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Why Do
Montessori Classes Group Different Age Levels
Together?
Sometimes parents worry that by having younger
children in the same class as older ones, one
group or the other will be shortchanged. They
fear that the younger children will absorb the
teachers' time and attention, or that the importance
of covering the kindergarten curriculum for the
five-year-olds will prevent them from giving the
three- and four-year-olds the emotional support
and stimulation that they need. Both concerns
are misguided.
At each level, Montessori programs are designed
to address the developmental characteristics normal
to children in that stage.
- Montessori classes are organized
to encompass a two- or three-year age span,
which allows younger students the stimulation
of older children, who in turn benefit from
serving as role models. Each child learns at
her own pace and will be ready for any given
lesson in her own time, not on the teacher's
schedule of lessons. In a mixed-age class, children
can always find peers who are working at their
current level.
- Children normally stay in
the same class for three years. With two-thirds
of the class normally returning each year, the
classroom culture tends to remain quite stable.
- Working in one class for two
or three years allows students to develop a
strong sense of community with their classmates
and teachers. The age range also allows especially
gifted children the stimulation of intellectual
peers, without requiring that they skip a grade
or feel emotionally out of place.
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Why Do
Montessori Classes Tend To Be Larger than Those
Found in Many Other Schools?
Many schools take pride in having very small classes,
and parents often wonder why Montessori classes
are so much larger. Montessori classes commonly
group together twenty-five to thirty children
covering a three-year age span. Schools that place
children together into small groups assume that
the teacher is the source of instruction, a very
limited resource. They reason that as the number
of children decreases, the time that teachers
have to spend with each child increases. Ideally,
we would have a one-on-one tutorial situation.
But the best teacher of a three-year-old is often
another somewhat older child. This process is
good for both the tutor and the younger child.
In this situation, the teacher is not the primary
focus. The larger group size puts the focus less
on the adult and encourages children to learn
from each other.
By consciously bringing children together in larger
multi-age class groups, in which two-thirds of
the children normally return each year, the school
environment promotes continuity and the development
of a fairly stable community.
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Why Do Most Montessori
Schools Want Children to Enter at Age Three?
Dr. Montessori identified four "planes of development,"
with each stage having its own developmental characteristics
and developmental challenges. The Early Childhood
Montessori environment for children age three
to six is designed to work with the "absorbent
mind," "sensitive periods," and the tendencies
of children at this stage of their development.
Learning that takes place during these years comes
spontaneously without effort, leading children
to enter the elementary classes with a clear,
concrete sense of many abstract concepts. Montessori
helps children to become self-motivated, self-disciplined,
and to retain the sense of curiosity that so many
children lose along the way in traditional classrooms.
They tend to act with care and respect toward
their environment and each other. They are able
to work at their own pace and ability. The three-year
Montessori experience tends to nurture a joy of
learning that prepares them for further challenges.
This process seems to work best when children
enter a Montessori program at age two or three
and stay at least through the kindergarten year.
Children entering at age four or five do not consistently
come to the end of the three-year cycle having
developed the same skills, work habits, or values.
Older children entering Montessori may do quite
well in this very different setting, but this
will depend to a large degree on their personality,
previous educational experiences, and the way
they have been raised at home.
Montessori programs can usually accept a few older
children into an established class, so long as
the family understands and accepts that some critical
opportunities may have been missed, and these
children may not reach the same levels of achievement
seen in the other children of that age. On the
other hand, because of the individualized pace
of learning in Montessori classrooms, this will
not normally be a concern.
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How Can Montessori Teachers
Meet the Needs of So Many Different Children?
Great teachers help learners get to the point
where their minds and hearts are open, leaving
them ready to learn. In effective schools, students
are not so much motivated by getting good grades
as they are by a basic love of learning. As parents
know their own children's learning styles and
temperaments, teachers, too, develop this sense
of each child's uniqueness by spending a number
of years with the students and their parents.
Dr. Montessori believed that teachers should focus
on the child as a person, not on the daily lesson
plan. Montessori teachers lead children to ask
questions, think for themselves, explore, investigate,
and discover. Their ultimate objective is to help
their students to learn independently and retain
the curiosity, creativity, and intelligence with
which they were born. As we said in an earlier
chapter, Montessori teachers don't simply present
lessons; they are facilitators, mentors, coaches,
and guides.
