The Cult of Montessori
I used to only think of Montessori schools as a private alternative to public school. I know one part of the method is putting children of different ages together, presuming that they will teach and influence one another, and that the children are expected to come into what they want to learn when they’re ready for it, rather than being expected to learn a particular concept at a particular age. I had no opinion for or against the Montessori method until I met some of the results of it.
My first inkling that the Montessori method isn’t the superior education its proponents claim it to be came when I spoke with the mother of one of Neil’s peers at school. She’d sent her older daughter to a Montessori elementary school, and understandably became concerned when the daughter reached the age of 9 and still couldn’t read. “Oh, she’s not ready to read yet,” she was told, as she had been told many times before. Mom disagreed and sent her daughter to Jewish day school instead. Within 6 weeks, her daughter was reading. She asked her daughter why she hadn’t even tried to learn how to read while in the Montessori school, and her daughter could only answer that she thought it was dumb there.
The next year, I volunteered in Neil’s second grade classroom. While working with the students individually in math, I discovered one of the girls couldn’t even count to 5. I was quite shocked, since I knew Neil’s kindergarten teacher had made sure all her students knew how to count to 100 before she approved their promotion to first grade. I told Neil’s teacher about that the girl couldn’t count, and she confided that the girl had transferred in from a Montessori school.
But if I only alude to the Montessori Method’s failings, even in passing, I discover that nothing will get a Montessori parent shrieking faster and louder than evidence that their expensive private school may be shortchanging their child’s educational potential. It really is like a cult against which nothing negative may ever be said.
First, they’ll trot out an example, like a 15-year-old Montessori student who just won a programming competition against experienced adults. But if I question the so-called genius, I’ll find out he doesn’t know what the Bill of Rights is, much less what it contains, and that he hasn’t read any literature more challenging than the latest Harry Potter novel. I call that being an idiot savant, not a genius.
Next they’ll insist that my examples must have come from inferior Montessori schools, renegades from the vaunted institution they’ve placed their children into. Well, I can’t bore you with all the Montessori failures I’ve run into, but they come from at least 4 different schools in 3 different states, and I find it hard to believe that by random occurence I have discovered only the bad schools.
They have to mention what attracted them to Montessori in the first place: all the happy children, of which their child is one. Well, no duh. If I lived a life of a Montessori child, in which everything was taken care of for me by my parents and I wasn’t expected to do anything I didn’t want to do, I’d be pretty delighted, too.
And when all else fails, they’ll self-righteously crow that at least they don’t send their child to (horror of horrors!) a public school. Yeah, it’s pretty tough for Montessori kids if they have to transfer into public schools. The poor little girl who couldn’t count got labelled as “slow” by the other children. If she’d started out in the public school the Montessori parents decry, though, I doubt she’d be having to play educational catch-up.
To keep the Montessori people from suing me, I’ll concede that the Montessori Method may work for some children. But overall, I think most children will get a better education in an environment that actually insists that they learn all that they need to know, whether they feel like it or not.
February 26th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
Right on! The other aspect of Monetssori I find scary is the self-ceneterdness it engenders in kids. I have a small sample size, but I can usually pick the Montessori kid out of a group based on their inability to treat others with respect, etc..
February 27th, 2007 at 3:56 am
Aa an experienced Montessori teacher and Montessori teacher trainer, I can only speak from my own observations of the Montessori Method of Education at work. Montessori is not just a system of education, rather it is a philosophy, whereby children learn at their own pace as their needs dictate. That is not to say they are not encouraged to learn the skills of reading, writing and arithmatic. Montessori teachers value lie in their abilities to observe when the time is right for the children to be introduced to new educational activities and provide the optimal environment in which to do so.
Surely the ‘many’ success stories of children from a Montessori background are testamony to the success of the Montessor Method. (The founder of google credits his achievements to his montessori eduction)
However,while I respect the fact that you are entitled to your opinion, perhaps you should research the method a little more. Montessori gives so much more to it’s children than mere academic education.
March 20th, 2007 at 11:19 pm
Our daughters attended a Montessori school and the results were quite excellent. I do believe, however, that since Montessori has achieved a certain branded status, there is an oversupply of Montessori branded schools that are absolute rubbish.
