Montessori

[Ria28]

I'm planning to train as a teacher and I'm curious about the Montessori method. I've read the info on the website but I'm interested to know the opinions of people who have taught in or sent their children to Montessori schools, or went to one themselves, particularly where the teachers are fully qualified (as the name isn't protected). Are they as wonderful as they claim to be, or are there downsides?

My children went to 2 different Montessori pre schools. They were both excellent, amazing environment to go and watch. The kids were so involved in what they were doing you could here a pin drop. There was a great feeling of community in both settings and if a child was upset they would be descended on to know why and how can we help. On the academic side my children all came out of pre school into reception being able to read and write, although they never really thought that it was work they were doing just playing. The main downside for us was that our kids were then made to sit and wait to for others to catch up in the first year at school. My DD4 currently goes to a normal pre school as there is no Montessori where we live and she is hard work as she is not challenged there. My other kids get cross with here as she will get more than 1 set of toys out at a time and they themselves say you can tell you've not been to Montessori at her.

In all I am a BIG fan of them, as long as they are true Montessori (have had friends who have been to nurseries who claim to be Montessori but in practice are not really, just a few aspects but not embracing all the practices). I do think that there are not many true Montessori schools in the UK as OFSTED require certain ticks in boxes which makes teaching in the Montessori style very hard, OFSTED inspectors tend to have a heart attack when they see a 3 year old with a big knife cutting up grapes for snack!!

There are very few Montessori schools in the UK. Almost all of them are actually nurseries. Are you talking about teaching at a primary school or a nursery?

Montessori schools are far more common in other countries. And I would do anything to send my DC to one - but they just virtually don't exist here.

(Unlike my home town. Grumble, grumble, grumble)

I've only just started looking into this, but I'm hearing a lot of good things about Montessori so I wanted to check it hasn't been hyped up. I'm also looking at Steiner schools as they seem similar and there are more in the UK, so I was wondering if anyone had experience with both and could compare them?

Steiner is nothing like Montessori.

Could you elaborate Indigo? I still don't know very much about either and the basics looked similar.

I've done some more research, and I don't think I want to teach Steiner after all. Here's hoping there are more Montessori schools about by the time I'm qualified.

If you are on the route to qualifications look at Cherry Trees nursery / Arbor prep school in Suffolk. They are one of the first Montessori schools in the UK to go past pre school and they offer training courses / visits for teachers who want to learn more about Montessori. I know both nurseries we went to spoke highly of them. But there are others out there

DD is at Cherry Trees and it is a very highly recommended Montessori practitioner.

I did a work placement at a Montessori school while I was doing my degree (at the time it was the only Montessori school in Lincolnshire, don't know if that's still the case). I was fascinated by how engaged the children were in everything they did, and how well they could read, even at four years old. I've also never heard a child before or since say that they wished weekends didn't exist, so they could go to school every day!
As someone else has already mentioned, seeing three and four year olds toast, butter and slice the snack time toast for the whole school, on their own, was certainly interesting to watch!
As far as downsides go, in the UK you don't need to have an actual teaching qualification to gain a Montessori teaching qualification- so if you go down that route, you might end up only being able to teach in Montessori schools. This meant that in the school I visited, the most senior teacher's highest non-Montessori qualification was level 3 nursery nursing- the equivalent of A-Levels. While this wouldn't bother some people, it did seem slightly odd to me.
Also, speaking as a teacher who currently has a seven year old in her class who recently transferred from the Montessori school, moving from one system to another can be quite difficult. In Montessori, for example, the younger children usually only ever copy-write- they tell a teacher what they want to write, have it written down for them, then copy it. That's fine if they stay in the Montessori system, as they eventually move away from this method as they get older. But if they suddenly make the switch to a fairly academic state primary, where they're suddenly expected to write entire stories completely independently, it can be quite difficult to cope with.

Just a few observations from my limited experiences!

Hi a very limited experience to offer but i'm an experienced primary teacher and we find that Montessori educated children that have come to mainsteam have been lovely but had massive gaps in what is expected and so struggled to reach expected levels (not because of ability). Depends what you want (nobody loves levels and labelling children but this is the system ATM) If you are serious about teaching then volunteer at a mainstream school and see how you feel - its a tough job market when you've been doing it a couple of years (once you cease to be cheap!)Don't narrow your job oportunities by being selective!

I went to a Montessori nursery as a child, and am now a qualified Montessori teacher.

The one thing I remember distinctly is coming home every day from college and telling DH about my day and what I'd learnt, and him saying, "That's just so LOGICAL".

Basically, if you can find a Montessori nursery that (a) can demonstrate how they implement the philosophy in the setting, and (b) have the actual Montessori equipment, then I think there'll be quite a lot of benefits.

Having said that, now that I'm a mum myself, my DS is in a "mainstream" nursery (mainly because there aren't any Montessoris in my area). However, he is old for his year (Nov baby) and at 3 years old, I can already see him outgrowing the nursery he's in. I think the activities there just aren't challenging (cars/puzzles/ironing boards/you get the picture).

Thankfully, there's a new MOntessori nursery opening near us this year, so I'll definitely be putting him in it when it opens - he just needs the challenge, and it fits well because he can work at his own pace and keep himself focused.

Wow, that was an essay!!

pinkgirlythoughts, just wanted to add some clarification to your points.

An International Diploma in Montessori Pedagogy is the equivalent of NVQ4, and qualifies you to work in ANY private nursery, Montessori or otherwise. This doesn't really limit job opportunities, as there are far fewer state-run nurseries than privately-owned.