Montessori

We went in today to a free session at one of the local Montessori schools. They have a session for parents and children to explore the Montessori environment available Monday to Saturday from 09:00 - 11:30 where you can pay for any number of sessions (typically 1 per week) over 10 week terms. It is also an established school offering kindergarten through to year 12.

I had seen a short documentary on the system early last year and thought it seemed a rather interesting approach. (More hands-on similar to how rural kids might have been raised in close-knit communities where their early education focused on things around the house and immediate environment.) Lin had been talking to a friend that was considering Montessori for their children, and we found that two of the larger schools in Australia are found quite close to where we live.

Within about 15 minutes of having a look around the environments Elise face was lit up with all of the activities available, Lin was a little overwhelmed, and I had found what had to be the perfect learning environment.We had looked at child care centres that also offer kindergarten and I was really not in favour of leaving Elise in that environment. The rooms were dark, and not very large for classes of 10 kids. There was an outdoor play area but only usable by children and specified times of the day, and shared by around 100 kids at a time. The environment at the Montessori school is a huge common indoor area and fully covered outdoor area, plus outdoor yards with a garden. Dozens of activities ranging from puzzles, books, crafts, and chores (such as dust pans, brooms, gardening equipment, etc) are arranged neatly on shelves all along the wall. The center of the indoor area is arranged with child-sized tables, chairs, and stools for parents. Children are encouraged to seek out an activity to explore, within a structured environment where they learn to be sure to put things back, and share with one another. They learn skills that are directly applicable at home such as washing up, preparing snacks, tidying up, etc. A teacher is roaming around to provide feedback and suggestions to parents, plus interacting with the children. They emphasise on only teaching through real-world activities, even if most are scaled down to child size, there is no "fantasy" element, so no television, or books with personified animals. Children develop through curiosity and are guided as to the proper performance of a particular task.

This approach extends into schooling where lessons are provided where children are given choices to a wide range of subjects, and taught how each subject will apply to them through life. All children have an opportunity to try any subject, and the method of learning is much more like lecture and development through self-discovery than traditional schooling. For example a teacher may ask a student to answer a question, where if the student knows the correct answer, knows an incorrect answer, or doesn't know the answer makes no difference. When asked, they are taught to answer honestly, and what action is appropriate when they don't know, or don't have the correct knowledge. (Such as to get up, go to the bookshelf or computer, research the answer, and present it to the teacher.) Tests are given primarily to inform students where they should consider improving their knowledge and skills, and their grading is done primarily through assignments and performances.

Basically it is a schooling system based around the structures we adopt in the workplace. In real life it's not a matter of whether or not you know the answer to a question, but a gauge of how you can learn to prepare yourself for an expected task, and complete a task even if you aren't properly prepared. It's quite a different approach to traditional school learning, but definitely something I want to consider for Elise in the future. (There are plenty of questions to ask such as availability to sporting activities, drama/arts, music, etc.)