montessori method of learning - Page 1

Hi all,

I am a new branch in parentree. i would like to know how far is the new montessori method helping children in their overall development and in what way it is superior to kindergarten and if that is the case why should the schools not think of making montessori the main course syllabus. with not much experience on this i request our parentree friends to provide their inputs.may be that  would guide us into putting our kids in the right school.

Hi Gvinod,

Here's a link that might be useful in explaining the Montessori philosophy - http://indianmontessoricentre.org/tsep.0942/philosophy/overview.php

In fact many schools today are adopting the Montessori method and Reggio emelia methods. Abacus, Navdisha, A School, Kids Central, Sharanalaya etc draw from these methods.

Hope this helps.

Uma

Hello

Montessori as a method has been adapted by the schools mentioned by Uma. I dont know about other schools but Abacus where my daughter studies follows the pure montessori system of eduction till class 6. The key featrues include mixed age environement, focus on use of learning material with individual and group activities. For the younger children the method encourages use of sensorial material which would help the child to develop and get in touch with his/ her senses. Classrooms are very child friendly with cupboards that are within easy reach of the child. A montessori classrooms resembels a home with a reading corner, activity corner. There are no furniture. The child uses a mat and a small chowki when s/he is working. Each class room has about 30 children and two teachers. The classrooms are called environment and the child stays in the same environment for about 3 years . There is a lot of peer based learning and transfer of concepts to younger children by older ones which helps in development of concepts clarity. The child learns to be independent and the method teaches self discipline. It is very process oreinted.

YOu have to be very patient when you put your child in montessori. There are parents who feel that the child has to be taught. In montessori the child learns- nothing is taught though concepts presentations are made using montessori learning material to each child. But you will see the results as the child moves along. Each child learns at his/her own pace. But the school will alert you if there is some serious delay in meeting learning milestones. My daugther was not introduced to alphabets and writing until she was in Preprimary 2 ( UKG). People used to tell me that she was not learning anything. But I knew better. Today in class 7 she reads children's classics and other well known authours and also writes for an e magazine!! So I would say that montessori grounds a child for long term goals in educaiton.

Each one of us have our own ideas about what constitutes the best learning method for our child. So I would advise you to meet montessori experts to understand it better and see if it meets what you have in mind for your child. If you are going in for a montessori education the please ensure that you choose the right school. There are many schools masquerading as montessori. YOu should check their antecedents and ascertain that they indeed follow the montessori method and that their teachers are montessori trained.

I hope this helps.

Meera

In addition to the schools mentioned, check Akshara Montessori School.

http://www.aksharamontessori.in

To get admission form here, Principal insists you observe a class for 15-30 mts, before making up one's mind about Montessori.

My son did his KG classes here and am unfortunately having to move him out of this school as higher classes are in Yelahanka, too far from where I stay.

SB

Hi,

Here are some articles which talk about selection criteria for preschools and also throw light on popular preschool philosophies in India like the Montessori method etc.

Happy researching!

//There are many schools masquerading as montessori. YOu should check their antecedents and ascertain that they indeed follow the montessori method and that their teachers are montessori trained.//

-- thats a perfect statement Meera...I believe one has to be very careful while choosing the school esp if you want to go by montessori method teaching..!

Better not go by names and advertisement. Proper research and lot of groundwork is needed to choose the right school !

Good Luck !

I agree with Meera & Jaya on that point - lots of schools are now using 'Montessori' as a fancy catchword but don't actually practice it. Firstly you have to know if they have instructurs/ guides who are 'Montessori trained'. Many are not. And it makes all the difference! You can't follow Montessori method by having one trained person in the Management and untrained staff at the ground level. These are some bitter facts that I have come across in my experience...still learning.

I've also heard good feedback about Abacus. And if Meera's kid is studying there, then it is another good reference.

hi,

Montessori as everyone knows helps develop children in a natural way laying strong foundations.But the bitter part of it is that it cannot be followed for the entire mid school or high school.Why should we confuse our children to follow montessori method till grade 6 and then go to a brand new matriculation or CBSE or ICSE syllabus?

HI

Glad to see so much interest in Montesorri. To answer Sripriya's question about why we need to follow it only till class 6 and then switch to ICSE or CBSE is that montessori is essentially for young children. Recent innovations have adapted it till class 6 ( till age 11 or so). For children who are older nearing teenage the pedagogy has to be adapted for the learning requirement for that age- ICSE and CBSE syllabus are pretty good. The NCERT guidelines if implemented correctly would make a good transition from montessori to secondary education. Problem is that most CBSE schools dont follow that.