Montessori is a term that can be used by anyone. Rather like the diet book publishing industry, everyone can claim their school is a Montessori school (just like “weight loss success”) and pitch it to the public.
If one is serious about Montessori, research is critical. Know what it is — Maria Montessori wrote plenty of books and they’re all available for purchase on Amazon, so there’s no excuse for not knowing — and screen carefully.
March 20th, 2007 at 11:27 pm
It’s also worth mentioning that in a proper Montessori classroom (plenty of descriptions of those in Montessori’s books and books about Montessori), children are free to choose their activities, but their choices are among different sections of study such as language, math, science, and other worthwhile activities!
Post the names of these other Montessori schools, I’d love to take a gander!!
March 28th, 2007 at 11:55 pm
Such a misunderstanding is astonishing,
why a person takes it upon herself to be critical of the method by which learning the complexities of language in ‘traditional’ schools is based on can only be seen as an uneducated point of view. I will never be critical of the child, let alone referring to him as an idiot, you madam have a bone to pick for some reason and your attitude towards children’s education is pathetic. There are so many variables in your story that it begs belief that you post such dribble. A nine year old girl being sent to Montessori, had she been there since she was three years old? Was it an ‘accredited’ Montessori school? oh you will now question the whole Montessori movement as inapt because of a few ‘stories’ you have heard through the grape vine. Why don’t you go and read some books…. and stay off the booze, http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org
kind regards
April 1st, 2007 at 11:13 am
Whoever left the last comment is rude. Talk about respect! It probably stems from projection of motives due to autobiographical listening, it indicates a poor communicator to say the least.
April 11th, 2007 at 2:01 pm
Unfortunately, there are schools out there that call themselves “Montessori” but are not really fulfilling the Montessori method. If you ever get a chance to see a quality Montessori school, you’ll be astonished at what the children learn, and how well-rounded they are. Respect for others is central to the philosophy. Actually, your post inspired my blog post today; here’s the link:
http://montessoriforeveryone.blogspot.com/2007/04/are-montessorians-snobs.html
And this post might be of interest:
http://montessoriforeveryone.blogspot.com/2007/03/famous-people-who-were-montessori-kids.html
You also might be interested in reading this article about public school education; it’s not all it’s cracked up to be:
http://www.cantrip.org/gatto.html
October 24th, 2007 at 6:42 pm
I used to think exactly like you do! I’ve done a bit of research now and am finding I love the philosophy. I doubt we’ll be sending out child to a Montessori school because of the cost, but we are raising our little one with the philosophy in mind.
January 2nd, 2008 at 6:00 pm
I know this post is quite old, but I wanted to comment because I just got a job at a Montessori school and I think the school is simply wonderful. I had been teaching at a public preschool for 2 years and left because of the disrespectful behavior among the other teachers around me. None of the other teachers had much of a philosphy regarding the care and education of children. I saw many displays of disrespect toward the children and unfortunately, many of these children’s needs were not being met. When this happens, certain undesirable behaviors occur. Since beginning my work at the Montessosri schools, I have only seen positive teacher-student interations. Yes, the children have choices regarding what they would like to work on, but teachers also give lessons when necessary and when asked. The children are independent and autonomous and know that the environment is there for them. Everything in the classroom is prepared and carefully planned and though-out, so that when the child enters, the classroom is organized and ready for them to enjoy. There is so much to love in the Montessori method, and unless you see it and live it for yourself, you cannot even begin to fathom how capable, independent, and caring these children become.
