Does anyone have children attending a Montessori school? Feedback please (transfer, pre-school)

[Trainwreck20]

As mentioned before, it depends a lot on the school, but also depends on the child. I have a friend who has an extremelly bright but difficult child (goes together a lot, it seems), and the Montessori method has worked much better than the traditional teaching methods. Her younger sibling does just fine with whatever system she is in. It is my opinion that the older girl would have been a discipline problem and behind, generally, when she started public school, but the Mont. school has really helped her. She will probably be well ahead of the average when she transfers.

On the other hand, it is not the cheapest Mont. school around, and you generally get what you pay for.

[Lisa_from_Debary]

I no longer have confidence in the public school system...children are shuttled into a diagnoses of ADD because the school doesn't have the resources to do anything other then poke a pill down their throat...thats not good enough...if a child like that can get individualized treatment and NOT have to take medication then that would be SO much better.

I have a family friend who home schooled both her children...both of these children would NEVER have made it through a public school system but because of the home schooling, their Mother was able to alter the program to fit the facts that they had a problem sitting still or were slower in math until a certain age...now one is a lawyer and the other is going to be a doctor...the Public School system would have beat them down had they had a chance...

IN MY OPINION, anyone working for the public school system who doesn't see its MANY problems, is not someone's advice that can be trusted...My daughters teacher thought she was a great teacher right up to AND after she finger printed her entire class because she had lost control and needed something to threaten them with...

Do your own investigation, I never attended a public school, My parents had the money to keep me in a private school AND I am the better off for it...Be it Montesorri or charter schools or home schooling, private schools, anything is better then a public school system that doesn't really care about the kids AND if in the private schools, the REASON they care so much and take the time is fear they will loose your MONEY then so be it...at least thats better then how children are often treated by the public school system...like so much cattle.

[momof2dfw]

" no longer have confidence in the public school system...children are shuttled into a diagnoses of ADD because the school doesn't have the resources to do anything other then poke a pill down their throat...thats not good enough"


Schools are VERY hesitant to recommend that a student get tested for ADD. Very rarely will a teacher get approval to refer a student for testing or to even mention it to a parent. If a teacher believes that a student has a problem such as ADD they must first document such and present it to their grade level. Once it is agreed by the grade level that it may be needed it is then brought before the counselor and the principal. All of this is BEFORE a parent is even notified. The reason being is that if a school recommends that a child/student needs testing the school MUST PAY FOR IT. So it is not the common practice of teachers, principals or schools to tell a parent their child has ADD and they need meds. Only in extreme cases will a student get approved for the school to discuss the issue w/ the parent.

What does happen is a parent will see it themselves or their doctor and will seek help on their own. If the teacher is asked by the parent if they think their child has an issue w/ ADD the teacher will be hesitant to say so. When the parent has the child evaluated by a professional (childs doctor) they will give them a journal to be given to the teacher to keep track of how the student fairs during the course of the school day. It is then up to the childs doctor to set at what level meds are needed. I've seen kids that NEEDED help in this area but the schools hands are tied. They suffer SEVERLY as their actions and behavior keep them from being able to socially fit in. Most of these kids are VERY gifted but can not function even in a classroom that is not traditional (I have a child that has been at a gifted & talented magnet since kinder and has had classmates that fell into this catagory). At the magnets they are more "active" and allowed to think and work "out of the box" but still these kids can not function. I know one finally the parents did get him some help and the next year he was sooo zombied that it was plainly evident the doctor had his meds too strong. Assume the parents noticed and had them adjusted as a few months later he was much better. Finally he was able to make friends and actually KNEW what he was doing.

If you have a child that is academically gifted and you have the opportunity to put them in a program for gifted kids, DO IT!!!!!!!!!!! All too often these are the kids that left in the mainstream classroom that get bored and get into trouble and their grades plummet.

[Lisa_from_Debary]

I know the policies but apparently the teacher I am speaking does not...she sat me down and said, I think your daughter has ADD...

Even mental health counselors don't say that, they tell the parents that their child should be referred to a psychiatrist who treats children...

THEN after she said this, she did nothing to get my daughter any extra help, she just let her sit there the entire year...the medication was the first and ONLY thing they had in mind...

My list of problems doesn't stop there...

One day my daughter came home, she rides on a school bus that lets her off two houses away, she seemed upset so I called her over and hugged her, before I got my arms around her I could feel the heat coming off her...she had a fever of 104, I asked her how long she had been feeling that way and she said all day...she said she had complained to three teachers, gotten in trouble in one class for wearing her winter coat and staying huddled up inside it (no doubt from chills). She had been fine that morning because I had taken a shower with her, done her hair etc...They did nothing when she begged for help...this was not the last time they have done this to her...

