After Montessori
I often receive questions similar to the one below:
"I want my child's education to make them self-reliant and supportive so that they can have a good life. Will Montessori provide a strong enough education that a college or university will accept them like they do with traditional education? Don't most Montessori kids end up in middling professions?"
The first thing I do is to have the asker read the article:
"What Are The Real Benefits of Sending a Child to Montessori?" by Tim Seldin.
After that, I then have them read my response to a similar question: How do most children adjust to a traditional school after being in a Montessori School?
Additionally, I point them to peer-reviewed research on Montessori Education showing that children in Montessori schools, (both public and private), do better on standardized tests. (Not that I believe that a high standardized test score is the "be all and end all", but many people sadly do, and so it is a relief for them to know this information.)
Then I point them the the myriad of articles, such as the ones below, from everything from the BBC to Fox News, that state that children educated with the Montessori Method do better both in school and in their future endeavors:
"I want my child's education to make them self-reliant and supportive so that they can have a good life. Will Montessori provide a strong enough education that a college or university will accept them like they do with traditional education? Don't most Montessori kids end up in middling professions?"
The first thing I do is to have the asker read the article:
"What Are The Real Benefits of Sending a Child to Montessori?" by Tim Seldin.
After that, I then have them read my response to a similar question: How do most children adjust to a traditional school after being in a Montessori School?
Additionally, I point them to peer-reviewed research on Montessori Education showing that children in Montessori schools, (both public and private), do better on standardized tests. (Not that I believe that a high standardized test score is the "be all and end all", but many people sadly do, and so it is a relief for them to know this information.)
Then I point them the the myriad of articles, such as the ones below, from everything from the BBC to Fox News, that state that children educated with the Montessori Method do better both in school and in their future endeavors:
But people still want "proof". Are there any famous people who went to Montessori Schools? Has the Montessori Method produced any Graduates of Distinction ?" people keep on asking. The answer is an overwhelming, "YES", and yet I was resistant to posting a list of graduates on my web page. I felt as if this was implying that if you put your child in a Montessori school, that they would automatically end up as one of the people on the list. I really had a problem with that implication. Let's face it, all forms of education have their graduates of distinction. More so, we have all heard of a person who seemingly without any outside intervention or unique learning environment, achieved something extraordinary.
But the letters kept coming asking for a list of famous Montessori graduates . I eventually decided to give people what they were looking for and started to compile a list. Even I was impressed.
As I reflected upon this, I realized that this, more than the "scientifically based research" and the "education articles", the list of our famous graduates proves that Montessori Education does exactly what it sets out to do, it doesn't force children into a mold, it doesn't work just for one type of child, instead, when done correctly, Montessori Education helps each child reach their full potential, whether that potential is in art, science, literature, computers, music, performance, ...
But the letters kept coming asking for a list of famous Montessori graduates . I eventually decided to give people what they were looking for and started to compile a list. Even I was impressed.
- The youngest Noble Peace Prize nominee is a Montessori graduate
- The youngest Rhodes Scholar is a Montessori graduate
- The youngest artist to exhibit at the United Nations is a Montessori graduate.
As I reflected upon this, I realized that this, more than the "scientifically based research" and the "education articles", the list of our famous graduates proves that Montessori Education does exactly what it sets out to do, it doesn't force children into a mold, it doesn't work just for one type of child, instead, when done correctly, Montessori Education helps each child reach their full potential, whether that potential is in art, science, literature, computers, music, performance, ...
Business & Technology
Larry Page and Sergey Brin
The original founders of Google have stated many times that their years as Montessori students were a major factor behind their success, and that going to a Montessori school taught them to be self directed self starters that could think for themselves. They also state that a Montessori education gave them the freedom to pursue their own interests allowing them to "think outside the box".
Will Wright
An American computer game designer whose greatest success to date is as the original designer for The Sims, one of the best-selling PC game series in history.
Wright states that he enjoyed Montessori's emphasis on creativity, problem solving, and self-motivation.
"Montessori taught me the joy of discovery...It showed you can become interested in pretty complex theories, like Pythagorean theory, say, by playing with blocks. It’s all about learning on your terms, rather than a teacher explaining stuff to you. SimCity comes right out of Montessori—if you give people this model for building cities, they will abstract from it principles of urban design."
Wright states that he enjoyed Montessori's emphasis on creativity, problem solving, and self-motivation.
