Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm taking an Educational Psychology course for a K-12 Special Education teaching program. My Pearson textbook makes no mention of Maria Montessori...I know because I searched the e-text after no mention of her during the Theories of Development chapter...lol
Any reason for this? Are her views not justified by research or what? She began developing and writing about educational theories and observing stages of cognitive and psychological development long before Piaget and the other theorists mentioned in this text book were even born.
Good question. I don't know. I like the Montessori model, based on what I know - which is not much. My understanding is that they focus on the whole individual and provide opportunities to do more exploration.
I'm taking an Educational Psychology course for a K-12 Special Education teaching program. My Pearson textbook makes no mention of Maria Montessori...I know because I searched the e-text after no mention of her during the Theories of Development chapter...lol
Any reason for this? Are her views not justified by research or what? She began developing and writing about educational theories and observing stages of cognitive and psychological development long before Piaget and the other theorists mentioned in this text book were even born.
It is a very good question. I have no answer for you, but I agree with the why. I have read about Piaget oh, about 100 times now but nothing about Maria Montessori so yeah...
Another reason I'm skeptical of education, government education....the whole education complex in this country.
-Now why would you leave Maria Montessori out? Let's think.
Perhaps.....they just don't want you thinking too much. Maybe it'll get you to think that Montessori is actually better than traditional education, more open, flexible, etc. I never heard of Montessori when I was in k-12.
Montessori is in trouble. Outsiders do not know it, but anyone at a Montessori school after first grade knows there are big problems with the program. It's situations like this, [url]//www.city-data.com/forum/houston/1754438-school-woods-vs-oak-school-montessori-4.html[/url], that set Montessori back decades. Rogue schools, with no guidance, are thinking of themselves as Maria Montessori re-incarnated. The egos in these primary and secondary schools would make Congress look cooperative. One bad school can have an impact nationwide and there is little AMS can do about it.
Because Pearson can't write a textbook to market to school districts for her methods. Pearson can't market and sell a state standerized test for her methods. There is no money for Pearson in her methods, so why bother teaching her methods?
Montessori is in trouble. Outsiders do not know it, but anyone at a Montessori school after first grade knows there are big problems with the program. It's situations like this, //www.city-data.com/forum/houst...tessori-4.html, that set Montessori back decades. Rogue schools, with no guidance, are thinking of themselves as Maria Montessori re-incarnated. The egos in these primary and secondary schools would make Congress look cooperative. One bad school can have an impact nationwide and there is little AMS can do about it.
Just because you have a personal ax to grind doesn't mean a track record of over a hundred years is about to give way
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spazkat9696
Because Pearson can't write a textbook to market to school districts for her methods. Pearson can't market and sell a state standerized test for her methods. There is no money for Pearson in her methods, so why bother teaching her methods?
Agree on the axe grinding. And I am the original axe grinder Kilpatrick is referencing. Not going to lie. I am starting to think that School of the Woods is not a one-off situation. Montessori may struggle as they get further and further away from Maria’s original (or most extensive) teachings (pre K). By the time Montessori gets to secondary education, I think school leaders feel it’s up to them to extrapolate Montessori’s teachings. I’ve said this before… I can go to a Montessori pre-K in Boston, then Topeka, and they are identical. I can go from a Montessori middle school on one side of town to the other and see dramatic differences. But who knows… and I have a very limited view.
But there is one area that I think may really challenge Montessori (at its core). Technology. For example, the little ones trace sandpaper letters with two fingers to get a feel for the shape of an S. And they are taught how to trace correctly from the start (e.g. F). Today, anyone can find this exercise as a $1 app for the iPad. There is no sandpaper feel, but you can see ink appear on the screen as you trace. Montessori has a VERY traditional pedagogy. Will they allow iPads to take the place of sandpaper letters or golden beads? Some will gasp at this idea. You must touch the beads to understand the difference between the 1 and 10 beads.
But I think education today is (finally!) going through a revolution. I remember the adage that a classroom today still resembles a classroom seen on Little House on the Prairie. But in the next decade this may change? And if the classroom gets flipped, everyone using a computer at his/her own pace, metrics reporting on every child…. on and on… where does this leave Montessori?
I believe they could be on the forefront of this revolution. iPads for every 3 year old with very controlled mat work. But I fear leadership (bifurcated between AMS and AMI) will hold onto the traditions of the past. Maybe this will make it more attractive? A departure from high tech… but I doubt it. 3 year olds are already amazing with tablets. Montessori may look tired and antiquated to parents of the next generation?
I have been doing a ton of research on Montessori lately and have a few (parent perspective only) thoughts on your original question.
I don’t think anyone can say Montessori has ever been widely adopted. I know it has gone through periods of popularity. We may be in one right now with Montessori appearing in more and more public elementary schools. I think three things conspired to prevent Montessori from reaching a tipping point.
1) Maria Montessori herself. And this makes sense. She was very disciplined about her method and did not let outsiders adopt it lightly. I never thought of Montessori (until maybe late in her life) as an evangelist for her methods. It was less… embrace the world, and more do it right or don’t do it at all.
2) This makes a nice transition into the next obstacle. AMS and AMI are operating in the United States. AMS is more of a marketer of Montessori and AMI is more Maria disciple. AMI will not accredit your school unless teachers are AMI trained. They will not recognize AMS trained teachers. So, there is conflict within Montessori. Why these two do not merge is amazing to me (in the world we live in!)
3) Just as Montessori was taking off (maybe heading toward a tipping point), several academics came out and slammed the method. These critiques stuck, big-time, and swayed an entire generation. I think (not sure about this) Maria did not go after the critique directly and instead sheltered the movement even more?
Montessori today is really sheltered with an almost militant (my words) approach to protecting Maria’s original teachings. It’s hard to study something that shares so little information with the outside world.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
