Editor: Attempts to take sides or attach blame to either government or teachers do not get anyone closer to equitable resolution, as long as they continue to operate within our archaic, increasingly irrelevant system of education. Frustrations will continue as long as we try to impose a factory model, requiring every child to jump on a conveyor belt of generic learning that meets the needs of a relatively few “average” children.
Class sizes become increasingly significant as we find more and more so-called “special needs” children who do not “fit the mould.” Until we dispense with the conveyor belt model, and start with each child, the frustrations will continue.
Until we stop working to control children and impose curriculum, and instead empower them to discover their own gifts, and follow their innate passions for learning, the frustrations will continue.
Until teachers are allowed to tap their own genius for teaching, instead of being restricted to a one size fits all set of learning outcomes, the frustrations will continue.
Montessori discovered this over a century ago and our world has plenty of examples of contribution by Montessori children who were not “dumbed down” and who thought creatively to give the world benefits, such as Amazon.com, Wikipedia and Google.
What is required is a fundamental shift in attitude, a shift in approach to children, and a lifting of the increasingly restrictive requirements of a government that is out of touch with the needs of most children.
I taught for 10 years in the public system, before giving up my attempts to meet the needs of individual children, and founding my own school. I truly regret having to limit our enrolment to those who can afford to pay extra fees, but I hold to the hope that one day the thousands of successful students who have benefited from our school over the past 28 years will eventually leaven enough thought to create the shift in the system required to prevent continuation of our present frustrations.
Kristin Cassie,
Founder and Principal,
Roots & Wings Montessori School And Childcare Centres
