Common Misconceptions About Montessori
Montessori is just for preschool children.
While many of the Montessori schools in Canada are preschools, Montessori programs exist at the elementary level, including Four Seasons Montessori Elementary program, from K-6 (with future higher grades).
Montessori is just for special learners -- the gifted or the learning-disabled.
The methods used in Montessori schools are highly effective with both learning-disabled and gifted learners; the reason for their effectiveness, however, is that the learning environments have been designed to ensure success for all children.
Children in Montessori classrooms are relatively unsupervised and can "do whatever they want."
Montessori is based on the principle of free choice of purposeful activity. If the child is being destructive or is using materials in an aimless way, the teacher will intervene and gently re-direct the child either to more appropriate materials or to a more appropriate use of the material.
Montessori classrooms are too structured.
Although the teacher is careful to make clear the specific purpose of each material and to present activities in a clear, step-by-step order, the child is free to choose from a vast array of activities and to discover new possibilities.
Montessori classrooms push children too far too fast.
Central to the Montessori philosophy is the idea of allowing each child to develop at his or her own, individual pace. The "miracle" stories of Montessori children far ahead of traditional expectations for their age level reflect not artificial acceleration but the possibilities open when children are allowed to learn at their own pace in a scientifically prepared environment.