Demand for Montessori form of education instead of the regular
Kindergarten schools is increasing rapidly. Koramangala, which has a
number of Montessori establishments, is witness to this trend, with a 25
percent growth in the number of admissions in Montessori schools in
the last two years.
The
awareness about the Montessori form of education is growing fast and
and the number of parents who now moving to this form of education for
their children from a regular play school and kindergarten format is
increasing rapidly.
Kindergarten & Playschool are actually parallel, in a way competing methodologies. Montessori is a superior methodology.
There are crucial differences between a Montessori kindergarten and a traditional one. In most traditional kindergarten classes, the primary emphasis is on developing social skills with some preliminary work in cognitive “readiness”, whereas, in a Montessori classroom the primary emphasis is on developing cognitive skills on the firm foundation of sensory and motor skill training. In a Montessori classroom, a child progresses at his/her own rate; there are no pressures to “catch up” or “slow down” to the level of the class. The child working at his/her own rate develops good work habits such as initiative, the ability to process information, and the ability to persist in completing a task. The emphasis is on making each child feel competent in his or her own abilities and interested in learning for its own sake.
In Montessori schools, education is imparted only through activity based methods. Instead of books, children are given special material to handle and learn from. By doing it practically, the retention power increases drastically.
The main difference between a regular kindergarten and a Montessori is the composition of a class. While kindergarten class has children of only one age group, Montessori schools have classes, called environments, with children of different age groups. In this set-up, younger children grasp things much quicker as they learn by following example of the elder children, and elder children in turn become more competent by doing different activites and move faster to the next level.
TAILOR-MADE PROGRAMMES
Programmes at Montessori are devised according to individuals. Every child has a different character and personality and the child is free to choose his own activity. It is not the teacher who sets the pace but children themselves.
In Koramangala, most of the parents are IT professionals, with both of them working. Recently, there are also children from non- IT industry family background who are joining Montessor schools .
Since running a proper Montessori requires a lot of physical infrastructure, the investment that goes into setting up a Montessori is much higher than a kindergarten school. Investment of close to `2 lakh per room is needed to prepare a proper Montessori setup.
Elements Montessori , which is one of the top Montessori schools in Bangalore, is aesthetically built over 12,000 sqft area. The structure is a two storied complex with green lawns which provides a serene ambience, neat surroundings and large spacious well lit rooms. The play area is specially designed over 8000 sq. ft area and separate sections are carved using green grass and soft sand to suit a variety of play activities. The structure, which was featured in the Indian Express, is designed to be environment friendly
This explains why the fees charged by Montessori schools are higher than kindergarten schools.
Teachers, who are called assistants or Montessori adults, are required to have formal training in Montessori form of education. There are specific training courses provided by associations in India.
Players say that one of the main issues that they face while convincing the parents about Montessori form of education is about the admission prospects to a regular school when moving on to the mainstream education. However, they add the feedback they get from mainstream schools is that children passing out of Montessori perform better than a child from regular kindergarten set-up.
Children moving on from Montessori do extremely well not just in school and colleges but in all aspects of life. In the last phase of the training, at the age of five, the schools starts preparing them for regular schools by various activities like giving them home task. This lets them transition to the traditional system of education.
One other issue that they point out is the sprouting up of many institutions which call themselves Montessori but do not follow all the Montessori philosophies. This sometimes affects the credibility of the whole system.
The
awareness about the Montessori form of education is growing fast and
and the number of parents who now moving to this form of education for
their children from a regular play school and kindergarten format is
increasing rapidly. Kindergarten & Playschool are actually parallel, in a way competing methodologies. Montessori is a superior methodology.
There are crucial differences between a Montessori kindergarten and a traditional one. In most traditional kindergarten classes, the primary emphasis is on developing social skills with some preliminary work in cognitive “readiness”, whereas, in a Montessori classroom the primary emphasis is on developing cognitive skills on the firm foundation of sensory and motor skill training. In a Montessori classroom, a child progresses at his/her own rate; there are no pressures to “catch up” or “slow down” to the level of the class. The child working at his/her own rate develops good work habits such as initiative, the ability to process information, and the ability to persist in completing a task. The emphasis is on making each child feel competent in his or her own abilities and interested in learning for its own sake.
In Montessori schools, education is imparted only through activity based methods. Instead of books, children are given special material to handle and learn from. By doing it practically, the retention power increases drastically.
The main difference between a regular kindergarten and a Montessori is the composition of a class. While kindergarten class has children of only one age group, Montessori schools have classes, called environments, with children of different age groups. In this set-up, younger children grasp things much quicker as they learn by following example of the elder children, and elder children in turn become more competent by doing different activites and move faster to the next level.
TAILOR-MADE PROGRAMMES
Programmes at Montessori are devised according to individuals. Every child has a different character and personality and the child is free to choose his own activity. It is not the teacher who sets the pace but children themselves.
In Koramangala, most of the parents are IT professionals, with both of them working. Recently, there are also children from non- IT industry family background who are joining Montessor schools .
Since running a proper Montessori requires a lot of physical infrastructure, the investment that goes into setting up a Montessori is much higher than a kindergarten school. Investment of close to `2 lakh per room is needed to prepare a proper Montessori setup.
Elements Montessori , which is one of the top Montessori schools in Bangalore, is aesthetically built over 12,000 sqft area. The structure is a two storied complex with green lawns which provides a serene ambience, neat surroundings and large spacious well lit rooms. The play area is specially designed over 8000 sq. ft area and separate sections are carved using green grass and soft sand to suit a variety of play activities. The structure, which was featured in the Indian Express, is designed to be environment friendly
This explains why the fees charged by Montessori schools are higher than kindergarten schools.
Teachers, who are called assistants or Montessori adults, are required to have formal training in Montessori form of education. There are specific training courses provided by associations in India.
Players say that one of the main issues that they face while convincing the parents about Montessori form of education is about the admission prospects to a regular school when moving on to the mainstream education. However, they add the feedback they get from mainstream schools is that children passing out of Montessori perform better than a child from regular kindergarten set-up.
Children moving on from Montessori do extremely well not just in school and colleges but in all aspects of life. In the last phase of the training, at the age of five, the schools starts preparing them for regular schools by various activities like giving them home task. This lets them transition to the traditional system of education.
One other issue that they point out is the sprouting up of many institutions which call themselves Montessori but do not follow all the Montessori philosophies. This sometimes affects the credibility of the whole system.
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