The Montessori Mafia • Hacker News Board

Re: The Montessori Mafia

#41

Post by teej » Wed, Apr 06, 2011, 8:31 PM UTC

kenjackson wrote: post #20

ziadbc wrote: post #4

I really like the idea of Montessori, and if I have the cash I'd like to send my future kids there someday. That being said, I see correlation here, not causation. To be a little bit tongue and cheek, I could write the headline: "99% of successful people do not attend Montessori schools"

The real meat is the 1996 study they mention: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/313/5795/1893.full?ijkey=3... Although they reference the study in a really odd way: "Neuroscience author Jonah Lehrer cites a 2006 study published in Science that ..." What does Jonah Lehrer have to do with the study? AFAICT absolutely nothing. He appears to be a contributor to the WSJ, but he didn't write the study. And none of the link…

You need to go through this link (http://www.montessori-science.org/montessori_science_journal...) and click "see article full text" to get access to the study linked above.

Re: The Montessori Mafia

#42

Post by grinich » Wed, Apr 06, 2011, 8:32 PM UTC

ladon86 wrote: post #11

I went to a Waldorf/Steiner school, which shares some of these traits such as the lack of a focus on assessment and grading and the emphasis on creativity. We weren't taught the alphabet until the age of about 6-7 and basic arithmetic at 7-8. We did begin learning foreign languages at age 6, however. In practice my older brother taught me to read and count well before the Steiner curriculum did, but I still think tha…

    I think that creativity in adults is often stifled because they don't 
    want to "get it wrong". People are afraid of trying their hand at a 
    new skill or taking a risk on a new idea because they are "realistic" 
    about their chances of success.

There is a fantastic TED talk by Sir Ken Robinson on this exact subject. By far one of my favorites.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/ken_robinson_says_schools_...

Re: The Montessori Mafia

#43

Post by hugh3 » Wed, Apr 06, 2011, 8:41 PM UTC

phren0logy wrote: post #9

Is this even correlation? Is there any evidence to suggest that Montessori students are over-represented among the successful? Or are they simply proportionate?

Even if they were disproportionately represented, it wouldn't prove much -- only that parents of smart children are more likely to send them to a Montessori school.

Re: The Montessori Mafia

#44

Post by karolisd » Wed, Apr 06, 2011, 8:41 PM UTC

Are all of the examples male? Do Montessori schools help females too?

Re: The Montessori Mafia

#45

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Apr 06, 2011, 8:42 PM UTC

teej wrote: post #36

gxs wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is exactly right. I suspect that the parents of people who attend Montessori schools are more educated than average to begin with. Go into an inner city Los Angeles elementary, and I guarantee you the great majority of parents wont have even heard of the name. TL;DR: the parents of people who care enough about their education to enroll them in a montessori school, would have probably turned out pretty bright kid…

The article mentions a study that shows the direct influence of a Montessori school. The study was published in Science . You can read it here: http://www.montessori-science.org/montessori_science_journal... (click "see article full text") An excerpt: On several dimensions, children at a public inner city Montessori school had superior outcomes relative to a sample of Montessori applicants who, because of a random lo…

[deleted]

Re: The Montessori Mafia

#46

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Apr 06, 2011, 8:43 PM UTC

[deleted]

Re: The Montessori Mafia

#47

Post by mmcconnell1618 » Wed, Apr 06, 2011, 8:44 PM UTC

Perhaps creative minded people fit in better in Montessori schools and therefore credit the school with love of learning. Where's the proof that the Montessori method created the effect?

Re: The Montessori Mafia

#48

Post by pgbovine » Wed, Apr 06, 2011, 8:44 PM UTC

VladRussian wrote: post #30

what type of people would be developed by combined approach of Montessori and Tiger Mom? :)

wow my head just exploded at the thought of that :)

if you wanna write a blog post speculating on that, i'd gladly post it to HN

Re: The Montessori Mafia

#49

Post by jseliger » Wed, Apr 06, 2011, 8:47 PM UTC

ziadbc wrote: post #4

I really like the idea of Montessori, and if I have the cash I'd like to send my future kids there someday. That being said, I see correlation here, not causation. To be a little bit tongue and cheek, I could write the headline: "99% of successful people do not attend Montessori schools"

The correlation != causation problem was addressed in this comment: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2416781 .

Re: The Montessori Mafia

#50

Post by s3graham » Wed, Apr 06, 2011, 8:53 PM UTC

kloncks wrote: post #8

Fascinating insight. But isn't this a classic case of of correlation, not causation?

Puffy did Montessori and he's doing pretty damn well for himself!

Jay-Z started in the projects and didn't finish high school, and he's doing even better!

Holy crap, I know where I'm sending my kids!