Brenda,
I worked in a Montessori school for 5 years (not as an art teacher at
the time) and had a daughter who attended there in their Children's
house (3-5year olds) and have an ADHD son who attended a religious
school.
How would he had done in the Montessori setting? Probably not well, BUT
that is my kid and I know what we all know our own kids better than
anyone. So maybe your son whould benefit. I knew my son needed more
structure than what I saw going on in the school where I worked at the
time. Of course the teacher does make a difference, but that will change
every few years in a Monterssori setting , not every year.
The Montessori story is an interesting one . Recently we had an
inservice at our public school about how we need to do more
diversification. As I sat through the talk and video, it sure sounded
like the Montessori philosophy. I mentioned it to the speaker at the end
and she said we are very much looking at treating students in a
Montessori way. The training to be a certified Montessori teacher (
there are 2 different types of certification ) is rigourous. In
Milwaukee , you need your regular Ed degree plus Montessori teacher
certification.
I remember the art teacher in the school not teaching according to the
Montessori method. She was a specialist just hired by the district,
like the gym & music people. It is a lot of work if done correctly,
you have many kids doing many different things at one time. For
example-you wouldn't necessarily have everyone doing masks at the same
time. The set up for a Montessori class is very different from a
tradtional setting. It could be no desks or a few on the side. Lots of
floor work and kids working on what interests them. As anything in life
there are pros and cons- good luck in your decision.
MaryB