April 30th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
I was also surprised to read such an uninformed critique of the Montessori method based on a few kids and a few schools. These are most certainly unique cases, and as Lori says, probably schools that are not true Montessori establishments. Any school, regardless of their teaching methods can call themselves Montessori so it is important to make this distinction. Instead of being accused of being self righteous, or of shrieking, etc – let me simply say that we started with our three kids in the public school system where they were determined to be “gifted” or “talented”. They allowed my oldest to skip a grade but didn’t have any other resources in place to work with gifted children (despite being an IB school). Next we tried our local Prep school – a very expensive private institution. What a mistake! My daughter enjoyed the cheerleading and tennis and the over the top drama productions but there was no real focus on academics at all. Then we found Montessori! Our authentic Montessori school is student-centered and experiential. It is holistic, expressive, reflective and collaborative. It is constructivist, and challenging. We are so pleased. And to say that the life of a Montessori child is “easy” is simply ignorance. Our children work harder and learn more than they did at the public school and at the private Prep school. For us, it was by far the best option for our gifted and advanced children who have a real love and respect for learning. Sure, Montessori is not for everyone. It takes a certain level of responsibility, social precociousness and a sort of natural adeptness towards subject material.
May 13th, 2008 at 11:55 am
Wow-
Makes sense to me! Not. As a former teacher in a public school with a 2 year old daughter, I was very shocked to find my neighbor (who runs a Montessori school) giving me an unsolicited 45 minute critique of my disiplinary practice with my child. She said I was “destroying her soul” because I give her time outs ocasionally.
Apparently discipline is suppossed to come from a force from within? Of course her own 19 year old boy is an obnoxious spolied college dropout brat, so I am sure she knows what she is talking about, right?
June 20th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
I was a Montessori teacher and your observations are accurate. The secret is that in Montessori conferences, anonymously in trade journals, and in teacher lounges, the teachers confide to each other their concerns and criticisms which are never permitted in public.
December 1st, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Givcen the cost of these institutions, one would assume that most children will be coming from parents who are themselves well educated and successful, they will themselves be educating their children at home in many different ways, both subconsiously and consiously. If parents encourage kid to read, then of course these kids will encourage other kids to read (peer pressure to be able to read, do math, etc.) as otherwise they might appear less succesful (even though not pushed by teachers). The effect will be self sustaining, so the best schools will do well. I imagine on the otherhand if you took a load of people from a background of poverty and put them all together, they would not teach each other as much. (i recognise this is a generalisation).
but that would result in the same is expensive private schools churcning out well educated people verses public sector schools working in innercity areas that get very few success stories. All it engenders is an attitude of whatever I think is best, and educational results will vary as widely as any other method in the long run.
December 7th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
I have a child who started Monessori at 2 years old, she is now 5. I did not know much about the philosophy when she started and was a bit skeptical about it all. I have to say, observing her in the classroom, I can’t imagine her anywhere else!! She is doing great, and I am now looking for a MOntessori elementary for her. To send her to our public school would be a dis-service to her right now.
In response to an earlier post…..I am sure Montessori may not work for everyone, but a 9 year old not reading yet? are you kidding me? Parents are still parents and need to advocate for their children. If it does not feel right…it probably is not!
I am sure there are plenty of “public school” kids who are NOT meeting the expectations of their age/grade, but do we blame their school? Their parents?
January 18th, 2009 at 9:45 pm
I totally agree with the poster that Montessori schools are dangerous and this philosophy of learning at the childs on pace is ridiculous. My son went to a such a school and thank GOD! I pulled him by the second grade. He was tested in as behind the other children. He quickly caught up and thrived in a structured environment and went to the top of the class. Any school that is not held to national testing and scores RUN FROM! your child will end up an idiot., that will not be able to read. Don’t let warm fuzzies these predator type schools offer the parents so they won’t take a real hard look at the reality of their little game. Use real teachers to teach your children, not someone’s 8 year old kid “helping” your child learn how to read. How about a “degreed” teacher who is “state certified”. This is another fruitcake European bullshit idea.
February 4th, 2009 at 8:42 pm
teaching kindergarteners to count to 100!!!!???? i don’t care for the amount of rote memorization that requires at that age. talk about dampening the love of learning!!
re: montessori… i think there are pros and cons to all the approaches. i am currently debating if it will fit my daughter and am not so sure.
February 15th, 2009 at 7:54 pm
This is an interesting discussion, to say the least. I have 4 children ranging in age from 2 to 10 yrs old. All are NOW in Montessori. One, has spent time in the public system. And all, are successful – some typical in certain areas, some outstanding in other areas. There have been challenges along the way, however, I find it concerning to “blame” a certain learning methodology or philosophy for the failure of a child. Just as the public system manages to produce children who cannot read into high school, Montessori is not for every child OR every family.