Traditionally, teachers have told us that they
"teach students the basic facts and skills that
they will need to succeed in the world." Studies
show that in many classrooms, a substantial portion
of the day is spent on discipline and classroom
management.
Normally, Montessori teachers will not spend much
time teaching lessons to the whole class. Their
primary role is to prepare and maintain the physical,
intellectual, and social/emotional environment
within which the children will work. A key aspect
of this is the selection of intriguing and developmentally
appropriate learning activities to meet the needs
and interests of each child in the class.
Montessori teachers usually present lessons to
small groups of children at one time and limit
lessons to brief and very clear presentations.
The goal is to give the children just enough to
capture their attention and spark their interest,
intriguing them enough that they will come back
on their own to work with the learning materials.
Montessori teachers closely monitor their students'
progress. Because they normally work with each
child for two or three years, they get to know
their students' strengths and weaknesses, interests,
and personalities extremely well. Montessori teachers
often use the children's interests to enrich the
curriculum and provide alternate avenues for accomplishment
and success.
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Is Montessori for All
Children?
The Montessori system has been used successfully
with children from all socio-economic levels,
representing those in regular classes as well
as the gifted, children with developmental delays,
and children with emotional and physical disabilities.
There is no one school that is right for all children,
and certainly there are children who may do better
in a smaller classroom setting with a more teacher-directed
program that offers fewer choices and more consistent
external structure.
Children who are easily overstimulated, or those
who tend to be overly aggressive, may be examples
of children who might not adapt as easily to a
Montessori program. Each situation is different,
and it is best to work with the schools in your
area to see if it appears that a particular child
and school would be a good match.
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Is Montessori Opposed
to Homework?
Most Montessori schools do not assign homework
to children below the elementary level. When it
is assigned to older children, it rarely involves
page after page of "busy" work; instead, the children
are given meaningful, interesting assignments
that expand on the topics that they are pursuing
in class. Many assignments invite parents and
children to work together. When possible, teachers
will normally build in opportunities for children
to choose among several alternative assignments.
Some-times, teachers will prepare individually
negotiated weekly assignments with each student.
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Is Montessori Unstructured?
At first, Montessori may look un-structured to
some people, but it is actually quite structured
at every level. Just because the Montessori program
is highly individualized does not mean that students
can do whatever they want. Like all children,
Montessori students live within a cultural context
that involves the mastery of skills and knowledge
that are considered essential.
Montessori teaches all of the "basics," along
with giving students the opportunity to investigate
and learn subjects that are of particular interest.
It also allows them the ability to set their own
schedule to a large degree during class time.
At the early childhood level, external structure
is limited to clear-cut ground rules and correct
procedures that provide guidelines and structure
for three- and four-year-olds. By age five, most
schools introduce some sort of formal system to
help students keep track of what they have accomplished
and what they still need to complete.
Elementary Montessori children normally work with
a written study plan for the day or week. It lists
the tasks that they need to complete, while allowing
them to decide how long to spend on each and what
order they would like to follow. Beyond these
basic, individually tailored assignments, children
explore topics that capture their interest and
imagination and share them with their classmates.
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Are There Any Tests in
Montessori Programs?
Montessori teachers carefully observe their students
at work. They give their students informal, individual
oral exams or have the children demonstrate what
they have learned by either teaching a lesson
to another child or by giving a formal presentation.
The children also take and prepare their own written
tests to ad-minister to their friends. Montessori
children usually don't think of assessment techniques
as tests so much as challenges. Students are normally
working toward mastery rather than a standard
letter grade scheme.
Standardized Tests:
Very few Montessori schools test children under
the first or second grades; however, most Montessori
schools regularly give elementary students quizzes
on the concepts and skills that they have been
studying. Many schools have their older students
take annual standardized tests.
While Montessori students tend to score very
well, Montessori educators are deeply concerned
that many standardized tests are inaccurate,
misleading, and stressful for children. Good
teachers, who work with the same children for
three years and carefully observe their work,
know far more about their progress than any
paper-and-pencil test can reveal.
