有冇讀Montessori school家長

jolalee

回覆 aucarmen 的帖子

Maria Montessori created the approach for kindergarten age children and the observations & methodology applies to this age group as well. She later adapted and modified her appoarch for primary school kids, and the structure of Montessori may not be the most optimum for upper primary kids. Yes, that may be the reason most Montessori student continue their primary education in mainstream IS instead.

Beside IMS, Discovery Montessori school in DBay (DMS-DB) will also provide Montessori primary education in HK starting next year. This means the fight for primary Montessori teachers will become fierce as they are rare, although DMS does train teachers to qualify them (meaning, they may have less Montessori experience).


For papers or journals on how Montessori approach affect students above aged 6, i am sure you can google it. Personally, i do not recommend Montessori high school simply because the approach was not originally made for that and the founder did very little research on high school education. (plus there isn't any in HK anyway).

elmostoney

Montessori primary is good.  The only problem is teacher availability.  There are significantly less primary Montessori-trained teachers than casa level, and even less in secondary.  In addition, there are more "tools" at casa level so you can easily follow a child's progress.  In primary, much depends on the school and teacher's improvisation.  I feel that there is less reliable systematic material to assess a child.  Personally, I think a Montessori primary teacher needs to be very devoted and driven - much more so than in casa.  BUT as in cases with any schools, your class teacher can make a HUGE difference.  

However, with Montessori (esp with IMS as I have made some inquiries), children ARE required to do worksheets or other work.  The teacher would assign work to each child according to his level.  There is usually no specific due date or at least, a span of a few days is given, and theoretically, the teacher would come and check on the child within X number of days. Alternatively, a motivated child may just finish quicker and approach the teacher.  So a less motivated child, imho, is not as suitable to Montessori primary because the teacher is not necessary on your back all the time.  Some children are truly more suitable to traditional schooling where everyone is expected to do more or less the same thing, turning their work in at the same time.

This method benefits a motivated child greatly as he can learn at his own pace.  His interest is sustained and his progress is propelled at great speed.  For most children they still benefit because the teacher teaches in small group and targets the need of every child (in theory).  However, some kids who could care less simply won't find this method their cup of tea.  My daughter is precisely the latter type.  She goes to a regular IS and is quite happy to follow the class progress.  

aucarmen

Thank you jolalee and elmostoney , your comments are very insightful! My daughter is now 2.5 yrs old, I wonder if she can benefit from Montessori approach, she is energetic, imaginative, caring and love to interactive with ppl. Not much self- directed, non- attentive, may be too small to reveal. A question in my mind what kind of kids can benefit from Montessori methodology most? If my child is not Montessori type , can she be mould / adjust to be one if Montessori can help children reaching their full potential?

elmostoney

A motivated and focused child can benefit most from Montessori.  Outgoing personality is a plus.  Having said so doesn't mean other children do not benefit, but there are some personalities, imho, just don't suit. My daughter is a prime example.  My son, on the other hand, fits Montessori quite well.  However, he is too shy (outside of our home) and too focused on his work.  We ultimately transferred him to a regular IS, hoping that he would be coaxed out of his anti-social shell.

I have been told that my daughter would fit in the Waldorf style (best fit is Reggio, but there is NO Reggio kindy in HK).  Well, I haven't had a chance to try, and I imagine that there would be even less parents willing to give it a go in HK.  Montessori, although not a mainstream teaching method accepted in HK, at least provides some academic results.  Waldorf is MUCH slower.  It's not eveybody's cup of tea.  There are 4 Waldorf centers/kindy in HK from what I know (a friend of mine actually operates one), and I have heard some noise about setting up a Waldorf primary.

aucarmen

Thanks elmostoney ! I read some comments from you in other threads, u are very dedicated in finding right schools for ur kids! Greatly appreciate your attitude while the norm in HK is pushing children to "famous one-dragon school"! I am not sure which methodology/curriculum is best fit my daughter , traditional ,IB, Montessori or others as she seems quite adaptive, I think she can easily fit to any school. How did u find out your daughter is best fit Reggio?

elmostoney

當時的montessori pg導師告訴我, 我不信, 因自己喜歡montessori. 後來自己上網睇左個大概.  我個女由2歲開始, 好多人睇得出佢係文科人, 而事實真係.  Reggio比較注重arts development, Montessori 則比較systematic & logical, 即係一般人心目中的學術化好多.  導致當時有講, 冇reggio (因香港人太功利, 唔容得下呢類教育), next best for my daughter is waldorf, 但最後我都冇試.  佢而家係mainstream IS 都ok, 但都係唔鍾意math.