If a family doesn’t understand the philosophy Montessori philosophy and they don’t talk about the world at home, then I’m I’m sure that child will not know about the Bill of Rights, but a Montessori Child will certainly be able to tell you who Ghandi. Mother Teresa, the International Bill of Children’s Rights and all of the countries of North America and all of the continents in the world are, I don’t think most high school students could do all that. I’m not sure I can blame ANY school if I child can’t count to five, my 2 year old was doing that at 18 months, (for fun of course), so is that a school problem or is that something else, like a learning disability, missed by everyone, even the public school….
One of my children is autistic, there is not another environment (of 9 tried with hopes every time that they would work) that treated him with as much kindness, gentleness and respect. He is also known as the meltdown kid. They “the montessori” people, were the only ones that didn’t blame us for the way he was, didn’t degrade and humilate him in front of other students and most importantly, they “the montessorian’s” were the ones that gave him the confidence to write. The child who wouldn’t write a story due to his embarrassing handwriting now writes and writes and writes, at grade level! He will never be “typical” but in the Montessori world he is never “less than”.
I have one child, now 5, who has had kidney surgery, has permanent damage to one kidney and may need a transplant one day. When everything started to slide, during 3 years of treatment she stopped growing, stopped putting on weight, (she weighs about 9 pounds more than her 2 year old brother), didn’t want to move out of practical life for love or money and we tried to entice her in many ways. I was just started to panic about entering grade 1 next year without a knowledge of the alphabet because she could not remember all 26 sounds at the same time. Maybe half at any one time, if we were lucky . She had her surgery, took the summer to recover, had a few problems in September, October which we slowly worked out. Then we noticed that the dark circles under her eyes were gone, she didn’t want to be carried everywhere and she started to talk about what sounds certain letters made, while she was at home. In 6 weeks she went from having no clue to flying through to green reading. Those of you who know Montessori know what happened there, don’t you. While she was sick she was absorbing, but, she wasn’t well enough to move forward. Now we are in February, she is reading short books, adding, subtracting, doing a study of Canada and smiles, and giggles like a 5 year old.
In 2011/12 by oldest, the one who is autistic, will be going to a “public” school, and the other will follow. Do I think it will be a disaster? Well, no actually I don’t. And, the biggest reason is that he has learned, through example, how to advocate for himself, gentle ways to resolve conflict, that he can be successful without feeling bad about his failures. And most importantly he knows how to work, independently so I’m not worried about him having to make some huge adjustment to a classroom. He may not like having to ask to use the washroom though, LOL.
And, finally, for the record, here we also have public montessori programs, not only EXPENSIVE private ones for the elite.
In Peace and Understanding – Karin
August 22nd, 2009 at 4:59 am
Montessori is a CULT! You “Montessoriains” are all socially crippled people. I work in a public Montessori school and the students can not pass a state minimum skills test. We have gone through a series of administrators and they leave with health problems related to stress. All the “Montessorians” do is make excuses for their student’s poor performances, going so far as to say “Who’s minimal skills are those on that state test?” The parents are even more insane than the teachers! They critic and magnify each and every thing that is done in the school. Their children are for the most part socially crippled spoiled brats that are going to have a very difficult adult life. I would never put my child in a program like this! You Montessori people are nuts!!!
January 24th, 2010 at 8:23 am
I like this discussion.I was browsing the net looking a negative comment about Montessori..and this is it..
Before,I thought montessori is too good to be true philiosophy.I understand why some people hate it because they do not know it.
There are many factors why the kids mentioned were not that excellent..maybe because of child factor..parents or family factor..
Observe if the parents are rude,children never flourish..observe the way they give comments..very offending..that is why the world is not changing..
..the child will be better in other school not because of that school only..his past school has a great contribution..in montessori, we call it “explosion”where we do not know where going to be happened.
If the child is not very good in certain area but genius in one area,so be it..if some montessori graduates do not excell in other school,being hated or questioned,maybe the school was not real montessori or maybe the new school where he is now lacks strategy how to lit the candle of that montessori child..
Montessori philosophy has a great contribution to our education..
