To: What a Waste! wrote on May 11, 2007 8:20 AM:
" I am amazed at some people's ignorance. The "anemic, put-upon taxpayers" do not "fork over" their money for my child's excellent montessori education. That is why I pay tuition. Montessori schools are almost all non-profit organizations that are funded completely by parents' tuition monies. Please check your facts before making ridiculous comments like these in the future. "
To: A public high school staff member wrote on May 11, 2007 8:15 AM:
" My son (now 21) attended a montessori school and finished high school with an academic honors diploma and is consistently on the deans list at his college. My daughter (currently in first grade) is also a montessori student and is reading at a fourth grade level and doing long division. Further, she has excellent study skills as she is (for the most part) in charge of scheduling her own time in order to complete all of her work. She is an amazing student and will continued to be a good student even when she goes to a "regular" school. "
A parent wrote on Mar 2, 2007 4:08 PM:
" I have two sons in the school.
The 12 year old reads college history textbooks and loves Stephen Ambrose. The 1st grader does long division and reads Fox in Sox. I think they'll do just fine in High School and life. Get over the hostility and let people have choices for their kids for goodness sakes! "
AZICIT wrote on Mar 2, 2007 11:09 AM:
" Sounds cult-like to me! "
Re: Past-Resident wrote on Mar 2, 2007 8:49 AM:
" Your point is completely invalid. You are comparing 2 individual children in order to criticize an entire teaching method. Even worse, you are not even sure which method you are criticizing. If you are familiar with early childhood education, you will know that various areas of development are integrated into many activities (such as making soup). Just b/c a school doesn't enforce rote memorization (like many Catholic schools), doesn't mean that it isn't teaching necessary skills such as reading and math. "
To: Past-Resident wrote on Mar 1, 2007 8:11 PM:
" Three-Rivers and Montessori are completely different schools and use different teaching methods. If you are unsure which you are speaking of, try not to judge before you know the facts. Many well accomplished people have attended Montessori schools including the founders of Google, Larry Page and Sergy Binn. To see a few more names go to this web site:
www.michaelolaf.net/google.html "
Re: To: A great system wrote on Mar 1, 2007 4:47 PM:
" I agree with you, people are entitled to their own opinion. However, your opinion should be based on personal experience and research, not on what others may have told you. Having both, I can assure you that the majority of children are not behind, but are typically at or above grade level. "
PS teacher wrote on Mar 1, 2007 4:40 PM:
" As a public school teacher, I have never found the children coming out of Montessori to be less prepared or behind academically and socially. Are there exceptions? Of course, but the percentage is much lower than those coming from a traditional education. This can be attributed to a variety of factors. Montessori is by no means a "fad," in fact, many traditional classrooms have adopted ideas derived from the Montessori method. You do not need to agree with this method, but please do not base your opinion on ignorance. "
agree w/great system wrote on Mar 1, 2007 3:04 PM:
" I don't think you can count anything that's lasted 100 years a "fad". And seriously, if you're going to critize something, do it by using proper english. Since when is "cuz" a word? "
Past-Resident wrote on Mar 1, 2007 2:55 PM:
" We send our daughter to Catholic school in Texas. She is in Kindergarden in a very good school (yes, we do pay for it). Anyway, we are still friends with a family back in LAX with a child the same age as ours. She goes to Three-Rivers or Montessori (not sure which one). WHAT A HUGE DIFFERENCE! Our daughter learns computers, math, reading (yes religion too). Our friend's daugter, although very sweet, is learning about making her favorite soup and loves going to the park for Kindergarden. Great Education ;( "
Why I choose Montessori wrote on Mar 1, 2007 12:55 PM:
" 1. Learning by doing (not an over-emphasis on worksheet, paper-pencil work)
2. accommodates all learners (learning styles and learning levels)
3. Love and logic discipline (children are amazing at solving their own problems with gentle guidance, learn more, and become better problem solvers as adults)
4. Transition to mainstream school is addressed in older grades
5. Children can not do whatever they want - but must complete a personalized work plan each day
Children are not empty boxes to pour information in, but creators of their own meaning. Follow the hand of the child. "
To: A great system wrote on Mar 1, 2007 11:11 AM:
" Uninformed and ignorant if critical of Montessori? That's an ignorant thing to say yourself. People can have their opinion, as you have yours, and no one is calling your ignorant, though there's plenty of room to do so. I've talk to an elementary school principal and teacher FIRST HAND on this subject, and they, too, have said the fifth graders who transfered to public school COULDN'T READ! Maybe your kids did fine cuz they're naturally smart or something, but a majority are way behind. I trust a principal's account of the situation more than yours. "
Choice wrote on Mar 1, 2007 10:54 AM:
" It's about choice. Nobody is forcing kids to go to these schools, as they are Charter schools, and kids only go there if their parents choose to send them there. This is an effective method of education that "traditional" schools have long tried to emulate. Their test scores nationally equal or exceed those of "traditional" schools. While I'm sure you'll hear plenty of anecdotes about Montessori kids who don't make it, the research shows that they do just as well or better than their "traditional" school counterparts, and that the transition to high school is not difficult. "
A great system of education wrote on Mar 1, 2007 10:06 AM:
" All three of our boys are products of the La Crosse Montessori School of the early 1980s that was based at Asbury United Methodist Church near Longfellow Middle School. All three boys did very, very well as they progressed to middle school and high school. They were and are frequently on the honor rolls at their colleges and high schools. As far as being sheltered ot Montessori being a fad, that's a laugh. 100 years of history is
hardly a "fad." And by the way, our boys successfully dealt with a couple bullies in public schools later on -- no problem. The bullies quickly learned not to mess with our boys. If they did, it was at their own peril. Those critical of the Montessori method are simply uninformed and ignorant... "
Great Schools wrote on Mar 1, 2007 9:28 AM:
" There is plenty of research to support the effectiveness of Montessori education. These schools are proven, effective educational institutions with a history of success. Their methods are designed to encourage a child's natural desire to learn and explore, thus turning them into "life-long learners". Since there are plenty of more conventional schools available here in La Crosse, I'm glad parents have this option. I would prefer more of our public schools to adopt their methods. "
reality wrote on Mar 1, 2007 8:57 AM:
" Isn't this just a way of sheltering your child from reality? I don't think kids should be able to just do whatever they want. This sounds like a throwback to the 60's hippie concept of communing. Kids need structure to learn to cope in the real world. Sad, but they need to learn about bullies so they learn to stand up for themselves. They need to learn how to schedule their time. I could understand people in big cities going for this, but not here. "
A public high school staff member wrote on Mar 1, 2007 7:53 AM:
" I have seen first hand, the lack of education received by children in Montessori. I know a few kids who have attempted to go mainstream in a public high school after having spent 7 or more years in the Montessori environment. They are waaaaay behind. They have not learned good study skills, their reading comprehension is very low, as is their math ability. It is very sad. They will now struggle to stay in high school, and getting a diploma is going to be a difficult task because it appears that they have been set up for failure in a regular school setting. "
To Mr. Simmons wrote on Mar 1, 2007 7:27 AM:
" I know that there were Montessori schools in LaX prior to 1998. As this is the anniversary, a history of Mont. in the city would be nice. It's a wonderful method. Thank you! "
What a Waste! wrote on Mar 1, 2007 6:48 AM:
" I can't believe the anemic, put-upon taxpayers continually have to fork over their hard-earned dollars for these educational fads and bad ideas. This is almost as bad as when the School District foolishly sold a school to the non-profit Three Rivers hocus-pocus. As usual, instead of putting something on the tax rolls, they stuck it to the taxpayer again. "
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