How to Know if Montessori Education is Right For Your Family
When it comes to your child's education you want to make the right decision. This conversation with author and Montessori expert, Maren Schmidt can help families explore whether or not Montessori education is a good fit.
LD: Is Montessori education suitable for all children?
MS: As long as a program is well implemented, and by that I mean that the program maintains three key components--well-trained adults, specially prepared environments, and children's free choice of activity within a three-hour work cycle-any child should thrive in a Montessori environment. I believe that Montessori education, well implemented, benefits every child it serves. Montessori education is for every child--unfortunately, it is not for every parent. Parents' inability to change parenting styles and understand their children's needs is the biggest drawback for children in a Montessori classroom.
LD: What are some reasons to switch from traditional education to Montessori?
MS: Many parents are attracted to Montessori schools because they see that their child is not a traditional learner. Howard Gardner talks about multiple intelligences and traditional education works well with children who have strong verbal and math skills.
Gardner identifies eight basic types of intelligence: linguistic, logical and mathematical, spatial, musical, kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal and naturalist. So the children who have nontraditional types of learning styles need a different type of environment to thrive.
Parents who see that their children are not thriving in a traditional setting, or parents who as children did not thrive in those types of settings are attracted to the whole child, multi-faceted approach that Montessori schools offer for their children's development.
The reason to switch to Montessori education seems to me to be that you want your child to develop all aspects of his or her personality, not just academic skills.
LD: How are Montessori schools regulated to ensure high academic standards?
MS: Regulations on private and public schools vary from state to state. Organizations, such as Association Montessori International, American Montessori Society and International Montessori Foundation, set training and implementation standards for schools. These organizations also accredit Montessori schools and teachers.
Most Montessori schools are concerned about the development of the whole child instead of being totally focused on high academic standards. The Montessori idea is "to follow the child" and the child's needs--not "follow the standardized tests scores".
The paradox is that when we focus on meeting the needs of the whole child, academic skills soar.
About Maren Schmidt
Maren Schmidt is an award winning Montessori teacher and author, as well as a popular workshop presenter. Over the past 25 years Maren has been a Montessori parent, teacher, school founder and director. She holds elementary teaching credentials from the Association Montessori Internationale and a M.Ed. from Loyola College in Maryland. Maren's weekly newspaper column, Kids Talk TM, is available at http://hubpages.com/hubtool/create/edit/www.KidsTalkNews.com. Maren is currently working on two books, The Montessori Parents Handbook and Mommy! Help Me LearnTM My Manners, a parenting guide for teaching pre-schoolers manners and social skills. Write to Maren@KidsTalkNews.com
Montessori Resources:
Association Montessori Internationale
North American Montessori Teachers Association
Teach kids to read with Maren's Shining Light Reading videos.
Keep up to date with Maren's award-winning column, Kids Talk News.
