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Steiner and montessori

5 replies

Bob39 · 23/07/2023 16:12

What are the differences?

OP posts:
TropicalTrama · 23/07/2023 16:21

They have literally nothing common except that the involve education.

Montessori is quite loose but mostly involves self directed learning and being hands on, all pretty mainstream stuff for nurseries these days. Steiner (also known as Waldorf) are a bunch of lunatics, the founder was a white supremacist and there’s been numerous reports of abuse in steiner schools.

Iwasafool · 23/07/2023 16:22

To me Montessori is a style of education, Steiner is a whole philosophy about things like racial superiority and reincarnation.

savoycabbage · 23/07/2023 16:29

We have a Steiner school near us and we had been living abroad and when we came back we went to a school fair with the view that we could look at it as a potential school.

What a mistake that what. I hadn't done any research on it.

Nobody spoke to us at all. I asked some questions and commented on some art etc. Every stall or room we went to fell silent...it was like being in a film.

After about eight minutes my husband mumbled out the corner of his mouth 'they are racists'.

We left.

It's been closed down now for safeguarding.

chofeshacad · 24/07/2023 16:21

Hi, @Bob39, this board is used by working university lecturers. You might like to ask Mumsnet HQ to move it to education.

whereismysleep · 24/07/2023 16:31

Montessori schools vary wildly. The name isn't trademarked so anyone can call themselves Montessori.

However, in my experience (admittedly limited to just 2 Montessori schools local to me) adhering closely to the original Montessori practices isn't necessarily a good thing.

When Montessori was first developed, the idea that play is the work of children was truly revolutionary compared to mainstream ideas about education.

But as a PP says, most of what was good about Montessori's approach has now been incorporated into the Early Years approach anyway.

Settings that aren't strict about sticking to Montessori rules are arguably likely to be better IMO as they're incorporating modern ideas on education with the best bits of a system designed over 100 years ago.

The strict Montessori school I visited was - ironically - overly prescriptive and although they claimed to be letting the children direct their own work, there was subtle manipulation into then doing it in a received and IMO stifling way. I'd expected to love it and I hated it. But that's just one place, visit your local ones and make your own mind up, I would.

Steiner? They're fucking bonkers! I notice that all the adults I know who attended Steiner now have mental health issues.

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