Montessori School Advantages

These days, the most challenging task any parent may face is admitting their child to a school. The options are plenty. There are so many schools every nook and corner of a city. It becomes a daunting task for the parents to figure out which is the best school for their child. All the schools have impressive brochures. They have a list of items like, dance, music, fine arts, swimming, yoga & so on apart from academics.

One method which is gaining popularity is the Montessori method of teaching. So, what exactly is this Montessori system? And why should one opt for a Montessori school? From my understanding and observation of this system, I have tried to put forward certain points below.

Advantages of a Montessori school-

1. Montessori schools are gaining popularity, but there are many people who do not really understand what the method is all about. Montessori method of teaching is purely based on what they term as ‘learning using Materials’. The children learn the concepts using the materials specifically designed to teach little children of age groups over 2.5 years. If your child were to learn, for example, 2*2=4 ,he or she would actually be using material like ‘beads’ to arrive at the answer, rather than trying to memorize in the regular way. In my opinion, Montessori method of teaching helps your child in having a solid foundation in understanding things better. It helps in improving the child’s analytical skills, as he or she is learning things practically rather than theoretically.

2. The other big advantage of the method is that the childern are made to sit in a mixed age group. This way they learn to share, care and help one another. The older ones help the younger ones with their ‘work’.

3. Also, a montessori child never feels the burden of going to school. Literally too, they are not burdened since they do not carry any books to school. Their daily worksheets/ books are left in the school.

4. The montessori schools also do not give too many homeworks. For the 1st 3 years of montessori (2.5yrs-6yrs) they do not have homework at all. In the 1st std., they have homework only on weekends and mid term holidays.

5. The other important aspect of a montessori school is that the childern are let to flourish naturally without imposing too many conditions and restrictions on them. The Montessori system ensures that the child gets the basic freedom but in the process also inculcates some amount of discipline. They learn this by taking their own material , putting it back in its place correctly after the work is done, cleaning the place around and so on.

Everything looks so cool in a montessori school that some parents may wonder whether the childern are really learning something or not. As a matter of fact, the montessori kids learn much more than what a regular kid would have learnt at that age. My daughter aged 6 years comes up with some amazing things like ‘you know what an echinoderm means’? I would need to hurry to the computer to check on the internet to figure out what it means, but she tells me the meaning effortlessly. I can also see that she has understood her concepts well.

Tips on identifying a good montessori school -

Before admitting your child to any montessori school, however, its important for the parents to understand whether its a genuine one or not. There are many schools that claim that they employ the montessori method of teaching where as few others claim that they have the best of montessori and regular teaching methods. If you ask me you should either go for a purely montessori school or if you are not convinced about a montessori school, go for a purely regular school. Never send your kid to a school where they claim to employ the best of both worlds.
To identify a good montessori school, check out the material they use and also check if they have the certification from Indian Montessori Center (IMC). Check with parents of kids who are already going there and only then decide to put your child in it. Of the good montessori schools in Bangalore, I can recommend the following -

1. Akshara Montessori school of learning, Ulsoor - Its excellent. I see the results in my child and am more than satisfied. The principal , Mrs. Sophie Shivshankar is doing a great job.

2. Shishugruha montessori, New Thippasandra.

3. Prerana Montessori, Indiranagar. (I have heard about this from a friend)

4. Jnana Sweekar montessori school , Kanakapura road - This is a very new school. Started only last year. What is impressive about this school is that the chairman is ex-chief justice of India, Mr. Venkatachalaiah, who is known for his work on reviving Indian values and morals. In the present world with so many negative influences and negative things happening, it’s better to put your child in a positive environment, I believe. Another important aspect of this school is that they have Maths lab for older kids where the children learn maths using some equipment designed on the lines of the Montessori equipment.

Disadvantages of a Montessori school-

There are couple of common disadvantages of a Montessori school which I have heard from many parents.

1. The Montessori kids do not write well, in the sense, they are slow in writing.  I believe this can be handled by the parents, who should try to make their kids practise writing at home.

2. If put in a regular school, the Montessori kids have difficulty in adjusting. This is obvious because the environment is so different from a Montessori school, its more like a culture shock for them. But kids being kids, get adjusted after the initial hiccups.

Finally before concluding, I would like to say that a child needs to blossom naturally, only then their creativity will come to the fore and they will become the thinking, sensitive individuals of tomorrow. We as parents should try to give them the environment which will bring to the fore these aspects. After all, a positive child will grow up to be a positive individual who will bring about goodness and well-being to the society.

Recommended reading:

Found two good references on mothering.com for Montessori method of teaching. Take a look -

Description of Montessori
What to look for in a Montessori classroom

Related posts:

1. Jnana Sweekar Public School, Kanakapura Road, Bangalore
2. Akshara Montessori in Ulsoor, Bangalore
3. Aura Montessori JP Nagar 7th phase