Step+2

__Montessori Schools__    These types of schools are based up the teachings and principles of Dr. Maria Montessori. However caution should be exercised since not all schools carrying the **Montessori** tag are actually following Maria Montessori’s philosophy. This also means that the school might not be accredited by the **American Montessori Society** this is a case where copyrights would have come in handy, but since we, as Americans pride ourselves on being smart shoppers caution is nothing out of reach.   Montessori approach centers on allowing children to learn solo, with the teachers merely acting as guides. This means that Montessori teachers do not grade work or correct in red ink (something which I find personally to be very annoying so much so that I cringe at red pen). Though there are technically no grades (numbers, A’s, B’s, C’s, D’s or F’s) the teacher does monitor a child’s growth and improvement by evaluating work and improvement. Parents are kept updated on their child’s development through monthly or quarterly parent-teacher meetings, where the teacher discusses areas of the child’s interest, his or her work and provides insights and also gives a written assessment to the parents.   Montessori schools stress the power of the independent and the influence of imagination. This approach to early childhood education has been shown to promote the usage of multiple intelligences. Multiple intelligences are important because children learn in many ways, not just sitting at a desk memorizing facts and figures, children nay humans in general learn through action. When planting a garden for the first time a child learns through listening to their parent or grandparent or mentor, by having their hands placed in the soil and pushed ever so gently into the soft loamy soil. They learn about life from watering the plant and watching it grow. They learn about death from forgetting every now and then to water the plant and watching it turn brown and dried out.   Another strong aspect of Montessori principle is community. Children are taught respect and sharing as necessary, natural and unbreakable parts of social interaction. They are guided into approaching new ideas with respect, tolerance and understanding. Most importantly however is the fact the Montessori schools seem to endow a love of learning that never fades. Most Montessori schools focus on children in grades K – 8, but there are some that go all the way through 12th.

Montessori videos explaining philosophy of school and giving examples of real life institutions:

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  __ Waldorf Schools __  Similar in some aspects to Montessori schools, Waldorf schools teach through the ideology of “Head, Heart and Hand.” They feel that emphasis must be placed on developing the “whole” child (much like Montessori’s multiple intelligences approach). This development is achieved by creating curriculum that centers on a mixture of amplifying natural creativity and maintaining academic excellence and rigor. Not only will a child attending a Waldorf school be taught at high levels of intellectual standards but will also gain comprehension of necessary social skills and mannerisms. The Waldorf method stresses and seeks to nurture every child’s basis for artistic talent, social skills and spiritual values. <span style="font-size: 16pt; color: black; font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> The teachers focus on ingraining an interest and love of learning while also teaching how to delve into areas of interest. This serves the child later in life because they are able to stir up motivation with ease. To instill interest and deepen understanding most lessons involve physical process such as crafts, painting, building, passing the object around or going out into nature for a biological walk. Thus a balance is created between the development of mind and body. <span style="font-size: 16pt; color: black; font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> Concepts are taught to show the interconnectedness of subjects and ideas, such as combining the subject with music or poetry. This aims to allow education to “flow” and the child to flourish. Rudolf Steiner developed the Waldorf method. Steiner believed that his approach of educating the “whole child” would render the public educational system defective and usher in a more independent educational system. All in all Rudolf Steiner’s goals were morally sound, actually inspiring, so much so that Waldorf schools continue to succeed in their goal of helping to raise healthy and sound children.

A video about Waldorf Schooling: media type="youtube" key="cg9UByIYuEM" height="344" width="425"

<span style="font-size: 16pt; color: black; font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"> <span style="font-size: 16pt; color: black; font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"> <span style="font-size: 16pt; color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; color: black; font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"> __Charter Schools__ <span style="font-size: 16pt; color: black; font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Charter schools pretty much occupy the gray area between public and private schools. They are funded (paid for) with public money but they are founded privately by a group of people (anyone can get funding with accreditation). The site or campus however is not included in the public funding. Charter schools are monitored by the State over periods ranging from 3 to 5 years. If the school does not perform above standard or results begin to decline funding can be withdrawn and the school may be shut down. <span style="font-size: 16pt; color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"> <span style="font-size: 16pt; color: black; font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"> Charter schools came into existence with the passing of the Charter law of 1990. Ever since then they have become increasingly popular alternative options for parents and students alike. There are now over 3,400 charter schools nationwide. The word most commonly associated with charter schools is “Choice”, where choice reflects the liberty of parents to choose where there children attend school and also symbolizes the individuality administrators/teachers are allowed to create lessons plans and classroom atmospheres. <span style="font-size: 16pt; color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"> <span style="font-size: 16pt; color: black; font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"> This greater degree of freedom does not come without charges. A charter school is constantly watched, especially the rank of their academic results, and are held accountable to either the state or school board. Some say that this stresses teachers even more to align their lessons to tests and that charter schools seem to be run more like a business than like schools. <span style="font-size: 16pt; color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"> <span style="font-size: 16pt; color: black; font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"> But don’t take that as “all charter schools are bad”, many charter schools help to educate and aid students. They allow more freedom and independent expression/exploration while taking no money out of the families’ pockets (except for taxes of course). They are a very real choice to receiving a better than excepted education.

A CBS Program about the Pros and Cons of Charter Schools: <span style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">media type="youtube" key="_w1b-8FV2qI" height="344" width="425"

<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Garamond','serif';"> __Homeschooling__ <span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Garamond','serif';"> <span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Homeschooling allows children to be educated from the comforts of their own homes. The teaching aspect of homeschooling is normally done by the parents although in some cases a private tutor may be employed. Homeschooling is done for a number of reasons. Some parents enjoy greater control over the subjects their children learn about; others do so because of religious beliefs, while still others cite the reason for homeschooling as being about having more family time or “togetherness”. <span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Garamond','serif';"> Homeschooling like any other alternative means of education has its advantages and disadvantages. In a homeschooled environment the teachers (parents) can give a more one on one teaching approach. Instead of there being 25 other children diverting attention the instructor can really hone in on the single child’s strengths and weaknesses. Also homeschooling opens the doors to freedom of expression; the child can with the aid of a parent explore topics that really interest them. The schedule can be as lax or strict as desired and stress can be diminished exponentially. The safety of the child is also increased since parental supervision is increased. <span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Garamond','serif';"> Disadvantages to homeschooling are the lack of social bonding and strengthening of social skills. The child does not get to bond with as many children. One way to supplement this is to have the child involved in community activities and sports such as girl scouts or little league. Also since they are not part of the large public school system they miss out on all the benefits from that system (organized sports, clubs, and field trips). <span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Garamond','serif';"> The comfort gained by parents is indeed incentive enough for many but the social needs of a child should not be overlooked simply because of this. Homeschooling is governed by strict laws about receiving proper credits and most states have a stylus of topics they believe should be covered to prepare a student for higher education. Even with the increased workload involved, homeschooling is a valuable choice that should be considered. It is flexible and allows for subjects to be taught at the pace of the learner, allowing knowledge to be gained with minimal stress induced.

One funny video about homeschooling (note the creation line hinting at religious reasons) and one from a California Homeschooling administrator explaining the reasons behind homeschooling and the benefits recieved:

<span style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Garamond','serif';"><span style="font-size: 16pt; color: black; font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">media type="youtube" key="VM6uqj0_jQc" height="344" width="425" media type="youtube" key="-0daC3SWCPQ" height="344" width="425"