by "AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion)
Published 12/29/2017 at 23:22
by "AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion)
Published 12/29/2017 at 23:22
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STARS: 3
Cleaning the unholy mess left behind by a first grade class required every trick I know. Also, a quick review of a very nice private school. It’s a shame public schools couldn’t be more like this.
Let me just apologize for the semi-coherant “writing” below. I’ve got the flu, and kinja ate about half of this not once but twice, so it’s a bit... Well. Disjointed. To say the least. Anyways, enjoy! And please comment/argue/praise below, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the topic!
I got a contract with a Montessori School a few years ago, and after seeing the entire property and talking to staff multiple times... I’m now a firm believer in this style of teaching. Full disclosure: for various reasons that I won’t get into here, I’ve worked closely with dozens of schools in multiple districts, and a few hundred teachers, from elementary up to high school level, and those numbers continue to rise. So I’m about as entrenched in the public schools as one can be without teaching, and know a fair bit about most aspects of the educational system.
Okay, back to the Montessori! The guy in charge is incredibly passionate about what he does, which is to teach based on each individual students requirements, while focusing on sustainability, world cultures, and skills needed to be a genuinely happy and successful person. If this is sounding a bit too hippie for you, you’ll be happy to know that the STEM programs here are absolutely incredible, with these young children having the opportunity to work with materials that aren’t even commonly available at a high school level. It’s amazing how great of a teaching environment you can make when your entire staff from administration to the teaching body works as a unified team. (basically limitless funding doesn’t hurt either, I’m convinced that parents would flock to the school no matter the price of admission). I’m not sure what age students they take, but I think it’s in the 3-12 year old range, spread out over 7 classrooms across 3 buildings.
Here’s a quick summation of the teaching methods used by Montessori schools
First thing you’ll see walking up is the animals. Animals everywhere. Dozens of rabbits, equally numerous turtles, a few tortoises, five goats, a few ducks, geese, lizards, snakes, hamsters, various other rodents, and a wildlife area with a wide assortment of local critters. I was told that land is being set up for horses in the near future, after being voted in by the current students (animals rotate in and out, based on what the students are interested in).
Next, you notice the playgrounds (multiple) that are all woven into the woods, in the form of tree houses with walkways, bridges, ropes, and tons of other handcrafted jungle gym equipment. While I was there, one of the two resident handymen was hard at work building a calisthenics bar setup (awesome!) and the other guy was setting up a permanent canvas cover over one entire playground area so the kid with sun allergies could still go out and play with everyone. This oobviously isn’t a knock against the people working in the public school system but... Seeing the lengths this particular private school was willing to go to help out each kid on an individual level was absolutely beautiful.
Gardening is huge, with each student getting their own fruit trees and vegetable gardens to take care of. Neat. Cooking will be added with the next building.
Kinja ate the last three paragraphs because fuckin’ Kinja... So I’ll just leave you with this photodump. Oh, and all students have tools! Real tools! Soldering irons, Woodburning gear, screwdrivers, wrenches, nuts, bolts.... With which they build the chairs they sit on, numerous musical instruments, and basically whatever their heart desires. With such an abnormal (but so, so wonderful) learning experience, I wonder how these kids do when they graduate and go on to middle school. This particular Montessori seems to get new awards daily, so I would have to imagine the children aren’t falling behind
"gettingoldercarguy" (gettingoldercarguy)
12/29/2017 at 23:35, STARS: 7
Fuck this, an educated population is the biggest threat to my autocratic goals.
"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion)
12/29/2017 at 23:40, STARS: 2
You raise a good point. On the plus side, this particular slice of the population will already know how to harvest crops, which will surely come in handy when you take power!
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
12/29/2017 at 23:42, STARS: 2
Wow that looks awesome.
Our son will start in Montessori school next fall. I’m sure he’ll love it.
"Brickman" (legomaniacman)
12/29/2017 at 23:43, STARS: 3
I would of loved that kind of school. Instead I got my soul crushed to death in public school :)
"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion)
12/29/2017 at 23:46, STARS: 0
If this one is in any way representative of the rest, I’m sure he’ll love it too
"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion)
12/29/2017 at 23:48, STARS: 0
I feel your pain! My high-school dropped material science, shop, CAD design, blueprinting/drafting, intro to architecture, home design, and all auto-related course the year I started. I almost cried when comparing the course catalogs....
"TheTurbochargedSquirrel" (thatsquirrel)
12/29/2017 at 23:50, STARS: 0
You would have loved a Vocational Technical School like the one I went to. Easily the best decision of my entire life.
"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion)
12/29/2017 at 23:54, STARS: 0
What did you go for? I live a block away from one and have considered going for years. Career switch or just for fun... One of these days it will happen.
"TheTurbochargedSquirrel" (thatsquirrel)
12/30/2017 at 00:15, STARS: 1
I went for Electronics Engineering technology. My school was actually a high school program where you took all the traditional classes at an accelerated pace one week and your vocational program the next week.
"BaconSandwich is tasty." (baconsandwich)
12/30/2017 at 00:24, STARS: 0
I cannot imagine the cost of attending such a school. That said, it’s hard to put a price on a decent education.
"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion)
12/30/2017 at 00:50, STARS: 1
I’m with ya. I seem to recall they have a yearly lottery for some free spots, with a total combined income of such-and-such dollars making families uneligable to apply. It’s something at least. The program itself seems like it would be very costly to run. I know that in addition to the regular masters degree requirement (at least in Washington) all teachers much at minimum go through another year long program through Montessori prior to teaching.
"Brickman" (legomaniacman)
12/30/2017 at 10:09, STARS: 0
Mostly for elementary education. I struggled with math and reading as it was more mental tasks than physical / well being like a Montessori school would be.
I had shop, small engines and votech for diesel mechanics. After I graduated shop and small engines turned into some sort of computer courses. I wonder if the small engine building still has everything :D
"cbell04" (cbell04)
12/30/2017 at 10:51, STARS: 0
It’s expensive but not as bad as I thought it would be expecially comparing it to some other private schools. Either way that’s a lot of coin not that kids aren’t worth it but a tough break especially if you have multiple kids. Factor in you still have to pay local and state taxes that fund the public schools.
