As many of you know, I will have my own lower elementary classroom this fall at a public charter program here in the Portland metro area. I’m pretty excited about it, although I’m also well aware of the many challenges. One of the ones I hear most often from other Montessori practitioners is that many of the children coming into my class will not have had previous Montessori experience. This is usually an important consideration in admissions of private Montessori programs. The thinking is that children without the solid foundation of a Montessori Children’s House, which ranges from age 2.5 to 6, will be at a severe disadvantage coming into the elementary. They will not have had the extensive experience with sensorial materials, nor the experience of what we call “Practical Life” and “Grace and Courtesy” activities, which orient the child to a sequenced task, and more broadly, to the customs and manners of their culture. Although my new school has a kindergarten program, which is the age equivalent of the third year of a Children’s House program, many will argue that this isn’t sufficient experience to get a good start in a Montessori elementary.
And yet…I can’t help thinking of my own experience. I attended a public Montessori program in Minneapolis, Seward Montessori. It’s not “pure” Montessori by any stretch. But I started in kindergarten, without any previous Montessori experience, and maybe I had some disadvantages (especially in math)…but 2o+ years out, what I remember more is how much I loved school, not how strange it was to just have that kindergarten year. It is so clear to me that it has made a huge difference in my life, regardless of whether I got the full benefits of a Children’s House or not.
Every now and then I pop in on Doug Stowe’s blog, Wisdom of Hands. He’s a woodworking teacher in Arkansas, and I love his musings on the importance of handwork in education. His philosophy is very much aligned with both Waldorf and Montessori’s emphasis on the hand as an instrument of learning. One of his recent blog posts is a musing on “Joe the Plumber”, and why he isn’t considered “smart” by academic standards…but the most interesting thing to me in this post is Doug’s mention of Finland, where children don’t start school until age 7. And by a lot of measures, children in Finland perform better academically and in general have a better experience in school as well. Now…a few things to consider here…Finland is an incredibly homogeneous country that will not ever experience the challenges that districts in the US face…and because of their tax system, Finnish schools have the funds they need to support their teachers and school infrastructure. But it is an interesting thing to note…that not every culture views school as something that needs to start right away…and that the still raise happy, healthy, intelligent children.
Montessorians will argue that we start school when we do because we’re following the developmental needs of the child, observed by Dr. Montessori over many years. Further, school is not just a place where we teach academics–it is an environment that is created to support the holistic development of the child…and this can start in utero and continue from birth on. I have no issues with that. There are clear signs that a 2.5 to 3 year old is ready to move beyond the home environment and be introduced to a larger social community.
But I wonder how many children we miss the opportunity to serve when we become too rigid in our approach…or when we forget the original roots of the Montessori movement itself: the children of poor factory workers in the slums of Rome living in housing projects who were unable to afford childcare. Doesn’t that sound an awful lot like what we see today? For better or for worse, very little in the socio-economic structure of society has changed….and these children need quality, stimulating prepared environments just as much as those children in Rome did 100 years ago.
I would love to hear other opinions out there…especially of other public Montessorians. What is your experience? What are your school programs like? What do you wish you could change?
We have had much older children join us (ages 5,6 and 8) who have had no montessori experience and the results have been striking. The oldest child has relished the independence and respect she is given and has made it her mission to make it work even though she comes from the state system and had never heard of montessori before.
The youngest child took it upon herself to go back to the beginning despite being academically very able and spent a term doing practical life and tehn working her way throught the sensorial and cultural works beofre launching herself into the maths and language materials where she took herself back to the beginning and insisted on doing it all in order. It was amazing to watch. She is now “normalised” and where I would expect her to be if she had had the experience from 3 y’s old.
The middle one just got on with the work from the level she had reached and is now an independent and enthusiastic learner.
What can I say? Maybe we have been lucky or these children are unusual but I like to think that the method speaks to all children simply because it offers what they need. Once they are used to not being spoonfed and realise how much they are resepcted, it all follows.
Anna, I think you’re right on here…with the right environment (that is–the materials, a prepared adult, and a community of children), I think any child is going to find his or her place in a Montessori community. Some may take longer than others…but isn’t that life in general?
There’s amazing research happening right now on the plasticity of the brain, even into adulthood. We get so caught up on the importance of early childhood–and it’s true, it’s a crucial time…but that doesn’t mean we should give up after age 6. The brain is a remarkable organ capable of growth and adaptation in ways we don’t even know yet…
Thanks for your comments–I will tuck them away for those more challenging days when I need a reminder of the bigger picture.
I am a public Montessori school teacher in San Francisco. I have been working here to two years and the more I teach here the more I know that our work is about the Montessori philosophy, not the curriculum. Ginny Sackett, at the AMI Refesher Course this year, said that “normalization is the most important single result of our work.”
I started a new Primary classroom this year and had several older children with no Montessori experience. They are definitely more challenging than new 3 year olds, but they deserve this approach to children just as much as anyone else, and they benefit from it just as much as anyone else. We, as teachers, have to accept children where they are, not where we want them to be.
We have the power to make an impact on the life of all the children in our classrooms, no matter who they are or how old they are when they begin.
Karla, I totally agree! I know I will have my work cut out for me–teaching a 7-year old to read and write is a lot more work than helping them discover it, as we do in the primary…but I know that it’s possible, and I’m so excited to be offering the Montessori elementary experience to these children.
Thanks for posting…and I love your Etsy shop, by the way!
Best of luck as you start another school year!
