Dag 9 (14 feb): Montessori

Today we got a bit of theory on Montessori education. I’m not exaggerating when I say that I think there are some lacks in the Montessori system. The idea of given children freedom to learn how to make decisions and to take responsibility is a good one, but I’m afraid that this system doesn’t always work: only some children have benefits from the Montessori system. One of the problems I have with Montessori is this freedom. I think that children who are that free, don’t really know what they want and I also think that not every child will get the aims of the curricula.
Also the way in which the children are tested (they aren’t really tested, they are observed) makes me frown. When a child is working on a series of exercises to get a grip on some new theory, it’s normal that it goes fluently after a while. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the child knows what he/she has to do after 4 weeks. When I think of my English lessons, some pupils don’t even remember words they’ve seen the day before.
Another result of this ‘testing’ in Montessori, is that (I think) the children aren’t prepared enough for big parts of subject matter. They aren’t really used to learning this, and especially in this amount.
The thing I did like about Montessori was the way in which classes are divided. It’s similar to Jenaplan education (which I prefer more). I also like the idea that children should learn how to make decisions and how to take responsibility for these decisions and for their actions.

When I gave some of my interpretations of this system, the teacher always said that I thought that way because I teach older children and that I’m not right. I think she is ignoring the negative aspects of the system and this is not very good for a teacher. She did say that some Montessori schools are better than others, but still I think that when you teach, you have to be impartial and realistic. In Belgium we see, reflect on and admit the faults and lacks in our educational systems. In this way, we can try to fix them.
Off course I realize that it’s impossible for every educational system or theory to be perfect for every child. It would be a miracle if something like that existed. I think the teacher should realize this too.

In the afternoon we had a second drama lesson. We worked with music and it was really nice to do.