She now carries a cell phone to school...I told the principal of this problem and told them if they tried to punish her for using her cell phone to reach out for help when she is being ignored by his staff, I would NOT stand for it AND make sure the entire student body of parents found out about it...

[momof2dfw]

What school district is this in?

[GordonGecko]

I am also a product of a Montessori education from kindergarten to HS (outside of the US)....and yes, I'm normal :-)
It is definitely not for everyone and there are some differences as to how each school uses the Montessori method...

Moved to the US to go to college and graduated from an Ivy League school.
What I can tell you is that when I got to college, I felt that the other kids were behind....

[heardclarke]

Are you still interested in information about Montessori? I have 6 years experience teaching in Montessori schools and 10 years in Catholic schools. You may reply to me directly at elizabethmclarke@earthlink.net.

[mignonster]

I attended Montessori schools literally my entire life I even graduated high school for a Montessori Highschool (hard to find) If you can send your child to one you need to do it. They will get such a better quality education and they will learn respect for others and oneself, how to manage time themselves, responsibility, how to manage money, among so many other wonderful things, and they will be far ahead of the curve of a public school. You get so much amazing one-on-one attention Montessori caters itself to the way your child learns. If your child is a visual learner they will adapt things for them to learn easier, if they are more hands-on tactile, they have hands on materials for evey subject and that is so above and beyond anything you get ina public school. I've known a few children who have transistion from Montessori to public (my brother included) and they had little to no problems other than feeling more advanced that their fellow students. I think Montessori schools instill a confidence and respect in you that public schools tend to totally reject or not focuse on so for some the transition to a place where no one cares about you is the most difficuly part. In a Montessori environment your teachers and peers are truly like a second family and they all truly care about you like you were their own and that is so nice. The other thing i think some ppl have problems with when they transfer are cliques because in Montessori those honestly do not exist everyone learns to be nice to everyone else and not be mean for simply no good reason.

My suggestion is as long as you can afford it to keep your children in Montessori and maybe try transitioning them into a large private school like a Greenhills that would be a good transition.

Also when you initally send you child to a Montessori pre-k program please check and make sure they are Montessori accredited because in recent years it has become somewhat trendy to send ur little ones to Montessori and ALOT of untrue Monetssori schools are popping up that are really nothing more than a glorified overpriced daycare. So make sure to do your research and be thorough becuase if you don't it could bite you in the ass later when your kid isnt getting an education but rather getting babysat.

Good luck!

[sanang65]

My grandson attended a Montessori Preschool in a town in the Texas Panhandle, his parents didn't have the resources to send him to the school which was expensive, so I provided funds. My grandson attended when he was 4 and 5 years old. He went to Kindergarten last year and the teacher said he had problems with reading, it was as if he had never seen the alphabet, after my daughter-in-law told the teacher he had attended Montessori she couldn't believe it!

I contacted the president of the Montessori school and asked her why my grandson didn't know the alphabet and she told me that was because my grandson very rarely got to school in time for the "reading" class. I knew this was not true. I called the president and asked for a copy of the log-in schedule for my grandson, I never received a copy. My daughter-in-law dropped my grandson off at the school at 8:00 every morning before she went to work. I could not believe the president of a Montessori school would tell me something like this.

My grandson has gone through a battery of tests and they reveal he is of normal intelligence but is now in a special reading class. I've come away from this experience very skeptical and bitter. It is as if my grandson was never introduced to the alphabet until he was in Kindergarten when all the other children had been exposed to reading before they enter Kindergarten.

Just because a school is called Montessori doesn't mean it is a good learning institution, take it from me.

[CFBteacher]

You have to select the right Montessori School! You must select a traditional academic based Montessori with experienced teacher sand directors who do not cave into the expectations of society. My daughters attend A Child's Garden Montessori school in Carrollton and they have become well-rounded, giving little girls with a love for learning. My oldest is 4 and she is reading, learning about the human body, geography, adding, and much more. My youngest is only 2, but already her love for knowledge and verbal communication has soared, despite her incredibly stubborn and defiant nature. ACG provides structure and boundaries and an elevated curriculum that the children grow into. I plan to keep my girls in ACG as long as possible! And other ACG parents have been able to test many of their children into gifted programs upon exiting!