Our terrific team of Montessori teachers has taught in many schools in different settings. What do they think? I decided to go and find out! (Our next installment: what do your kids say? More below).
Getting acquainted with Montessori usually takes some time, but our students are doing beautifully. Teacher Esther Quinn commented on a question heard in all the classrooms: “So, teacher, when do the desks arrive?” The answer: “We’re not getting any. You’ll do your work at tables or on the floor or wherever you are comfortable.” Student reaction: “Cool!” But don’t imagine scenes of child chaos from Lord of the Flies unfolding at Golden Oak Montessori. These two weeks of orientation are about learning the fundamentals of Montessori behaviors as much as getting acquainted with each other and the teaching materials.
Children are learning about respect for each other. One activity involves students passing around a compliment bowl at the end of the day and finding a nice thing to say about one of her classmates. “Thank you for helping me” said one child to a classmate in the circle, causing her to beam.
In another activity, children jotted down their own ideas about what it meant to respect each other and the environment.
Children are also being given responsibility – and teachers report that their students are taking their “jobs” seriously and already improving. Some have taken creative ownership of their jobs. One of the jobs involves moving the center shelves to the sides to make room for a community meeting where everyone can sit in a circle. Teacher Dawn Roe reports that in her class the two assigned to that task have decided to rename themselves the "Transformers.” Thanks to these two students’ enthusiasm (and creative marketing, perhaps?), other kids are eager to have their turn at that job in a few weeks. Teacher Koren Clark reports that the two students assigned to prepare snacks for the class have decided that they are not the “snackers” but “chefs” and want to make chef hats. So they will! On the first day it took some guidance and more than fifteen minutes for some kids to complete their jobs for the classroom. But by the second day, many were getting it done in two minutes, with pride, self-confidence, and without need for supervision.
Teacher Chikako Takeuchi, who moved back to the U.S. from Japan to teach at Golden Oak, was very impressed with the effort the parents and community of volunteers have put into the school – fixing the grounds, painting hallways, installing floors, and on and on. She recounts how her students all grew quiet and attentive at circle time when she was explaining the need for everyone to take care of their school. “Miracles are starting to happen,” wrote veteran Montessori teacher Michele Yezbick in a recent letter to her mentor.
The teachers are also buoyed up to hear students say “it was great!” or overhear parents whisper to Deirdre “she loves school!!” Starting school after Summer vacation can be a difficult transition. Transitioning to Montessori is not always easy, but with patience and the thoughtful program for phase-in developed by our teachers and Head of School, we are hopeful that everyone will quickly feel at home at Golden Oak. (Yes, I heard the case of one student saying “I hate this!” all through his first day, only to switch several days later to “I love it!”)
Of course there are things that can be improved and smoothed out and the administration, teachers, and board of the school have to work together to make it happen. There were some hiccups with parents not remembering that during orientation pickup is at 12:30, but that’s mostly been ironed out thanks to the responsiveness of parents to an email sent out by Deirdre. Some parents have had a hard time being able to provide some of the materials needed for their children in the classrooms, but the nice thing about Montessori is that materials are communal and shared, and all students’ needs have been met thanks to other parents bringing in extras.
For our next installment, I want to compile observations, funny quotes, or feelings from our students. If you hear your child say something that you want to capture in the blog – send it to us at blog@goldenoakmontessori.org
-- Sergio Knaebel, founding parent
