School Comparison

Choosing the right school for a child is difficult, especially when they are little and have trouble expressing what they like and don't like about a teacher or environment. Alex is such an agreeable child that he does his best to get along with everyone and be happy no matter the situation. It took a horrible experience with his montessori school this fall for us to realize that we needed to pay closer attention to Alex and Izzy's verbal and non-verbal cues in regard to their school setting, babysitters, playdates, etc. We left them in that school too long, hoping things would get better and suffered a very difficult few months following their withdrawal as we tried to make up for the damage done. Although I still support montessori methods in theory, I see how those methods could be used as a blanket to cover for poor teachers. When I found Izzy crying on a bench at her montessori school, and was told that she was crying because she was being forced to sit on the bench and would not be allowed to play with the other children until she put her shoes on by herself (at 21 months), and was told that montessori supports children doing things for themselves, I realized this school had completely misinterpreted Maria Montessori's message.

Last week we visited another school. I had to drag Izzy into the car because when I mentioned "school" she completely melted down, terrified of another bad experience. But, when I finally got both children in the door of this new school, they immediately relaxed. Izzy spent a few minutes apart from everyone as she assessed the situation. Alex jumped right in. By the end, they were totally unconcerned about whether I might leave them there for the day. They were happy. On the ride home, they both said they loved the school and wanted to attend. This was a huge change from the fall, when Izzy cried every day when I dropped her off and every day when I picked her up.

One thing I like about our new school is that the classes are small, no more than about 10 students per class. Additionally, it combines montessori methods with traditional play and teaching. It seems many private schools are adopting this method, of using the best of montessori with other more traditional teacher-centered instruction, to make the environment more comfortable for the children, especially the youngest ones. Although I am a former teacher with an Masters in Education, I am not an expert. I look at education through the eyes of my children now. They are bright, motivated children who crave knowledge. So, we are working as a team this time, evaluating schools (babysitters, friends, etc) together, to make the best decisions we can.