Montessori vs Traditional
Scientific Observation has established that education is not what the teacher gives; education is a natural process spontaneously carried out by the human individual, and is acquired not by listening to words but by experiences upon the environment. The task of the teacher becomes that of preparing a series of motives of cultural activity, spread over a specially prepared environment, and then refraining from obtrusive interference. Human teachers can only help the great that is being done. Doing so, they will be witnesses to the unfolding of the human soul and to the rising of a New Era where people will not be the victim of events, but will have the clarity of vision to direct and shape the future of human society.
-Maria Montessori
Montessori School
- School meets needs of the students.
- Curriculum is structured for each child.
- A discovery model of learning where students learn concepts from working with materials.
- Multi-Sensory materials for physical exploration organizes program for learning care of self and environment.
- Children are encouraged to speak and work in groups.
- Cognitive social, emotional and moral development emphasis.
- Uninterrupted work cycles.
- Teacher acts as a facilitator.
- Mixed age groupings.
- Child identifies own errors from feedback from the educational material.
Traditional School
- Students fit mold of the school.
- Curriculum is structured for the whole class.
- Learn only from instruction, no room
- for discovery.
- No organized program for self-care, left primarily up to parents.
- Children usually work silently at their desk.
- Social development emphasis.
- Block time, period lessons.
- Teacher lectures.
- Same age grouping.
- Teacher identifies errors.