ICSE board on the other hand I presume is a little stricter in enforcement of guidelines and open to pedagogical experimentation as a result of which a lot of  l innovations continue from classes 6 upwards till 10th and beyond. in some of the ICSE schools 

Most of the guidelines whether CBSE or the ICSE have been conceived by experts but they need the right context for them to show their best results. While NCERT does not allow for class sizes over 35, I know many CBSE schools in Chennai that have class sizes over 50. Projects are an integral part of both these streams but is the manner in which teachers guide students to do these projects that makes all the difference.

the method of testing is also another way to ensure concepts clarity. I dont know about CBSE and Matriculation in this regard but the ICSE syllabus does stress on that.- one cannot clear exams in an ICSE schools through memorising the lessons. I guess CBSE also encourages analytical thinking but it is the way in which the school understands and interprets the syllabus.

It is great discussing this with all of you.

Regards

Meera

Thanks Meera, that was a good note. To reiterate Meera's point, I think we should not really confuse the Board with the Method / Philosophy of sharing knowledge. ICSE, CBSE etc are boards that follow a certain syllabus and policies while Montessori system is a way of imparting this. For instance, the syllabus might say taht the child should know different parts of the plant by a certain age, the difference is in the way you impart this knowledge to the child.  You could force the child to memorise or you could induce curiosity in the child to explore and find out while you guide (I'm taking two extemes here for the sake of making the difference apparent). That's what makes the difference.

Moreover, by following this method till age 11/ 12, the child naturally gains analytical capabilities and can adapt to situations quite naturally. So, the 'transition difficulty' is a misconception - that's what some mothers who have experienced this tell me.

Meera can probaby clarify.

wow!! it sure is a very informative discussion..i thought i would just butt in !!

i have recently finished a 9-month course in montessori methods..it was a very useful tool i acquired, not just professionally, but also at a personal level..it helped me understand how children learn from everyday experiences and how to make each everyday experience a learning one!

thanks everyone for throwing light on the topic..just wanted to add a word of caution here..a lot of preschools advertise themselves as'international' and/or 'montessori' to get that attention..i have been to few of them..its shocking that they dont even fulfill norms of a regular decent school..one such school is 'brightkids' in arekere. it claims to be a montessori international school but is not registered on the indian montessori website..the montessori centre head warns to be careful of such schools and better check the website instead of going by the name.

Thank you Meera and Uma for throwing more light on the importance of montessori method of education.I am interested in pursuing a montessori course(3-6 years age group),please let me know about good montessori institutes offering such courses.Is it advisable to go for an online or postal course?Aanchal,can u pls let me know about the details of the montessori course.

Hi Sripriya, I think there is the Indian Montessori centre somewhere on Greenways road. YOu can  look at that- u can get the address from the net. I also think the Navadisha Montessori school at  Velachery conducts courses affiliated to Association Montessori Internationale- again, I dont have the address. But you can check it on line.

Hope this helps.

Regards

Meera

hi,

http://indianmontessoricentre.org/tsep.0942/imtc_intro.php - this has course details. They also seem to have online training.

hi sripriya,

the online training is for 9 months.it has 9 modules.each module has few lessons and erach lesson has 1-2 assignments. you have to finish one module every month. plus, after every 3 modules there is a test. finally in the end there is final exam.  you dont have to go anywhere for anything.

the main office of montessori allied services is at mg road. you can call up mr shridhar at 9886788041 to get u application forms.

best wishes

Hi Sripriya,

I have heard that the 12months course seems to be more in demand if you're planning on a career in montessori teaching.

I believe a course is starting in September.

Website: www.cmtcindia.org

Thanks all.I shall chk in all those websites.But when it comes to pursuing a career as montessori teacher or starting my own preschool(a combination of montessori and kindergarten)i wanna know if online montessori courses are considered by employers?

sripriya,u can join a montessori school as a teacher if u have done the classroom course or an online course plus a 2-weeks practical training. to start a montessori school, u need to get the franchise. to be the director of the school, u need to do the director training course. criteria for each is different

the information i have is 1 month old. i was told these things when a representative came to my house for my lifetime membership at montessori allied services. they are starting few new courses and changing few systems. its better u check out the website and call them personally.

Hi Sripriya

Montessori training is considered essential if you want to teach in a school that follows the montessori syllabus. Infact schools like Abacus insist on it and many of their techers also go for refresher courses.

About starting a pre school - I really dont know. My advise to you would be not to mix the mainstream kindergarten and the montessori method- you wont be doing justice to either. I dont know of any franchisee group for montessori alone.

REgards

Meera

Hi, If you are looking at Career Prospects, do consider a full time AMI Montessori Diploma. It may be a little expensive though! But the course is intensive and demands a lot of involvement through out the course tenure.

If you are looking at understanding Montessori learning methods, philosophy and practice, consider an Online Diploma from CERDS. It's a flexible 6 months course followed by a workshop for Practicals. You volunteer yourself as a teacher in any of the Montessori Schools for hands on learning and experience.

