Ask HN: Anyone go through Montessori education until age 12 (end of grade 6)?

I need to find out where it was (and how old I was - I would guess 5 or 6), but the situation is that I was not ready (or perhaps not the right type of kid) for Montessori.

I was painfully shy, and I'd avoid attention.

The teachers (there were 2 I believe) must have been happy to ignore me. How else do you spend an entire year not paying attention to a student? Perhaps they were overworked.

I'd spend a lot of time in the bathroom, or ... I'm not even sure what. Playing with something, but generally not learning.

The strong theme of these comments here are how Montessori really allowed some to thrive, but I cannot imagine that - it was very much not my experience. Perhaps that was me, or perhaps it was that particular school. Likely both.

I have a distinct memory of another student (a friend) learning the alphabet. A teacher was spending time with him, letting him draw the letters out. For whatever reason, I wanted to be included in that. Even at that young age, I suspect I knew that something was off. I wanted that attention as well.

I expressed interest in doing what my friend was doing (I'm not sure what - writing out the alphabet perhaps), but was told no. I don't remember why, this was some 30+ years ago now - but I recall that rejection.

I eventually went to public school, but was very nearly held back. I didn't know anything!

My mother interceded and I was allowed to stay in that grade (which is good, I'm still on the older side for my grade - holding me back could have been even more awkward).

She helped me learn what I needed to know at home - I imagine it was quite the effort.

I still wonder why I was put in that position to begin with! You think they would know that I wasn't learning anything, but I'll bet it was easy to hide.

Kids born in the 80's and 90's tended to have parents who were very hands-off it seems (certainly my case, and anecdotally, that seems to the trend of those times). I've asked what was going on before, but answering specifics from decisions from 30 years ago is a tough question for a parent in their 70's now. They were probably struggling with money at the time and had their own worries.

I'm not sure I'll send my kids to Montessori, although I suspect they would thrive where I did not. Parents now a days (me!) are much more involved in their kids lives (for better or worse) and I imagine between internet reviews and us being top of it, my own issue wouldn't be repeated for my kids.

For students who finished high school courses, some teachers were certified by the local college to teach college level courses (all teachers at this school had at least a Master's degree) and there were arrangements to students to the college, or bring faculty from the college to the school, depending on the number of students taking a given class.

Many students when graduating from high school were simultaneously awarded college degrees.

You got this!

Assuming this _wasn't_ the case when you were at Montessori - which goes against one of the core principles of "school is an extension of home". It's understandable, of course (you said it yourself, especially with the 'hands off' nature of that time), but kids generally thrive when education is a life thing, and not a 'school' thing.

> You think they would know that I wasn't learning anything

Teachers in any ecosystem can fail (intentional or not) with specific kids. Perhaps they knew, perhaps they didn't, but again, if school is an extension of home, as a parent it should be very, very easy to pick up on. It's not uncommon in any stream to have parents say "my kid isn't advancing like i thought" or "my kid is struggling with their reading, how are you helping?".

> I was painfully shy, and I'd avoid attention.

This is my son. These days we call the behaviour mostly being "an observer" because at the end of the day that's what he does if he's not engaged with himself, and I hate the term 'shy' as it's generally pretty negative (that's me, too, even as an adult).

Montessori school has been fantastic for him - he's really flourished and his development has well and truely exceeded my expectations (both academically and socially). Being 'shy' hasn't caused his teachers, or 'Montessori' as a framework to fail him this far.

Again - it could be any teacher, any student in any school that fails. I'm sorry your initial environment failed you and I'm happy you saw success elsewhere! My daughter is the polar opposite of my son in every way, and I'm very excited to see her start school.