"Montessori taught me the joy of discovery...It showed you can become interested in pretty complex theories, like Pythagorean theory, say, by playing with blocks. It’s all about learning on your terms, rather than a teacher explaining stuff to you. SimCity comes right out of Montessori—if you give people this model for building cities, they will abstract from it principles of urban design."
Jeff Bezos
The founder of Amazon and one of the richest men in the world attended a Montessori School. By his mother's account, he was so engrossed in the details of activities at his Montessori school that teachers had to pick him up in his chair to move him to new tasks.
Jimmy Wales
The co-founder of Wikipedia. As a child, Wales was a avid reader with an acute intellectual curiosity. This he credits to the influence of the Montessori Method on the school's philosophy of education. According to himself, he "spent lots of hours pouring over the Encyclopedia Britannica and World Book Encyclopedias".
Literature
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Nobel Prize winner for Literature, attended Montessori de Aracataca for 5 years and credited his time there with making him fall in love with language.He said that Montessori Education gave him the desire him to "kiss literature" and: "the taste instilled to him...not only see literature but to write it."
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
An editor for Doubleday and first lady to President Kennedy, she attended a Montessori school where she was initially described as a "headstrong child". Through her time there, she learned to focus her behavior and academic pursuits.
Katherine Graham
Former owner/editor of the Washington Post, she attended a Montessori pre-school where shefirst learned to read and write, instilling a love of the written word that would stay with her her whole life.
"The Montessori Method- learning by doing-once again became my stock in trade..."
"The Montessori Method- learning by doing-once again became my stock in trade..."
T. Berry Brazelton
Noted pediatrician and author, many major hospitals throughout the world use his Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS). Many parents know him as the host of a cable television program What Every Baby Knows, and as author of a syndicated newspaper column. Dr. Brazelton has written more than two hundred scholarly papers and twenty four books.
Anne Frank
Renowned World War II diarist. According to her friend Hanneli Goslar, Anne showed aptitude for reading and writing at an early age., a talent that was nurtured in her Montessori school. She frequently wrote at school, and was outspoken, energetic, and extroverted, telling everyone from a young age that one day she wanted to be a published author.
Art & Music
Beyonce
An American Pop/R&B singer, songwriter, actress and fashion designer. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she attended St. Mary of the Purification Montessori School for her elementary years. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as the lead singer of the R&B girl group Destiny's Child, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time, and has since gone on to become a world-famous solo singer and actress.
Lea Salonga
Award-winning singer and Broadway actress best known for her role as Miss Saigon. She is recognized for having won the Olivier, Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics, and Theatre World Awards,as well as being the first Asian to play Eponine in the musical Les Miserables on Broadway. Ms Salonga was first exposed to acting while attending a Montessori school in , Metro Manila.
Sean "P. Diddy” Combs
Rapper and CEO of Bad Boy Records says he felt fortunate to attend Mount Vernon Montessori School during his childhood, "I feel like I was nurtured into wanting to be somebody special," he recalls.
Friedensreich Hundertwasser
Austrian painter and architect who attended a Montessori school in Vienna, which influenced both his affinity for vibrant colors and respect of nature. He collected pebbles and pressed flowers as a child, demonstrating an interest in items that are precious and small at an early age, which later manifested itself in his collections of Venetian glass and Japanese fabrics.
Entertainment
Dakota Fanning
Attended a Montessori school in Georgia before she moved to California to become an actor.
“I learned to read at two. I was in a Montessori school and they teach you to read really, really young.”
“I learned to read at two. I was in a Montessori school and they teach you to read really, really young.”
Alan Rickman
A renowned English stage actor and theater director known for both his modern and classical productions. He was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and was known best for his film performances as Hans Gruber in Die Hard, Severus Snape in the Harry Potter film series, Eamon de Valera in Michael Collins, and Metatron in Dogma. As a child, Rickman attended Derwentwater Primary School in Acton, a school that followed the Montessori method of education.
Julia Child
World-famous television chef who clearly enjoyed her work, and who exuded a sense of fun, inspiring others to try new things. She also credited her Montessori experience with her love of working with her hand, finding fun in her work, and her joy of working with others.
David Blaine
Magician, endurance artist and advocate of "street magic". Blaine has said that he found his love for magic when he was a four-year-old student in Montessori.