Navadisha Montessori Institute offers AMI Certificate and Diploma courses in Chennai.

Cheers.

Hi gvinod,

No offence meant. But learning, per se in life, has never been confined to 'Syllabus'. Syllabus or Boards Mattern when considering certain qualifying competitive exams in India and Abroad.

Montessori is an activity based learning methodology. The so called various boards are more book based ones! Though in the recent years we have seen changes of outlook and practice in the various Board based Curriculum Schools.

Children do adapt really well when relocating to a Curriculum based Board Schools. India doesn't have many Montessori Elementary(6-12) or Montessori Adolescent(12-18)Schools! It would be great if our city gets a good, pure Montessori Elementary and Adolescent School.

I have seen the Corporation of Chennai implementing the Montessori methodology for the Children in the age group of 3-6. Various Corporation Teachers are trained on the same. More Schools are switching to Montessori Methodology for their Primary Sections. The day is not too far to see Schools adopting Montessori and Acitivity based learning in their higher primary and highschools.

Do visit www.michaelolaf.net and www.michaelolaf.com for more details about Montessori methodology and Montessori homeschooling.

Thanks all.

Coming to the point of merging montessori and kindergarten philosophies,i feel a pure montessorian philosophy will not hold good in the Indian scenario.In our country montessori is more practiced at the primary level than at the elementary level.

My question is what is the case of all those children who pass out of a montessori primary school.Not all find places in the mont elementary as there r pretty few.If at all there r schools,they r quite expensive that a common middle class can afford.

After an years research,i am of the opinion that it would be a better approach to merge certain teaching methods.

MONTESSORI Activity based learning,independence,moving from the concrete to the abstract, and the like.

KINDERGARTEN More chances for a child to work in groups,a real component of creativity,fantasy,early writing skills(a pity thing yet a mandate when a child enters  traditional primary schools) which montessori lacks.

REGGIO EMILIA What impressed me is the emergent curriculum and inviting parents as partners in educating the child.

I solicit all inputs in amalgamating the above discussed teaching methods.

Regards,

Sripriya

I would like to know which playschool can i choose for my son who is 11 months in Miyapur,Hyderabad? I am looking fwd to put him him only frm Jun'2010 Pl gimme your valuable suggestions.

Hi Geetha,

Hyderabad has got lot of good Montessori and Waldorf Schools! Think in the entire south, Hyderabad has the most number of Waldorf Schools! I suggest you google and visit the Schools. By June 2010, you've got all the time!

I had visited almost all the Schools in my city for my daughter! Say, close to 25! We were even keen on relocating just for her School. Try this link http://www.montessorihyderabad.org/schoollist.htm

All the best!

Hi Uma,

Thanks a lot for ur reply. As i mentioned earlier in my mail the place i am looking for is Miyapur which is 10 kms from hitechcity. The links you have send me are atleast 20kms from my place.I am not interseted in sending in my kid far as he is too young for the same.If come across somthing lemme know.

Cheers.

hi guys,

i work at Cap Gemini in Hyderabad and my child is 2.7 year old and i have heard that in montessori they take children only upto 3 year old. and i have checked this montessori school called blue blocks in gachibowli. i wanted to know if anybody has any idea about the school. the website address is www.BlueBlocks.in i have heard mr.pavan goyal during a parenting session and that was very interesting. so can anybody let me know if this is a proer montessori school by looking at their wesite or through any information which you have.

 hi meera,

thankx for ur informations about montessori method.my daughter who is 2y5m old she is going to montessori school.As u told i want to make her to continue in this method for some more years.Do u know any good schools with montessori method of teaching and later continue to CBSE/ICSE syllabus in bangalore near sarjapur road.

Thankx,

Thivya.

Hi Meera,

I have applied with ABACUS for my son(he is apr 2007 born) for June 2010. I was told that they will intimate about further discussion during Feb2010.

It would be great if you could throw some light on selection criteria, parents-principal discussion, how tough to get admission, usually how many applicants are there per environment (basically it would help me to know the ratio of applied : selected)

Thanks in advance...

Regards,

Hi Meera,

Happy New Year....

I have applied with ABACUS for my son(he is apr 2007 born) for June 2010. I was told that they will intimate about further discussion during Feb2010.

It would be great if you could throw some light on selection criteria, parents-principal discussion, how tough to get admission, usually how many applicants are there per environment (basically it would help me to know the ratio of applied : selected)

Thanks in advance...

Regards,

Hi Everyone,

Can you please inform about admission process for ABACUS Montessori School?

When do they start the process for June2010 admission?

What is the selection criteria?

How difficult is it to get admission there as very limited seats?

Thanks is advance....

Regards

hello Shakima - could you talk about your experience with Akshara Ulsoor branch. I want to put by 2.5 yr old there and I liked my interaction with their principal this morning. Would love to hear more from you.