Public vs. Montessori – The Tween & Teen Years
As Montessori Teachers, we are asked about how is Secondary & Upper Campus from Public or Private School College Readiness Programs, what will make my student be successful and why Montessori?
We are going to start sharing information from both a teacher and a parent point of view. We hope to help parents, teachers and anyone who is reading our posts understand why our jobs are so awesome and hard at the same time.
Our first topic is something that is a huge part of Upper Campus:
Accountability, Choices, and Confidence
Telling a student what they need to do vs. at our age giving them clear guidelines, expectations, and goals for work with chances to redo until they master is, it not as easy as it sounds. Our goal is to build our students confidence through “Problem Solving Skills,” choices and redo! We want to have confident students who graduate knowing that if they make a mistake they and fix it, or roll with what life may bring them by understanding their part so next time they will not make that choice. That is a huge life lesson that Montessori builds in naturally and it is amazing to see it unfold in a child who has attended for many years.
Accounting for Accountability
We get asked the difference in grades vs. accountability
In traditional schools, the teacher is the one accountable for covering the curriculum. If the children fall behind or are ready to move forward faster, there isn’t a whole lot the teacher can do about it. He or she is responsible for covering a certain amount of information within a specified period of time.
In a Montessori school, the child is accountable for her own learning and grades in Upper Campus. Children are taught how to track their own progress every day, weekly and monthly. The child participates in creating her own learning path. Children are involved in choosing their own individual and group projects beginning in first grade all the way to Upper Campus. The child learns self-motivation and accountability from a very young age.
Where do you get your Confidence?
Differences between traditional and Montessori education is we build the confidence by letting them make the choice and helping them correct it if needed.
In traditional classrooms, it is assumed that the child needs external motivation and praise in order to learn. The teacher uses rewards and punishments. Self-confidence comes from external sources. Also how our choices define us.
In the Montessori classroom, the child works to satisfy accomplishment and learning the freedom of choice. The child’s natural learning pace is honored, allowing the child to be successful at every lesson. In Upper Campus choices are built in and learning from choices is key in Secondary and Upper Campus Montessori. How to redo to be successful? How to react? How to handle deadlines, teamwork and other social issues are all built into the work cycle planning. The child gains genuine inner confidence through their own achievements and learns the power that choices make in their life early on.
