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Why Montessori? A School Visit Checklist |
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If you visit another school, you'll see that some things are different
than they are at GMS. That's because we're a Montessori school. Spend
some time in the classroom and in other places where children are.
What do you observe? |
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| 1. |
Does a child have an opportunity to
choose work that interests him/her? |
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We think the child learns more
when working on interesting materials. |
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| 2. |
Does the teacher act
as a guide, or is the teacher the source of all knowledge? |
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If the teacher is always
"the front of the room," what motivates the child to investigate,
explore, and learn? |
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| 3. |
Do the children have a
regular opportunity to work with children of different ages? |
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Scientific studies have confirmed
that both the oldest and youngest in a multi-age classroom
learn more than in the traditional one-grade room. |
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| 4. |
Is the emphasis on
cognitive structures and social development rather than rote knowledge?
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There is so much to learn, and that is
changing so quickly, that rote memorization is of little use.
The child must learn HOW to learn. |
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| 5. | Does the school encourage internal self-discipline rather than
the teacher acting as primary enforcer of external discipline? |
| The child must develop
the ability to pay attention and stay on task, and that must come from within,
not from a "task master." |
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| 6. |
Are the children
encouraged to teach, collaborate, and help each other
regularly? |
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In the real world, successful
people are those who can work well with others. Yet traditional classrooms
discourage cooperation. They call it "cheating." |
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| 7. |
Can a child work as long
as he/she wants on an interesting challenge without being stopped by a
bell or a "period change"? |
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Who knows when the child has learned
all he is ready for at that moment? He needs large block of time not
interrupted by arbitrary schedules. |
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| 8. |
Is learning its own
reward, not "motivated" by prizes and extrinsic rewards? |
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Prizes and grades breed
competitiveness and discourage cooperation. A child who is really
learning finds a joy that far exceeds any teacher-produced
reward. |
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| 9. |
Are multi-sensory "hands
on" materials in regular use? |
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What's learned from workbooks and
practice sheets is superficially learned if at all. Montessori provides
three-dimensional equipment that gets learning "into the
bones." |
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| 10. |
Can the child choose a
favorite spot to work instead of being restricted to a desk and
seat? |
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Some learning needs plenty of room to
spread out. And if there is more than one learner, even more space is
needed. A schoolroom desk won't work. |
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| 11. |
Are the children
respectful of the teacher and the environment? |
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Is the teacher a learning companion
and guide or some sort of policeman to be avoided and
frustrated? |
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| 12. |
Are the children nice to
each other? |
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Nobody is happy working in a
threatening atmosphere of criticism and sarcasm. Is an emphasis placed
on courtesy and empathy as it is in Montessori schools? |
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| 13. |
Is the environment
organized and attractive? |
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Is the environment "child-proof,"
better for the maintenance staff than for the children? Does the
environment show respect for children? |
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| 14. |
Do the teachers and staff
show respect for the children? |
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How do the adults speak to the
children? Do they give them the amount of freedom they can handle, or
are they always in lines or carrying passes? |
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| 15. |
Are the children
calm? |
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Is the school atmosphere frenzied and
furious? Are the children noisy and blustery? Montessori students have
the self-confidence to be quiet, sociable, and
agreeable. |
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| We think that
if you think about it, you'll agree with us that "yes" to each question
is a good thing. We think at GMS, this check list would get fifteen
"yeses." |
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| How did the
other school do? |
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