My ex did, she loved it.
She largely outperformed all her peers later in life.
Ask HN: Anyone go through Montessori education until age 12 (end of grade 6)?
171–180 of 259 posts
Re: Ask HN: Anyone go through Montessori education until age 12 (end of grade 6)?
#172Earlier quoted context omitted.
Are they really not using montessori methods? Or is your critique more along the lines of the bigger driver for montessori outcomes isn't the montessori methods, but the affluence of the families?
That they aren't actually using montessori.
Do you have criteria though?
According to this article [0], it's pretty vague (Montessori isn't trademarked and tough to enforce) and not all schools stick to the "classic" Montessori methods, which, I guess there's a handful of certification bodies (in the US).
To this point,
> Out of more than 4,000 so-called Montessori schools across the country, only 1,250 are affiliated with the American Montessori Society (and only 204 are AMS-accredited) and about 220 are recognized by AMI.
[0] https://hechingerreport.org/will-the-real-montessori-please-...
edits: re-vamped text
Re: Ask HN: Anyone go through Montessori education until age 12 (end of grade 6)?
#173Earlier quoted context omitted.
I sometimes feel like most people would rather drag people down to their level then let them run free.
Especially bad because it's not even gifted kids, it was literally just one class for the kids who wanted to be there with the rest of the classes being for the kids who didnt. Yet people want to act like it's discriminatory to just put effort in. Plenty of bad students in the gifted program, but they were there because the teachers saw them trying.
There was this NPR piece talking about Texas letting anyone graduating top of their high school to get college tuition. It didn’t matter how good the school itself is, compared to other schools.
It turned out that the kids who want to do well within their high school had a better chance of doing well in college, even if they had to take catch-up courses or get peer tutoring.
Re: Ask HN: Anyone go through Montessori education until age 12 (end of grade 6)?
#174I did Montessori from kindergarten until grade 6 (age 12), in Mexico. I really, really like it. I think it reinforces the kids natural curiosity. In middle school, my first year out of Montessori, I was shocked at how little other kids cared about learning. I remember the teacher discussing something about astronomy, and I raised my hand to comment on some fact I had read, and what followed was mockery by my peers an…
Damn, that part about being excited to learn and share knowledge with your peers only to be shouted down dredged up some memories. Most American schools are so regimented that any exploration of knowledge is actually sneered down. How did our communities let it get so bad...
Everything is about standardized tests, american schooos are depressing, and as an european who studied at OSU, but had other friends who went to MIT and Ucla and other famous universities, I think americans immensely overrate the quality and difficulty of american universities.
To us, it was impressive how simple tests and exams were, I saw ridiculous things like professors uploading test exams which contained like 90% of the questions.
To me it was absurd.
Re: Ask HN: Anyone go through Montessori education until age 12 (end of grade 6)?
#175I did Montessori from kindergarten until grade 6 (age 12), in Mexico. I really, really like it. I think it reinforces the kids natural curiosity. In middle school, my first year out of Montessori, I was shocked at how little other kids cared about learning. I remember the teacher discussing something about astronomy, and I raised my hand to comment on some fact I had read, and what followed was mockery by my peers an…
Hard to say how much of this was the difference between public and private school though right? The montessori kids had parents who cared about education enough to pay the tuition.
Montessori is a very different approach. Plenty of Asian tiger moms who care about education, but they don’t necessarily use the Montessori approach, at home or otherwise.
Re: Ask HN: Anyone go through Montessori education until age 12 (end of grade 6)?
#176I attended a Montessori from Kindergarten to 5th grade in the 90's. I loved it. The teachers let me teach an art and drawing class in 2nd grade. Another student taught an algebra class (he's a brilliant cancer researcher now). I co-wrote, illustrated, and sold a comic book with another classmate in 4th grade during class time. It allowed me to complete the curriculum on my own time and held me accountable. Montessori…
> The transition out wasn't that bad. I did 5th grade again (June baby) at a standard private school. The biggest things: - I had never written a formal essay, or an essay outline. - I had never taken nor prepared for a real test
I went to public school. Im pretty sure grade 4/5 is around where tests and formal essay writing started anyways, so that doesn't sound that terrible.
Re: Ask HN: Anyone go through Montessori education until age 12 (end of grade 6)?
#177Earlier quoted context omitted.
I was home schooled all the way through til college - never went to any regular school. I have never regretted that, and never felt that I am missing out on any skills necessary for dealing with functional adults. Indeed I see the painful impacts and lasting damage those experiences had on some of my friends, and I am glad I never had to experience it. Kids are cruel to each other because they do not yet know any bet…
Just want to point out that adults can be just as cruel or even crueler than children with just as little empathy. I don't believe or buy the idea that it just a kid thing. We live in this myth that adults are more mature but interacting with society dispels that myth drastically quick, in my experience.
I think the idea is that everyone has to learn to be a good person. Most kids haven't yet but will eventually. some never will.
Re: Ask HN: Anyone go through Montessori education until age 12 (end of grade 6)?
#178Earlier quoted context omitted.
> - Difficult transition to the cliques and more aggressive social dynamics of public school Am I naive in thinking that the aggressive social dynamics of public school adds no value whatsoever to a child's or teenager's development? Like, _why_ would anyone want to put their children through that? Is it _really_ integral to a person's social development to understand how to interact with bullies (worst case)? I admi…
The reason that's valuable IMO is that once you get into the Real World, you are going to run into these complex social situations and need to be able to navigate them with grace. Especially in the business world.
I dont think anywhere i have worked was anything like my high school.
Except in the most generic sense that there are lots of people and occasionally there are petty disputes.
Re: Ask HN: Anyone go through Montessori education until age 12 (end of grade 6)?
#179I did Montessori from kindergarten until grade 6 (age 12), in Mexico. I really, really like it. I think it reinforces the kids natural curiosity. In middle school, my first year out of Montessori, I was shocked at how little other kids cared about learning. I remember the teacher discussing something about astronomy, and I raised my hand to comment on some fact I had read, and what followed was mockery by my peers an…
You’re probably conflating expensive private school vs. public school here.
Re: Ask HN: Anyone go through Montessori education until age 12 (end of grade 6)?
#180Yes, I went to a Montessori school through 6th grade (now 25 years old). I have mixed feelings about the experience. I agree that it did well to set my up academically. I ended up going to middle/high schools that were relatively average academically, so I was pretty strong in all subjects in comparison to my peers. Ultimately I went to a very prestigious college and now work in a wonderful finance job I love. Howeve…
At least in my country (Romania), the norm in all public schools is to have the same set of ~30 children you'll go to school every day with from grade 0-1 (6-7 years old) to grade 8 (14 years old). Since there are very few to no electives, you'll spend ~all of your time in school with all of these kids every day for 8 years - and virtually everyone in the country has this experience (private schools are very rare). E…
Yeah, i went to public school in canada. It was all the same kids up to grade 8. Each year had basically 2 classes of about 27 kids each.