Montessori education is different from ordinary schools. We’re interested in helping children learn and grow, not teaching them how to fill in circles on a Scantron sheet. We want to encourage a lifelong desire to learn in our students. We don’t want them to memorize random facts, regurgitate them for a standardized test, and promptly forget them as they study the next chapter. We know that children grow into adults, and we want them to be useful adults, capable of independent thought, capable of caring, capable — and willing — to make the world a better place than they found it.
What is a Montessori School Instructor?
A Montessori instructor is the guide on the side, not the sage on the stage. “The social and natural sciences in Montessori elementary are presented with a specific goal in mind: to set each child out on a lifelong search for meaning.” Montessori educators believe meaning is essential, that students can and must seek out the meaning of life and the connections between us and the universe.
What is a Montessori School Curriculum?
Montessori education combines many subjects together. Math, language arts, social studies, etc., are not divided into discrete chunks that start and end with the ringing of a bell. As the students explore science, they read, they write and draw what they have learned, they make graphs, they do calculations, and they find connections to other subjects.
Montessori education emphasizes structured freedom. The students have tasks to complete, but how they go about those tasks are their choice. Teachers facilitate but do not lecture. Teachers and students work together to draw up work plans and contracts so students can chart their own path across the curriculum, and José’s path may be completely different from Mary Lou’s path, which coincides only briefly with Tyrone’s path. Each child is an individual; Montessori education not only acknowledges that, but celebrates that fact. At Brooksfield School, we don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all lesson plan.
What is a Montessori School Cohort?
One of the long-standing tenets of Montessori education is mixed age groups. Children don’t all mature at the same speed. One 6-year-old may be reading third-grade books while another is still trying to suss out the alphabet. One child may be able to do more complex mathematical equations than another child the same age. At Brooksfield, students from ages 3 to 6 attend the lower school, while students ages 6 to 10 are in the upper school. The older students help and inspire the younger ones. And sometimes, the younger students help the older ones. The students work cooperatively. They do not compete against each other for grades.
What are Montessori Values?
Values-based learning is critical to Montessori education. What values do we espouse? Respect for work and the dignity of honest labor. Respect for other people’s feelings. Respect for your own feelings. Taking care of yourself. Taking care of the environment. Learning and acknowledging that we are all part of the universe. Instead of the three traditional three Rs of reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmetic, we offer respect, responsibility, and regard. We teach reading, writing, and arithmetic, of course, but we also teach finding value in one’s life. As a result of our methods, we find we are able to teach subjects such as history, archaeology, geology, geography, chemistry, biology, astronomy and conflict resolution younger and in greater depth than at traditional schools.
Brooksfield School has been teaching children for 25 years. During that time, we’ve combined traditional Montessori techniques with art education and other programs to develop intelligent, curious, creative young minds. One of the things we emphasize is mindfulness, which incorporates stress relieving techniques such as meditation. Our students are then able to apply this to such things as staying calm at the doctor’s office when getting inoculations. We also have them applying what they’ve learned about health and nutrition while shopping at the grocery store with their parents.
Contact Brookfield School if you want the best possible education for your youngster.