The ultimate problem with standardized tests
is that they have often been misunderstood,
misinterpreted, and poorly used to pressure
teachers and students to perform at higher standards.
Although standardized tests may not offer a
terribly accurate measure of a child's basic
skills and knowledge, in most countries test-taking
skills are just another Practical Life lesson
that children need to master.
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How Do
Montessori Schools Report Student Progress?
Because Montessori believes in individually paced
academic progress, most schools do not assign
letter grades or rank students within each class
according to their achievement. Student progress,
however, is measured in different ways, which
may include:
Student Self-Evaluations:
At the elementary level, students will often
prepare a monthly self-evaluation of the past
three month's work: what they accomplished,
what they enjoyed the most, what they found
most difficult, and what they would like to
learn in the three months ahead. When completed,
they will meet with the teachers, who will review
it and add their comments and observations.
Portfolios of Student Work:
In many Montessori schools, two or three times
a year, teachers (and at the elementary level,
students) and parents go through the students'
completed work and make selections for their
portfolios.
Student/Parent/Teacher Conferences:
Once the students' three-month self-evaluations
are complete, parents, students, and teachers
will hold a family conference two or three times
a year to review their children's portfolios
and self-evaluations and go through the teachers'
assessment of their children's progress.
Narrative Progress Reports:
In many Montessori schools, once or twice a
year, teachers prepare a written narrative report
discussing each student's work, social development,
and mastery of fundamental skills.
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Will
My Child Be Able to Adjust to Traditional Public
or Private Schools After Montessori?
By the end of age five, Montessori children are
normally curious, self-confident learners who
look forward to going to school. They are normally
engaged, enthusiastic learners who honestly want
to learn and who ask excellent questions.
Montessori children by age six have spent three
or four years in a school where they were treated
with honesty and respect. While there were clear
expectations and ground rules, within that framework,
their opinions and questions were taken quite
seriously. Unfortunately, there are still some
teachers and schools where children who ask questions
are seen as challenging authority.
It is not hard to imagine an independent Montessori
child asking his new teacher, "But why do I have
to ask each time I need to use the bathroom?"
or, "Why do I have to stop my work right now?"
We also have to remember that children are different.
One child may be very sensitive or have special
needs that might not be met well in a teacher-centered
traditional classroom. Other children can succeed
in any type of school.
There is nothing inherent in Montessori that causes
children to have a hard time if they are transferred
to traditional schools. Some will be bored. Others
may not understand why everyone in the class has
to do the same thing at the same time. But most
adapt to their new setting fairly quickly, making
new friends, and succeeding within the definition
of success understood in their new school.
There will naturally be trade-offs if a Montessori
child transfers to a traditional school. The curriculum
in Montessori schools is often more enriched than
that taught in other schools in the United States.
The values and attitudes of the children and teachers
may also be quite different. Learning will often
be focused more on adult-assigned tasks done more
by rote than with enthusiasm and understanding.
There is an old saying that if something is working,
don't fix it. This leads many families to continue
their children in Montessori at least through
the sixth grade. As more Montessori High Schools
are opened in the United States and abroad, it
is likely that this trend will continue.
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Is Montessori Opposed
to Competition?
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.
Traditionally, schools challenge students to compete
with one another for grades, class rankings, and
special awards. For example, in many schools tests
are graded on a curve and are measured against
the performance of their classmates rather than
considered for their individual progress.
In Montessori schools, students learn to collaborate
with each other rather than mindlessly compete.
Students discover their own innate abilities and
develop a strong sense of independence, self-confidence,
and self-discipline. In an atmosphere in which
children learn at their own pace and compete only
against themselves, they learn not to be afraid
of making mistakes. They quickly find that few
things in life come easily, and they can try again
without fear of embarrassment. Dr. Montessori
argued that for an education to touch children's
hearts and minds profoundly, students must be
learning because they are curious and interested,
not simply to earn the highest grade in the class.
Montessori children compete with each other every
day, both in class and on the playground. Dr.
