Yeah, those were all great shows…
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my last 2 schoolyears were montessori. I dont agree with everything they propose, but this 2 years were the best and fruitful schoolyears Ive ever had.
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I did. wasnt pretty.
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It’s difficult to reach similar genetic profiles when your target population keeps dangerously in-breeding. You have to make a real judgement call there.
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Aww, this almost gets me feeling sorry for Bill Gates. As an engineer, with a cheap, knockoff version of empathy that is never reliable, I can understand his urge to fix things. He didn’t wade in himsilf: he got people to advise him. He wanted metrics, and those showed what he was doing was not working, so he called it off. He didn’t ruin the spelling of a generation of children on an ideology, as teaching phonics has done in the UK. And he ends up the baddy in this piece.
I am not saying BG is a misunderstood genius. If he sees further than mortals such as I, it is because he is standing on a huge pile of money. I am sure in his place I might have tried something similar, and fallen into the same traps. We need gifted teachers, but we cannot define what makes them, and we certainly cannot make them to order. At which point, I find myself saying 'Aahh, people: there’s your problem."
At least some engineers try to improve things when they have some spare money. That’s better than some rich people we could mention.
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It might not be for everyone, but they deal with learning differences well, and every single kid I know in my daughter’s school love to be there and are smart, well adjusted kids who know themselves well.
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And so practical! We learned how to iron clothes in Kindergarten! (At least we did in the 70s)
Seriously, I’m not 100% sold on Montessori past grade 5, but as a product of it through grade 4 I can confirm that it worked well.
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Well, one of the things they do in the HS is run a business. They have to go to the bank (the teacher drives them, of course), do prep work, shopping (with teacher, of course), and deal with the pizza provider for it. They also have to plan their spring trip from beginning to end (including financially).
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I have no personal experience with Montessori schools as such, but the ones here are a buzzing hive of antivaccine activism, which colors my opinion in a not-so-good way.
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I’m not surprised… as they are probably private schools? I don’t think Dr. Montessori would approve, as it goes against her evidence based approach to education.
Also, the montessori term isn’t copyrighted/trademarked so anyone can use it.
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It worked until grade 6 for some kids I knew, but there’s a reason you don’t see it extending into middle school.
I was in a Montessori for a couple of years in elementary school. The one I was at attracted particularly excellent teachers, whose names I still remember to this day. The invitation to self-directed and project-based learning was just what I needed at the time.
That might have more to do with the communities around you rather than the private schools that serve them. Anti-vaxxers will usually flee the public schools that require vaccinations for private or home schooling and, as @Mindysan33 points out, anyone can slap that name on their school (which is a real brand control problem).
If “The Dumbening” had arrived decades earlier, I could see some of the crunchy and affluent parents at my Montessori falling into the anti-vaxx camp. However, the principal was a risk-averse type who I’m sure placed avoiding liability before bending to the demands of loony-toons parents.
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Yeah, at my daughter’s school, we do have to bring in their vaccination records each year.
Works well with our middle and high schoolers, but at this point, the people who it was not working well for have left. It’s self-selected. All I can say is that my daughter is a self-starter, is well-balanced in the work she does, takes the initiative in most things, and deals okay with having to do things like public presentations despite having a real aversion to it.
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I did not know that. I will keep that in mind in future. The kids I see who go there seem to get an excellent education, just wish I could say the same for their parents!
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Interesting. I don’t hear much about Montessori at 7-12 grades, but am glad it’s working for your kids. Not sure if it would have worked for me, but I found a happy medium for myself at the middle and high school I chose.
As I recall, a Montessori school can get accreditation from the American Montessori Society to demonstrate that it follows the paedogogy, but that’s about it. Administration and willingness to humour dangerous parents aren’t covered by the stamp of approval, and I’m sure some Montessori schools do without that as well.
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Yeah, it’s not going to be for everyone, but I love her school. She’s done well there. They are a tight knit group of weirdos!
Yes, that’s the case.
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I would prefer Dartington Hall for all, but I’ll meet half way with Montessori schools.
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you bet. That was when I felt save for the first time in school ever because everybody was a weirdo as myself. 
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I went to a geek factory middle and high school. It was wonderful.
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Can’t we have a little bit of Hogwarts, or Starfleet Academy?
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