I think this is not in the hands of many that is why it is misunderstood..it is being attacked because of fake or improper implementation of this method.
For me,it’s great..be trained guys..be certified..be montessorian..be one of us..yes we are few..but its really great to be criticized by traditional people..its greater to be loved by the kids..
..let your children come to authentic Montessori school,they will learn and love the Good Shepherd there..
January 31st, 2010 at 11:56 am
My sister went to a Montissori preschool and she is a radical liberal like Obama. LOL.
February 9th, 2010 at 5:54 am
So I know this is an old post, but I have to comment. My daughter goes to a traditional preschool and many of our friends send their children to a montessori school. When I toured the school, I was alarmed and put off by the kids wandering around the classroom somewhat aimlessly. However, my friends who have their children in the classroom have been armed with this strange sense of competition and superiority of their preschooling choice. They constantly make remarks about the inferiority of other preschooling options. The funny thing is that my daughter has been reading since she was 4 and a half, whereas their children are still trying to figure out their letters. The other interesting and cult-like behavior is as the author mentioned, an extreme defensiveness about their institution. I mean, come on. It’s preschool. It’s not like your kid is at Harvard. I think these parents need to get a grip on reality and if these Montessori schools really teach respect to the children, maybe the parents need to begin to respect other preschooling options available and stop insulting the “Non-Montessori” kids. While you collectively see the Montessori kids as free thinking, outsiders see them as ill-behaved… Sure this won’t be a popular post… I don’t care.
February 21st, 2010 at 8:47 am
My son is an add third grader and has attended Montessori for 9 months after being home schooled k-2. I am an educator so I was well prepared to teach him at home. He is bright and reads well. Unfortunately, he is stagnating under this montessori system, doing the same boring lessons over and over and we are leaving at the end of this year. Additionally, the teachers are complete snobs who show no interest in my son whatsoever unless he gets out of his seat. I am there as his aide 50% of the time and provide an aide-but the school will not tolerate my son’s presence without an aide for even 15 to 20 minutes.
So, I am essentially sitting in the montessori classroom, guiding my son through these easy, boring assignments which they won’t let me change, and if I leave him there to actually develop some “independent” learning skills, they are all over him for the slightest perceived transgressions. What one of the above posters observed about kids wandering aimlessly is so true-I see it all day.
My aide has expressed her concern that my son is singled out as a “problem” child when I am not there. I looked into it with the teacher and she said “we will need to document some of these behaviors, like touching things at a school dance…why should we teachers have to deal with that?”
Really? A teacher can’t handle a child who “touches” things in a school full of manipulatives? I was a public high school teacher for ten years. These people need to learn how to live in the real world.
The fact of the matter is these schools cherry pick potted plant style children and passive parents who like to feel superior about their kids going to a private school with a funky name.
I am soooo over it.
August 23rd, 2010 at 12:14 pm
I took my 3 year old son to a Montessori School last year. After 3 days (keep in mind that he only went Tuesdays and Thursdays), they felt he wasn’t “ready” for a Montessori school. Apparently he acted like a normal 3 year old who had never been in a school before. He had trouble sitting still, dumped over the bins sometimes and would not sit to eat lunch at the picnic tables OUTSIDE in the Florida summer heat while in front of a playground. WTH? What a GREAT method huh? They told us to bring him back next semester in January.
Well we did, and after about a week, they “called us in for a conference”. He was difficult…blah blah blah. His teacher wanted to work with him more but the director followed us around saying “I don’t think this is the school for him.” Ok so my son is not good enough for your stupid school? Is it my fault that you don’t have teachers equiped to deal with NORMAL toddlers? How come all of your students seem robotic….like mini-adults?
I guess if your kid acts like “Vicki the Robot” then maybe this IS the school for you. If you have a normal toddler that likes to play and be a kid, I suggest you look elsewhere. There is so much more I would like to say but I don’t want to be too disrespectful or vulgar. Still angry although it’s been months. BTW, I found a wonderful school that my son LOVES going to everyday and the teachers are wonderful and cooperative. Everytime we drive by the Montessori school my son yells, “look mommy! there is the yucky school”
Nuff said…