Future Teacher & Current Student in Edu100: Montessori Schools

One of the types of schools that I find particularly interesting is Montessori schools. I never went to one myself, and I only know one person who has attended one. These schools are alternatives to the public or private schools commonly found everywhere, they are harder to find. The teachiong methods vary from those of public or private schools, but seem to be just as successful.

Maria Montessori was the founder of these schools in 1907. The first school was in Italy and known as the "Children's House." It wasn't until later that the name was changed to Montessori. Maria studied how children learned and developed and this was ho w she came up with her teaching methods and ideas to be used in her schools. The main idea behind Montessori schools is that children teach themselves. They do this by taking in and absorbing their surroundings. There is the idea of children having a self-creating process, so through Montessori schools they create and choose who they are.

These schools began to spread from Maria Montessori's homeland of Itlay, to the United States. In 1913 Alexander Graham Bell and his wife opened the first Montessori school in the US in Washington D.C. Maria came over to the US and began to teach people how to be teachers in a Montessori setting. And shortly after this sort of schooling became more and more popular.

Although the teaching of Montessori schools may be very different from others, they seem to do the same job. Montessori schools look more at building children's confidence, self-esteem, and respect for those around them, rather than drilling them with book material. Montessori schools teach through things like stories, timelines, things from nature, charts, and other conventional materials to teach rather than text books. The classrooms are also multiaged too. People can attended from preschool to high school, just as public schools do.

These type of schools are interesting to me since I have never been a part of one. I think it's neat that the teachers aren't following a strict curriculum when they teach, they get to use things other than books. I also like that the ages are mixed. Even though people my be on different learning levels, I think it would be interesting to have a diverse group. I have a cousin who is 4 years old and she is attending a Montessori school. So far she absolutely loves it and I can't wait to see how this type of school effects her as she gets older.