Maria Montessori
18 comments
·February 5, 2025null
Waterluvian
I feel that the Montessori method is a lot like the Ten Commandments. You really don’t need a label or specific books or memberships to cathedrals of education to practice those principles.
I have kids in grade 1 and 2 so I’m getting to experience public school by proxy 30 years later and see what’s changed. I’m delighted to see that they employ a lot of the Montessori philosophy without once feeling the need to label it as such. Not that the label is bad. It’s just unnecessary.
yieldcrv
Sure, I just want a way to find schools using that method
I’m a fan of the sudbury model myself
hulitu
> Scientific studies regarding the Montessori method are mostly positive,
... whatever that means.
Letting children choose their own way is good. It is, however, very difficult in the age of global surveillance, when every toy is only used to collect data about its user.
ericd
The Montessori toys are mostly wood in different shapes...
s17tnet
Families who choose Montessori school for their children usually avoid them have access smartphone, TV or internet in general.
Also, they are often in the wealthy, upper class so can enforce that kind on environment.
sigmonsays
curious why wealth plays into enforcing smart phone usage.
l3x4ur1n
It's hard not to give a smartphone to a kid if you have to work or just can't spend a lot of time with the kid. Kids are demanding of time and attention. So either you have enough time or you pay someone to play with your kid or you have to endure a lot of chaos a kid without a smartphone and a lot of time without attention can do (from screaming and crying to wreaking havoc in your household). Or you give them smartphone and they keep quiet and still and you can do what you need to do.
walthamstow
I'll add another that my sibling posts haven't - wealthy parents are more likely to be aware of the dangers. Doubly so for those working in tech.
protocolture
My sister is out of work 50% of the time, her husband is out of work 90% of the time. Their combined yearly earnings are well under the median wage here.
They have 5 kids + 1 foster.
All have iPads. The eldest kid does double duty as nursemaid and has done since she was 7 or so.
Poverty = Kids iPad for me too. I dunno why. Its cheaper than childcare I guess.
GuardianCaveman
I think low income family parents have to work more, sometimes multiple jobs to pay the bills so the kids end up with more screen time because maybe they have someone else watching them or they're alone depending on the age. If someone else is watching them it's easy to just give the kid a screen and they're not as concerned as the parents about the long term effects.
Also if you're a kid in a low income area where maybe it's not safe to go play outside or you need constant supervision to be safe you don't go out much and therefore screens become the default indoor play. My kids have a big backyard they can go out and ride bikes around and swingset and spaces to dig and play and get dirty in the backyard because I make enough to buy a house like that.
sanswork
Wealthier parents can pay to have more free time to spend on activities with their children to the exclusion of screens.
yieldcrv
It plays into the whole package of keeping children occupied after the au pair has driven them to and from expensive montessori private schools
lotsofpulp
As far as I can tell, “Montessori” is just a mechanism for price discrimination, like “organic”.
We’ve gone out with multiple sets of parents who send their kids to Montessori labeled schools, and they whip out iPhones and iPads to placate at the first sign of trouble.
Not to mention that I can’t figure out what a Montessori school does differently anyway, other than charge a higher tuition, thereby selecting for a group of kids with higher socioeconomic status parents.
cycrutchfield
That’s because Montessori is something that any school or daycare can call themselves, regardless of whether they adhere to the teaching philosophy or not. You need to look at just the set of schools that are AMS or AMI accredited.