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phil
@phil
Welcome @matt! Matt Bateman is a philosopher & historian of education. Heās a cofounder of Guidepost Montessori, the worldās largest Montessori school network. He has agreed to do an AMA for the /ā books channel. Reply with your questions (please make sure to tag him so he can easily find them)
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miguelito
@mc
Hi @matt Former Montessori student and parent of two kids in Montessori now (P3 and 4th grade) When and how should parents think about transitioning their students to ātraditionalā schools? What should we be considering as our kids grow beyond their Montessori school?
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Matt Bateman
@matt
It depends on how good the Montessori school is. There are probably several hundred Montessori elementary programs, several dozen Montessori middle school programs, and like single digit Montessori high schools that I would by default happy to send my children to. I would pull if/when it feels like there isnāt a real culture of work and knowledge, where there arenāt strong and actualized norms about being purposeful and rigorous study. Keep in mind that traditional school isnāt probably really going to give you either of those things, but their ersatz versions, so thereās often some creativity and activity needed to compensate with whatever you end up choosing.
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Matt Bateman
@matt
What are your children like? Howās the older one doing in Montessori elementary?
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miguelito
@mc
Great points I agree that ātraditionalā schools arenāt necessarily an improvement Both are thriving in the Montessori environment. Lower el was a bit rocky academically for the older one, but he has found his footing in upper el. Thereās attrition among his friends now as they begin peeling off for private schools, but he maintains that he wants to stay. (I worry about the social aspect as classes get smaller and friends leave)
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Matt Bateman
@matt
If upper is better academically than lower thatās probably a positive sign, usually itās the opposite and upper has serious academic limitations. But yeah, the social questions are real.
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miguelito
@mc
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