“Montessori really is a ‘no child left behind’ teaching philosophy. If you are ready to keep moving, you keep moving. If you aren’t, you can stay on task until you get it.”
~ Tanya Stutzman, whose six
children have attended Montessori schools in Sarasota, Florida
“The reading, writing and academics all came out eventually, as day-to-day living required that they learned them.”
~ Wonshe, who “unschooled” both of her sons in rural Virginia
“Waldorf understands that there are many ways for a child to express oneself— not just through words and academics, but also through creativity.”
~ Patrice Maynerd, who
enrolled her son in Waldorf education at age 3
who didn’t appreciate her tendency to question authority and venture beyond the status quo. She dropped out in 11th grade, then dropped out of a community college for many of the same reasons. “If I contradicted the professor,
I got a bad grade,” she recalls. Ulti- mately, Carrico made her way to the highly progressive Antioch College in Ohio (one of 815 colleges now will- ing to consider students with no high school test scores), where she ended up with a master’s degree in leader- ship and training. She also landed a job that she loves, teaching in a democratic school.
While Carrico relates that her
own early schooling may not have prepared her to fit in at a mainstream classroom or top-down workplace, it absolutely prepared her for a chang- ing world in which factory jobs are dwindling and people must think outside the box. “People who are re- ally successful in the world today are not waiting around to be told what to do,” she comments. Instead, “they are actively creating social networks and seeking out knowledge on their own; these are the very things they learn from kindergarten on in democratic schools.”
Other comments were less glow- ing: “I found that I had to scramble to catch up with my peers; the school failed to provide me with even the most basic mathematical skills,” said Mary, a 1991 graduate. Kristin, from the class of 1997 added, “When I was applying to colleges, I wished that I had some documentation other than self-assessment; I think this hurt me.” But still other democratic alumni contend that the struggle is only tem- porary and—in hindsight—well worth it. Meghan Carrico, 47, attended a
democratic school in North Vancouver from age 8 to 13. She told Natural Awakenings she did fine academically when she transitioned to a mainstream public high school, but found it “bor- ing and socially barren,” with teachers
College success and career paths aside, Miller believes the best way to determine if democratic education is working is to pay a visit to a school and ask the question: “Are the kids excited about school or not?” On a recent May afternoon at
Colorado’s Jefferson County Open School, students lounged on puffy couches or sat on the steps with their principal, whom they casually called Wendy. The school year was officially over and warm weather beckoned, but they were in no rush to leave. To Anna Reihmann, 17, a gradu-
ating senior who has attended there since preschool, excelled academical- ly and is headed to college next year, it was a particularly bittersweet day. “I have learned so much about who I am as a person here. It has always felt like home,” she said that day. Then she uttered the three words that many par- ents and teachers say that they don’t
August 2010 13
hear often enough from students these days: “I love school.”
Lisa Marshall is a freelance writer in Lyons, CO. Contact her at Lisa
Marshall08@gmail.com.
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