NCLB Watch: CHARTERS AND INTEGRITY

When a Charter Bends Too Far

By Margaret Lessenger

Parents of public Montessori students need to take a more active role.

If there had been pressure from more parents for more authentic Montessori it would have made a huge difference in our district.

One perception among parents is that authentic Montessori is not even possible in the public setting due to content standards and testing. They are willing to give up authentic Montessori if it means they do not have to pay private school tuition.

My personal opinion is that you can not obtain authentic Montessori results with children without an authentic Montessori classroom experience. So for me, the trade-off is not worth it. I think there are three major problems to overcome:

. Parents need to know what authentic Montessori is and why it benefits children

. Teachers need the knowledge to apply authentic Montessori in the face of the hue and cry for testing, while meeting the needs of special education students in the public setting and

. Parents and teachers need to trust authentic Montessori methods to work.

To take a more active role, parents need to know more. There need to be more resources for parents on what authentic elementary Montessori looks like. They need more information about Montessori philosophy and how that philosophy looks in the classroom at lower and especially upper elementary levels.

Much of the compromise to Montessori due to NCLB occurs at the upper elementary level because that is where the most focus is for testing. If parents do not know what their child is missing by compromising Montessori, they are not likely to take an active role to maintain integrity. If Montessori is just another curriculum to raise test scores and assure achievement levels, the beauty of the philosophy is lost.

I have only seen highly experienced Montessori teachers successfully walk the line between testing needs and authentic Montessori. There are not enough well-trained and experienced Montessori teachers and administrators. I have had the great opportunity to know some incredible Montessorians with more than 20 years of experience. These Montessorians understand children deeply and have well-honed observation skills. These teachers know how to observe where the child is at and inspire the child to take the necessary next steps in their education.

Teachers coming out of the training centers do not have this depth and these skills. Inexperienced teachers need mentors and leaders. Certification is not enough.

Teachers and parents need to trust the Montessori method. This may take a leap of faith.

The traditional methods promise parents that their children will reach specific achievement levels on a given time-table. This assurance can be very comforting to parents. Montessori methods can not make this promise.

On the other hand, Montessori methods allow a child to willingly work on their areas of weakness and soar in their areas of strength. Montessori methods allow the child to achieve with grace, dignity and a wholesome sense of self and accomplishment.

But with Montessori it is a risk that a child will not achieve a specified level in a given time-frame. It has been my experience, and the experience of other parents, that our children actually achieve more and learn more with Montessori methods because they learn without so many barriers. To reach this point takes a leap of faith that Montessori works.

Margaret Lessenger is a parent living in Golden, CO.