其實多年來, 我個導師講左一句說話, 我一直緊緊記住.  佢話好多家長, 見到小朋友邊科唔好就補邊科, 總之要科科都掂.  佢話點解唔集中, 比小朋友係有興趣方面發展?  等佢用多d時間做一樣佢鍾意嘅事, 會事半功倍.  我唔敢講我完全做得到, 我要求佢唔鍾意嘅主科要學得有個底 (數學同中文), 總之起碼都普普通通, 但佢鍾意嘅就可以做多好多. 太唔鍾意, 又唔係主科嘅 (好似彈琴跳舞呢d), 我根本唔care, 唔學都冇所謂.  唔洗十八般舞藝, 因為孩子最後的興趣也好, 搵食工具也好, 都唔會係樣樣皆能.

如果你相信MONTESSORI, 請不要讓孩子看電視. 我個大女8.5歲, 到而家都好少好少睇電視 (一星期有時連一次都未必有), 所以佢非常鍾意睇書, 天文地埋歷史小說物都睇.  

oliviakiki

I wanna know how would you choose between IMS and St Catherine? Seems like they both outstanding and has its advantage.

jolalee

回覆 elmostoney 的帖子

"我個導師講: 佢話好多家長, 見到小朋友邊科唔好就補邊科, 總之要科科都掂.  佢話點解唔集中, 比小朋友係有興趣方面發展?  等佢用多d時間做一樣佢鍾意嘅事, 會事半功倍....我要求佢唔鍾意嘅主科要學得有個底 (數學同中文), 總之起碼都普普通通, 但佢鍾意嘅就可以做多好多."  
It is important to find one's own passion and strengths, but it is also true that for a student to get somewhere, his core subjects has to have at least a passing grade. I know another Montessori mom with two kids (12 years of age apart) who regrets not giving her son foundation in mathematics when he was young. He is now struggling in high school although his other subjects are doing well, as it'd very likely affect his chances for University entrance. (Whether a child really need to go to college in order to succeed, of course, is another subject of debate) The mom is now giving her kindergarten age daughter extra math tuition due to her experience with her elder son, and the little girl is quite well rounded. I agree with you, 就算唔鍾意嘅主科，起碼要學得有個底. Depending on the Montessori teacher a student has, if the child is not self-motivated in all subjects, it is possible for the child to slack off in some areas.

As to whether to find an education system to suit the child's strengths or to complement his weaknesses, that has always been the biggest question in my mind. Thank you for your vote of confidence in the "strength" pool, because that's what i chose to do in the end as well. We ended up choosing a full IB school, since my son is an audio learner and i find that the IB program suits his character and learning style better. Not sure if i should give him any math tuition yet though...

"如果你相信MONTESSORI, 請不要讓孩子看電視. 我個大女8.5歲, 到而家都好少好少睇電視 (一星期有時連一次都未必有), 所以佢非常鍾意睇書, 天文地埋歷史小說物都睇."
I think it's not only Montessori that say so. Many studies has shown too much screen time has negative effects on children. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dbtg5w87yU&feature=share  My son too has very little screen exposure, and being a boy he spends his time making models, playing with legos and playing outdoors a lot instead. It does my kid a world of good :) I hope when he is older he will read more too. At the moment he loves it when i read to him, but would turn away if i ask him to try to figure words out himself :(  (age 4)

aucarmen

Very true indeed ! Allow kids to excel in strength area, complement their weakness as least to a "pass" level! I hope I can help my daughter to achieve this!