Why Montessori?
We know parents have choices when it comes to their children’s education. We know these choices are not easy. Why do so many families choose Montessori?
Montessori education has been successfully serving children and families around the world for over a century. The basics remain - and for good reason. Our methods are consistently backed by current research in education and human development. As we move forward into a new future, we believe Montessori has what it takes to prepare children and allow them to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.
There Are So Many Choices for Education. What Makes Montessori Special?
Conventional methods of education were developed specifically to prepare large numbers of children to enter the workforce. Traditionally, little thought has been given to differentiating instruction or catering to the needs of individual children. Many adults remember sitting at their desks at school, staring at the clock and counting the minutes until school was out, hoping the teacher would not call on them, and studying only the things they feared would be on the test. We tend to accept this experience as universal and inevitable, and yet the experience of boredom and frustration is utterly foreign to the Montessori student.
Montessori schools are specifically designed to allow each child to move at their own pace. We know that learning is not linear, and that children are not ready to learn specific skills according to an adult-prepared timeline, or in perfect harmony with their peers. Kids who need more support with certain skills get that support, and those who are ready to move ahead are able to find the challenges they crave. We do not teach a whole class of children the same skill at the same time; that may seem more efficient from the perspective of an adult tasked with teaching, but it’s not necessarily what serves the children the best. No two people should be expected to grow at the same rate, and it’s our job as educators to meet children where they are and give them the support they need to get where they want to be.
Forest Bluff students experience a daily joy in learning that they never outgrow. They undertake ambitious studies of their own initiative, show immense pride at the completion of a new task or project, and ask eagerly to be quizzed on what they have learned. This love of learning follows them throughout life and leads them to meaningful educational paths and careers.
Montessori Emphasizes More Than Just Academics…
Lots of people use the phrase ‘teaching to the whole child’ but at Forest Bluff School we mean that on a very deep level. Beyond the high academic standards for which Forest Bluff School is known, there is a focus in the classroom on the less quantifiable qualities of mind and spirit that traditional education has forgotten: practical life development, responsibility, courtesy, peace, self-reflection, and kindness. We integrate the arts and movement into everything our children do, rather than isolating these areas of study into a separate class. We intentionally teach children how to navigate and resolve conflict and how to adhere to grace and courtesy social norms.
Maria Montessori saw her educational method as a model for peace in society. She believed that by giving children the honor and respect they deserved, the benefits would trickle through to families, the community, and society in general. She believed in equality of all people, and saw that education has the potential to be a great leveler.
Our greatest task is, we believe, to give children a global view of the world. We want them to understand the interconnectedness of all things so that they may be fully integrated members of their greater community as they grow and mature. The skills of cooperation, leadership, and self-control that students develop in a Montessori environment are the ones that lead to a happy and fulfilling life.
…but the Academics Are a Huge Strength
The above mentioned being said, Montessori academics are often hailed as some of the highest standards there are. It is not uncommon to see four-year-olds in our school reading, six-year-olds completing long division problems, and nine-year-olds classifying botanical specimens. These tasks are completed joyfully, in part because we present information in such a way that children discover it for themselves rather than passively taking in facts given by an adult.
Another reason Montessori students seem to work at an advanced academic level is because of what we call sensitive periods. Through years of observation, Dr. Maria Montessori noticed that young children seemed primed and particularly interested and ready to develop certain skills during very specific time periods. While, of course, there is variation between individual children, she noticed some general patterns that have helped us develop our curriculum. One interesting example is that of the study of geometry. Many of us were first exposed to the subject during our high school years, when it turns out that primary- and elementary-aged children are not only interested in geometry, but have a great capacity to learn far more than we typically give them credit for. This is why you may hear your five-year-old talking about rectangular prisms, or your seven-year-old discussing the differences between isosceles, right, and scalene triangles.
Our School Cultivates Community
A Montessori school is more than just a school. We aim to make meaningful connections between everyone involved. Some of the ways we do this include:
- Giving our teachers opportunities to connect with one another for development
- Encouraging our teachers to form connections within the larger Montessori network
- Making sure parents and teachers have ample time to discuss the child’s growth and needs
- Providing opportunities for parents to form relationships with one another
- Supporting families via parent education offerings
- Gathering as a whole school periodically
- Forming bonds between children at different levels
- Reaching out to make connections with the local community
"For the past eight years, Forest Bluff School has been the third parent in our family, shepherding us on this journey and reminding us all along of what is important. We are so grateful to have found a school that prioritizes the developmental needs of our children, rather than the latest educational fad."