Why I Love Montessori
My three children attended Montessori preschools. To say that they are different from each other is an understatement. One likes to be surrounded by people, action, and noise; one prefers solitude and stillness; and the other loves the company of a good friend with a pop song in the background. Despite these differences, they each thrived in a Montessori setting.
Before they started preschool, I did not know that much about Montessori. I knew that some educators whom I admired and trusted had sent their own children to Montessori, but I had also had some preconceived notions that it might be too serious or too individualistic. I toured too many preschools in San Francisco--from outdoor co-ops to play-based programs to forest schools to those elite apply-before-birth ones. I was that person with the color-coded spreadsheet, checking off my boxes, and yet nothing felt quite right.
Then I visited a Montessori school, and I saw what I did not even know I was seeking. I saw curious and engaged kids doing a variety of activities. I saw calm teachers circulating around the classroom offering individual help. I saw students play together outside and then line up quietly to transition back inside. There was a palpable enthusiasm for learning—the students and teachers really wanted to be there.
Things I Learned to Love About Montessori:
Fosters Curiosity & Joy: Every day during their work block, my children had the freedom and time to explore what they wanted to learn and practice that day--not what anyone else thought they should learn. My daughter spent a solid year drawing. At one point, I asked the teacher if we should encourage her to try the other areas. No, she will do that when she is interested and ready. That is exactly what happened. Sure enough, a few weeks later, my daughter came home excitedly telling us all about Practical Life and Geography. Meanwhile, my son loved to rotate throughout all the areas--a little Math, a little Language, a little Sensorial. In both cases, they had enough time to use it how they wanted--either to dig deeply into one topic or explore a few. They only knew to love learning for learning’s sake--it was not about compliance or completion. This autonomy and time allows students to follow and explore their own curiosity, and it prevents those awful no-win control battles--you will learn this, you will do that.
Teaches Independence: One day after school, my daughter kindly asked if I could move the cups and plates to a lower kitchen shelf so she and her brother could get their own. Of course, this seemed so obvious. Why was I constantly stopping whatever I was doing to grab them a cup? They could do this. I realized that their school expected and assumed a level of independence that we hadn’t been embodying at home. My kids were only 2.5 years old at the time, but they were quite capable of getting dressed, doing chores, accessing materials, and cleaning up. This teaches them that adults trust them, and that they are responsible for themselves.
Uses High-Quality Materials: If you have toured multiple Montessori classrooms, you’ll notice that they have a similar look and feel. This is because they all use the same materials. My children had choice about how to spend their time, but regardless of what they picked, it was guaranteed to be a high-quality and developmentally-appropriate option. Montessori has studied how children learn, and they have created the materials that are most suitable and effective to teach different concepts and skills at each developmental stage. The materials are thoughtfully designed so that students are practicing and learning at the same time--like a hands-on lesson and worksheet combined in one. For example, my kids learned phonics using the Movable Alphabet and they practiced place value using golden beads. Students are able to build a solid foundation of concepts and skills because they are constantly interacting with wonderful research-based and hands-on materials.
Clarifies the Teacher’s Role: Montessori is very clear that the teacher serves as the guide not the sage on stage. Their role is to observe how students innately use the materials, and then ask thoughtful probing questions to deepen student understanding. In traditional public schools, we ask teachers to create all the materials, teach everyone using these same materials, and then provide intervention to those who did not understand it during the lecture. It’s a deficit model, and it’s exhausting. In contrast, Montessori focuses on the aspect that matters most—the interaction between the teacher, the child, and the learning. Teachers are trained in the curriculum rather than expected to create it. Teachers might introduce the materials to a group of students at once, but it is assumed that students will learn at different times. This allows teachers to circulate as students are working independently. They know when to jump into those key moments—those times that a student might need to be encouraged, challenged, or enriched. By clarifying the teacher’s role and focusing on those critical interactions, both the teacher and student are set up for success.
Trains Teachers Thoughtfully: Not only is the Montessori teacher’s role clear and purposeful, but their training is strategic and aligned to this vision. Their pre-teaching courses explain and model how to use the materials. They learn all about children’s developmental stages and how to ask the right questions to clarify or expand a student’s thinking. This is vastly different from typical educator training programs that try to cover a little of everything—how to write lesson plans, how to design units, how to manage a classroom, how to make learning engaging, how to differentiate for special needs, how to teach whole-class routines and procedures. Another key difference is that Montessori believes in the apprentice model. In a Montessori classroom, you will usually find a Lead teacher and a few other teachers in training. They are fully integrated into the classroom, and they work with children all day while they continue to hone their skills. After a few years, they transition to becoming a Lead Teacher. This is a huge difference from our traditional educator model in which we often throw first-year teachers into a classroom all day and just hope for the best.
Embraces Structure: All this child-led learning and autonomy might imply that classrooms feel chaotic, but in reality, there is a set routine with clear expectations. My little two-year-olds could barely form sentences, but they knew exactly when they had snack and recess and lunch and work time. They knew which shelves to get their materials, and how to roll up their mats when they were finished. They learned how to keep a classroom tidy. Most of all, they understood that school was special and sacred, and that meant upholding the community’s shared rules and expectations.
When my children started kindergarten, they came home very confused. They explained: “there’s not really learning and work time--it’s more like you just copy what the teacher just did” and “everybody does the same thing and you do lots of little things all day.” I almost fell over when I heard: “if we all finish our work, then we get a treat.” This was so wildly different from how they talked about preschool, when their little faces had been all proudly lit up as they told what they had practiced that day. The learning had been the reward--no treat needed. Now at five years old, they were internalizing a new message—you will follow the teacher’s brain, you will all receive the same knowledge, and you will get rewarded if you complete your tasks. In other words, agency, independence, and curiosity were swapped out for passive compliance.
Every system is designed to get the results it gets. Why are we surprised that we are bleeding teachers and students?
I am deeply grateful for my own children’s Montessori experiences, and I am outraged that it is still mostly limited to those who can afford it. While I am heartened to know that there are increasingly more public Montessori options, I also believe that we can infuse these concepts in our public schools. Adopt research-based engaging materials. Clarify the teacher’s role, and adapt their training and support accordingly. Give students enough structure and autonomy to flourish. Most of all, keep the interaction between the student-teacher at the center of all decisions and design. It is then that we will see the real rewards.