Montessori, herself an extraordinary student and
a very high achiever, was never opposed to competition
on principle. Her objection was to using competition
to create an artificial motivation to get students
to achieve.
Montessori schools allow competition to evolve
naturally among children, without adult interference
unless the children begin to show poor sportsmanship.
The key is the child's voluntary decision to compete
rather than having it imposed on him by the school.
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Is It True that Montessori
Children Never Play?
All children play! They explore new things playfully.
They watch something of interest with a fresh
open mind. They enjoy the company of treasured
adults and other children. They make up stories.
They dream. They imagine. This impression stems
from parents who don't know what to make of the
incredible concentration, order, and self-discipline
that we commonly see among Montessori children.
Montessori students also tend to take the things
they do in school quite seriously. It is common
for them to respond, "This is my work," when adults
ask what they are doing. They work hard and expect
their parents to treat them and their work with
respect. But it is joyful, playful, and anything
but drudgery.
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What's the Big Deal
about Freedom And Independence in Montessori?
Children touch and manipulate everything in their
environment. In a sense, the human mind is handmade,
because through movement and touch, the child
explores, manipulates, and builds a storehouse
of impressions about the physical world around
her. Children learn best by doing, and this requires
movement and spontaneous investigation.
Montessori children are free to move about, working
alone or with others at will. They may select
any activity and work with it as long as they
wish, so long as they do not disturb anyone or
damage anything, and as long as they put it back
where it belongs when they are finished.
Many exercises, especially at the early childhood
level, are designed to draw children's attention
to the sensory properties of objects within their
environment: size, shape, color, texture, weight,
smell, sound, etc. Gradually, they learn to pay
attention, seeing more clearly small details in
the things around them. They have begun to observe
and appreciate their environment. This is a key
in helping children discover how to learn.
Freedom is a second critical issue as children
begin to explore. Our goal is less to teach them
facts and concepts, but rather to help them to
fall in love with the process of focusing their
complete attention on something and mastering
its challenge with enthusiasm. Work assigned by
adults rarely results in such enthusiasm and interest
as does work that children freely choose for themselves.
The prepared environment of the Montessori class
is a learning laboratory in which children are
allowed to explore, discover, and select their
own work. The independence that the children gain
is not only empowering on a social and emotional
basis, but it is also intrinsically involved with
helping them become comfortable and confident
in their ability to master the environment, ask
questions, puzzle out the answer, and learn without
needing to be "spoon-fed" by an adult.
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What if a Child Doesn't
Feel Like Working?
While Montessori students are allowed considerable
latitude to pursue topics that interest them,
this freedom is not absolute. Within every society
there are cultural norms; expectations for what
a student should know and be able to do by a certain
age.
Experienced Montessori teachers are conscious
of these standards and provide as much structure
and support as is necessary to ensure that students
live up to them. If for some reason it appears
that a child needs time and support until he or
she is developmentally ready, Montessori teachers
provide it non-judgmentally.
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What about Children
with Special Needs?
Every child has areas of special gifts, a unique
learning style, and some areas that can be considered
special challenges. Each child is unique. Montessori
is designed to allow for differences. It allows
students to learn at their own pace and is quite
flexible in adapting for different learning styles.
In many cases, children with mild physical handicaps
or learning disabilities may do very well in a
Montessori classroom setting. On the other hand,
some children do much better in a smaller, more
structured classroom.
Each situation has to be evaluated individually
to ensure that the program can successfully meet
a given child's needs and learning style.
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Is Montessori Effective
With the Very Highly Gifted Child?
Yes, in general, children who are highly gifted
will find Montessori to be both intellectually
challenging and flexible enough to respond to
them as unique individuals.
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Is Montessori Elitist?
No. Montessori is an educational philosophy and
approach that can be found in all sorts of settings,
from the most humble to large, well-equipped campuses.
In general, Montessori schools consciously strive
to create and maintain a diverse student body,
welcoming families of every ethnic background
and religion, and using scholarships and financial
aid to keep their school accessible to deserving
families. Montessori is also found in the public
sector as magnet public school programs, Head
Start centers, and as charter schools.
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Montessori FAQ's are adapted from the website
of The Montessori Foundation - www.montessori.org.
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