Alternative Education in Ithaca: The Montessori Method.

In-Depth Education Story
--Eric Raue

Traditional public schools typically present students with a predetermined schedule. There is a separate time for math, science, reading, and other subjects. But the Montessori method, developed by Dr. Maria Montessori, combines all subjects and materials and divides children into classes not based on age, but on periods of development. The method aims to allow students to learn in their own ways.

“Every child is really moving through every curricula area at their own speed,” said Andrea Riddle, principal of the Elizabeth Ann Clune Montessori School on East King Road in Ithaca.

The role of the teacher in Montessori is that of a facilitator and guide, aiming to allow student’s own natural curiosity to drive their learning. The Elizabeth Ann Clune School’s website explains that Montessori allows children to “make their own discoveries.” And in a place with as much natural beauty as Ithaca, there’s always lots to discover. Instead of learning facts about nature, children have opportunities to go out and interact with it directly.

“We go the lake,” Riddle said. “We always talk about it in Montessori as geography through the feet, and history through the heart.”

In the classroom, students aren’t given assignments. Learning materials are presented and explained, and students can freely interact throughout the day as they see fit. Lessons of spelling, science, math, and interpersonal skills like sharing and cooperation are weaved into children's experiences throughout the school day.






The level of freedom in the classroom is quite a bit higher than in traditional classrooms. This is a common theme in many forms of alternative education. Joe Greenberg, the principal of Ithaca’s Lehman Alternative Community School, or LACS, said that not only do alternative schools tend to give students more power over their curriculum, but aspects like community service and self-growth are emphasized more. Greenberg said students are also empowered because they chose the school and show up every day not because they have to, but because they want to learn.

“Every student is there by choice…they’re free to leave and go back to their regularly assigned school. But the expectations are greater when you choose to go to a school as opposed to being assigned,” Greenberg said.

In the case of Montessori Schools, students not only choose to be there, but they choose how to learn. At the Elizabeth Ann Clune School, students are even free to take their learning outside the classroom.

“We extend our classroom beyond the classroom door,” Riddle said. “So on beautiful days like today, every classroom in our school is designed with a door that goes to the outside, and the doors are opened…there are choices that take children outside so kids are tending gardens, they’re taking care of animals.”




These sorts of activities are used to teach lessons like science, environmental appreciation, cooperation, and independence, all learned through supplementary materials and the teacher’s guidance. Sometimes these materials are not man-made: Riddle found that students benefited more from the natural landscape around the school than they could from any playground.

“After being here a year, I decided I would never put up a playground because what wound up happening was that kids became custodians of the land in a way that was profound,” Riddle said.

By making the world the students' playground, Montessori tries to eliminate the separation between work and play. The aim is to make learning a part of life and, as the Elizabeth Ann Clune School website states, “not a task to be endured.” Indeed, at first glance students in the classrooms looked more like they were playing than doing schoolwork. Every classroom buzzed with activity. Materials ranging from puzzles to cooking materials kept the children busily occupied.

The school’s cooking materials are one example of how Montessori works. While a traditional elementary school might have a play kitchen, a Montessori class will actually introduce children to real-world cooking tools to facilitate learning in a variety of areas.

“They learn how to fry an egg, they learn how to make toast, they learn how to heat boiling water and add it to oatmeal,” Riddle said.

Cooking their own food is used to teach children independence, while sharing the final product with other students is meant to teach social skills like good manners and peer cooperation. Smaller class sizes, typical in many institutions of alternative education, help teachers in the school to weave these lessons with each student’s individual needs in mind. The ratio of students to teachers in the school is about 1 to 12.

“There’s a sense of personalization in a smaller school setting,” Greenberg said. “Students will be honored for their individual characteristics a little bit more.”


Additional Links:
-The Montessori Foundation

-The Urban Institute-An Overview of Alternative Education