Have you ever wondered why you keep seeing the word Montessori in the signage, brochures & websites of so many preschools? Probably not and this article attempts to provide a simple explanation.
- Marketing/Branding – The Montessori method has become synonymous with quality early education. So adding the word Montessori gives credibility and prestige to the school even though the actual practice does not match.
- Lack of Regulation – since the word Montessori is not trademarked or legally protected in many countries including India, any school can appropriate the word even if they don’t have a clue what it involves.
- Superficial understanding – some schools think that adopting some of the principles of Montessori education equates to the Montessori method :-
- wooden materials
- open and child height shelves
- some amount of freedom
- maybe even a dedicated room (the Montessori Lab) with Montessori materials where children can be sent for brief hands on sessions with the materials
I now move on to explain this thing called “Montessori Lab” in detail.
Why do some traditional/masala/non-Montessori schools have such labs? Here are some of the reasons –
- The school sees the Montessori lab with it’s materials as a value add & selling point to parents. “We have blended the Montessori method into our system” is what they are saying and hoping the parent will be suitably impressed.
- The school feels the Montessori materials in their lab will help their children with motor skills, sensory development & academic foundations even without following the entire method. The school thinks that this limited exposure during a special “Montessori period” will be enough for the children.
Why is this ridiculous?
- Montessori was never about the materials, though it took Madam Montessori years to discard what was not working and to fine tune materials that were having positive results. Though i would like to add that if the teacher is not trained in the Montessori method, the materials will land up being treated like toys and not learning materials.
- The Montessori method is a combination of materials, movement, prepared environment, trained adults, and core principles like freedom within boundaries, observation, individual pace of working, respect and a classroom culture only seen in true Montessori schools.
- A thirty minute Montessori session is not going to achieve any of the above. So selective adoption of the method is not going to cut it.
- The children in these lab schools are switching between freedom to choose and structured work on the one hand & teacher directed learning on the other hand. This can be confusing for them.
- The lab is not part of the child’s developmental journey. It is something for the school to show off to unknowing parents.
- These lab schools & others who simply use the word Montessori don’t have belief in the method – they do this as a marketing gimmick and/or parental demand.
So the next time you are part of a conversation that touches on the Montessori method or maybe something as simple as a parent looking for a preschool for her child, i hope you can use this article to guide you.
Feel free to email your queries/questions to admin@oliviamontessori.com
Love & Respects as always!