Lena
I started Montessori when I was 4 (Apparently, I threw an incredible tantrum when I was three which pushed my start date back a year.. hehe), so I’m usually willing to let an occasional 4 or 5 year old start without experience. In those experiences, it has been positive.
Is your school completely Montessori or mixed? I’m really curious to hear how you are dealing with standards and testing. DC is revamping a lot of stuff right now (don’t know if you follow ed news, but things are a little crazy down here!), and there is a HUGE emphasis on testing and standards. Sometimes what I hear is just so contradicatory to Montessori that have to stop listening for a little bit and then come back mentally when I’m grounded again.
It is a Montessori charter school, so we have more leeway in the curriculum than other Montessori schools directly affiliated with a district. We still have to do testing and we are held accountable for state standards–but how we do it is mostly up to us.
This will be my first year and I’ve not had much experience with charters before, so I’ll be able to tell you more in a few weeks…but my sense right now is that testing is only a small part of the school culture.
I love this question… In my view, it all depends on the teacher’s expectations and the child’s experience at home/kindergarten… I can imagine that having a few 7 yr olds with no Montessori experience would be a huge obstacle if most of the other children came from the Casa and were moving at a quicker pace. However, most children are very bright and would likely adjust quickly to being independent and following rules. Concepts such as choosing work by themselves or being internally-motivated, however, might not come as easily if their home experience left them wanting in these areas.
My SIL works with many Elementary children who were never exposed to the Casa environment, and she says the hardest aspects are getting them to follow and appreciate the limits, and to choose materials by themselves.
I imagine that good communication with parents would be crucial, and a good discussion about expectations with the head of school would also help your year progress more smoothly. I think that the most important aspect would be to accept the child at the stage he/she is at, slowly set up a good foundation, and then follow that child.
I don’t think it’s too late in lower El… And hopefully the child’s younger sibling(s) will reap the benefits of Montessori education at a younger age thanks to their older sibling’s exposure!
I agree, Peaceful Guide! It just seems that in our training (or mine, anyway), there’s not as much emphasis on how to work with children who haven’t come from Montessori primary classrooms…the assumption is that they all have the ideal preparation. The reality is that they don’t. I guess this is just where the rubber meets the road.
Hello, this is a really interesting post & covers a lot of areas that I’ve been thinking about… mainly because we don’t have a Montessori school in our area but I hope that there will be a point of time in the future where we are living somewhere were it will be an option.
I was in a mild panic last year as we got closer to my oldest son starting kindergarten but I came to the resolution that if I continue to provide Montessori experiences & lessons at home (outside of school time – he’s in a Waldorf school because I felt that the environment was much more in keeping with my principles than a traditional school would be) there is still hope for the future!
I can only hope that I am able to extend enough Montessori spirit to my sons & that we might find teachers like yourself – & some of your other commenters – who would be generous enough of themselves to accept children who have not been able to have a ‘full’ Montessori school experience though who would undoubtably reap the benefits given that opportunity.
I congratulate you on your enthusiasm & look forward to hearing all about your classroom when the school year has started
Amber,
I’m so glad to hear a parent perspective here…and yes, I think that there’s so much to be said for “extending the Montessori spirit,” in whatever way works for you in your family.
I also have a lot of admiration for the Waldorf method, although there are difference between Waldorf and Montessori…we had an amazing fifth year student join my old school a couple of years ago after years of Waldorf, and she just blossomed in the Montessori setting, due to the great foundation she had at her previous school. She was the one, by the way, who told her parents she thought that Montessori would be a better fit for her…and it was.
Where do you live, if you don’t mind my asking…?
Hi Lena
I live in Australia!
I have worked with elementary aged children (both lower and upper) and have had the experience of working with children who have come to us from non-montesori backgrounds at different ages.
I have witnessed the method work remarkably well with some of them and completely fail with others. so, what was the common thread that worked well with some of the children?
*younger in age (below age 9)
*family approach
*previous school expeience …. those that came from very traditional schools, wherein everything was adult directed and taught, found it tougher, compared to those who came from schools that allowed atleast some self-direction, even though they weren’t montessori schools
*personality of the child
besides all of the above, i believe that a very important factor is the *ratio of non-montessori children to montessori children. an environment where the majority are montessori children, who direct themselves and engage in ever deepening levels of work, is more conducive to this.
We are seriously considering entering our 8 yr old son into a local (AMI) Montessori School. He has been completely home-schooled with exception the exception of attending “nursery” school for a year from age 4-5, for 2 days a week.
Other than that, we have a very “free” atmosphere and I am hoping if we enter him, this will be an advantage. I am concerned that he has not had the “official” Montessori background that I have been reading about, but when I think about our
approach to education, it is closer to Montessori than the force-feeding that comes from the standard elementary classroom. I’m hoping that if we decide to enter him,
that he’ll thrive, and if it’s not a good match, that the Directress will let us know so we can find another alternative. We are really looking for something that is like
homeschooling, but just a little more structure. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
I am looking into having my son reintegrate into a Montessori environment. He attended Montessori preschool for two years and loved it. Due to family concerns, he attended Kindergarten and now first grade at a traditional parochial school. Anyone out there with experience in kids moving back into a Montessori school after a few years of being taught in a traditional setting? Thanks.
I am interested in sending my daughter to montesori school, she will be entering the 2nd grade and my concerns is that because she did not attend montessori at an early age and the concept of learning is very different. Will she be able to adapt to montessoi learining and not fall behind. She has attend private and vitural school except for 1st grade. She is much more advance than her peers in public school and seem like she are getting bored in school this school year. I am trying to figure out if montesor will be good for her. Please give me any insight you can.