselves “Montessori”  and they don’t have a single Montessori material in their classrooms! Tacking on the name Montessori just gives them a reason to charge a few extra bucks! Agh! It makes “real” Montessori schools look bad. I think all Montessorians can agree when I say, we EARN our certification. It doesn’t get handed to us, and to see random people using the name Montessori so freely, really gets underneath my skin. Sometimes I wish Montessori would of copyrighted the name.

Today I was browsing through google, and I found an ad for a “Montessori” (notice, I put it quotes!) daycare. Within it’s name were the words, “Imagiplay”. I’m sure whoever wrote that ad is a good person with a good heart, but clearly, they know nothing about Montessori. Within their ad, they wrote “We spend our days using our imagination and having fun!” That’s another Red Flag! I’m not against children using their imagination, but if I were to advertise a “Montessori” daycare, I wouldn’t choose those words to describe my program.  Montessori is based on real things not imagination! I”m thinking I should start a Montessori Police Committee….anyone care to join!

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