What does "Bursting the Montessori Bubble" mean?
Our culture has long maintained the factory model of education and most of us were raised in that system. We experienced school in same-age classes and were taught the same subjects at the same time.
As children progress through the Montessori program, parents begin to feel the cultural pressures of traditional learning. Will my child be ready for testing? Will they be able to transition? They begin to feel that Montessori education is a protected bubble, not the ”real world” their child will be entering later on in their educational experience.
Have you ever had these same thoughts? Dr. Stephen Hughes, a Pediatric Neuropsychologist, has said in regards to this topic:
“Which is the real bubble? Because the truth is, success in life is not built on a foundation of standardized tests, but on the freedom to make difficult choices and experience their consequences. Success in life is not built on grades and percentages, but on self-awareness and self-improvement. Success in life is not built on artificial competition among same-aged peers, but on the genuine collaboration between generations. Success in life is not built on cheating the system, but on having the wisdom and courage to transform it.”
And Dr. Montessori said it herself:
“If education is always to be conceived along the same antiquated lines of a mere transmission of knowledge, there is little to be hoped from it in the bettering of man’s future. For what is the use of transmitting knowledge if the individual’s total development lags behind?” ”
She was ahead of her time!
Kari Headington is Head of School at Hollis Montessori School.