Understanding Montessori Education System: The Pros and Cons
The Montessori education system is one of the widely used systems across the world. It is mainly adopted by international schools and expensive private schools. If you are planning to take your child to a school offering this system, it is worth noting what your child will experience.
The Pros:
Hands-on learning experience
At the core of the Montessori system is the hands-on learning experience. Ranging from the spacing to the design of the classrooms, Montessori schools are prepared to provide an experience that most children will enjoy. In this system, the classroom is designed in such a way the child will explore different learning experiences on their own. It is an ideal system when thinking about the concept of multiple intelligences that are inherent in all children.
Enhanced social interaction
Montessori classrooms are rich in social interaction. The children are grouped into mix-age groups to develop peer-to-peer interactions. The idea behind mixing the children is to allow them to learn from each other. The system believes in the research that shows that children learn best from their peers.
Develops soft skills
The philosophy underlying Montessori learning promotes soft skills such as independence, responsibility, positivity, fairness, and adaptability. When students are tasked to describe how they spent their school time, they are likely to be more independent in the future. Various researchers agree with this form of education and argue that children in the Montessori systems have better independence and collaboration skills compared to their peers in other systems.
Make the child independent
Independence is one of the most important skills most educational systems are trying to achieve in learners. Montessori achieves this with ease since all activities are student-paced. The student becomes responsible for their learning experience at a very early age.
The Cons:
It’s expensive
You should know that you will pay a lot of money to keep your child in a Montessori school. These schools cannot be cheap because of the first-class learning materials that need to be within the classrooms.
Not enough opportunities
There is a reason why some Montessori schools only limit this system to the early years of learning. It is because the system is not competitive in the market for advanced age groups. There is no structure for examination, which makes it less competitive than traditional classrooms.
Final say:
You should weigh the pros and cons and decide if the system is right for you. It is similar to choosing a course for you. For example, you might want to study a Fire Service Instructor 1 course for employment or choose another course for personal desires. Always consider your child as you decide on his/her educational future.
