Not! There is not a Montessori cult ( that I know of)! There are a LOT of people that strongly believe in the philosophy and some who may seem a little too enamored. I believe a big part of it is that finding out about the philosophy and experiencing it firsthand is like a light bulb coming on. It just makes sense to a lot of people and they want to share it.
Some people like my husband may joke around about there being a cult because he knows how much I enjoy being a Montessori teacher and that I have some great teacher pals that are also involved in Montessori. Maybe from there people hear that tossed around and really believe it is true. I really have no idea why people believe there is a Montessori cult. If there was a cult what would we teach the children to do- read, write, learn place value at three or four? So you know that I’m not a member of the supposed Montessori cult, I’ll tell you some issues in Montessori. Surely a cult member wouldn’t admit to this!
A big "problem" with Montessori is that any school can claim to be one. So then we have bad apples making the whole tree appear rotten! I'm not saying that Montessori is the only way or best way of educating children, but I can say that I have seen amazing things happen in Montessori.
There is also the misconception about Montessori that the children are free to do whatever they choose. This is most definitely not the case. Montessori classrooms have ground rules that provide structure. Everyone, including teachers, is expected to follow these ground rules.
Speaking of ground rules...So this post will be clearer, I will try to have a list of some for my next blog.
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