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Is There One Way?

From an early age, I remember sitting at my dinner table working through the same

monotonous math worksheets, summarizing my book of the week in three paragraphs for my

book report, and making flashcards for the history test that was soon to come. My mom always

told me that it was going to prepare me for middle school, which I guess kind of made sense,

however I did not want to believe that. While, I was doing what fourth grade little me, would say

is dumb and boring, my friend who went to a private Montessori academy, was either outside

swimming in the pool or jumping on her trampoline waiting for me to be done. If I had envy for

anyone, it had to be my friend Kate. She never once had to spend long nights finishing her

homework, or studying for a test, because she never had one! No homework, no book reports, no

tests, she was definitely living the dream in any kids’ eyes. She had no idea how lucky she was.

Fast forward a couple years, Kate and I attended the same public middle school. Which got me

wondering, if we were going to end up at the same place, why did I have to do all this work

when she did not have to? Were we both going to be able to succeed in the same mainstream

environment despite our different upbringings?

It always made me wonder what it was about private schools that make parents all around

the world pay extra money to enroll their children into that school instead of a free public

school? It made me question if the students that were attending private schools were getting a

better education which would overall help to shape the students to become more intelligent and

wiser than those who did not attend private schools. There has to be a reason why some parents

choose private schools instead of the mainstream educational program that the government

provides. Recently, I was able to study this matter up close when I had the chance to tutor a mini

study group that included two students that attended a private school and two that attended

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public school. It was interesting to see the differences and similarities in the ways the children

would go about solving and interpreting each question we went over. It was evident how the

students that attended a private academy were able to excel in a certain aspect, whereas the

students who attended a public school did not have the same skill set and vice versa. However,

there were also aspects in which both sides were both not able to interpret or execute the

problems correctly. This made me even more curious to figure out if there was one way or

method that incorporated all these beneficial qualities. So, I decided to wrap up all my theories

and wonders about education into one simple question: What type of early educational

development philosophy best prepares students to learn in a mainstream setting?

The early stages of one’s life can be considered the most important phase that one will

ever go through. Dr. Pia Britto, Unicef’s chief of Early Childhood Development stated in her

video; “What’s the Most Important Phase of Life?”, “The first few years of when you are a child

is when the brain grows really fast – faster than any other time in our life. The brain makes [more

than 1 million] new connections every second!” With this being said, there is no doubt that

parents deeply consider many different routes, to figure which education path will best benefit

their child in the long run. When deciding which educational path to take, the very first decision

they need to make is whether to enroll their child into a public school, or a private school. A

public school is defined as, “learning institutions that are funded by local, state and/or federal

governments a government issued/funded educational institution,” (What are Public). Public

schools provide a general education for kindergarteners to twelfth graders following a set

curriculum and cumulative guideline throughout the years. All students are taught at the same

time the same lessons that are considered the common standards to their appropriate grade level.

Whereas, private is the complete opposite. They are individually owned institutions that do not

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correlate with the government at all and are funded by tuition generated admissions. Since they

are not under the government’s ruling this allows the schools to have more individuality as well

as freedom to not have to follow the same curriculums, or regulations that public schools are

required to. Within these private academies, each institution follows a specific educational

philosophy. Some are religious based, whereas, others follow the Montessori or Reggio Emilia

Approach beliefs or even sometimes a combination of all three.

One very common educational philosophy is the Montessori method. This method is

purely based on the student’s pace and self growth with the slight help and guidance from

teachers. Focusing on the child’s cognitive, social, and emotional skills, they allow the students

to make decisions and learn based on their pace. Eoin O’Carroll, a renowned environment

blogger’s, article, “Maria Montessori: Is the Montessori Method Any Good?”, (2012); claims

that, "the Montessori method created a 'child-centered' approach that emphasizes rich

environments, freedom, and respect for the student's point of view”(1); and therefore has proved

itself to be the most effective early educational development philosophy. O’Carroll illuminates

this assertion by analyzing the scores of various tests of the students of a Montessori school and

those of a conventional public school on both cognitive and social measures. He highlights the

different results and data identified in the study from multiple age groups in order to emphasize

the profound discrepancies between the two philosophies. When testing two different age groups,

he noticed that the differences in results with the group of five year-olds were more profound

than the group of eleven to twelve year-olds. The students that attended the Monstessori academy

performed better in categorizing and identifying letters. However there were no distinct

differences in spatial reasoning. With the eleven to twelve year-olds it was rated that the

Montessori students were able to structure more creative responses and think more “outside of

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the box”. However, the study does not discredit the creative responses from the students that

represented the public schools. On the other hand, O’Carroll does imply that the written

responses from the students from public schools demonstrate how they are taught to answer the

question whether that may be with critical thinking or not. He also talks about how those kids

looked more comfortable in the testing environment than those who attended private schools,

where testing is not strongly encouraged. This further leads to O’Carroll’s statement that,

“instead of emphasizing drills and memorization, with students all doing the same thing at the

same time the same way, the Montessori method deploys student-selected work, small-group

instruction, a lack of exams and grades, and collaboration…” (2). This further demonstrates how

Montessori philosophy steers away from the traditional ways of teaching where a teacher teaches

the whole class one lesson and they all unanimously learn it. This allows the students to explore

their educational and creative boundaries by themselves. O’Carroll wants to emphasize that the

Montessori method really stresses its importance on developing not only academic skills but also

the development of social skills.

In an interview with child psychologist Winnie Lim, she explains why she chose to enroll

her son into Green Hedges Montessori School. Her son, Michael Yoo was diagnosed with

hydrocephalus, one of the side effects of this diagnosis was that his motor skills would not be as

developed. This prevents him from thinking and focusing as well as other kids his age. This was

one of the main reasons why she had enrolled him in this academy. “I knew that by enrolling him

into a Montessori method school, he would be able to learn at his own pace and not feel

pressured or inferior by the other students,” said Lim. She took into account that her son would

be in a much smaller classroom which would allow for more one-on-one guidance and

counseling that she knew her son would value. Stating that, “it does not help the brain develop

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and adapt to new concepts and skills when one’s surroundings are going at a different pace and

speed than you are.” Explaining how when a child is starting to learn a new concept it takes time

to learn and develop that skill and knowledge. However, if everyone around the child is moving

on and learning something new, it does not allow enough time for the child to process and get a

good understanding of the new information that was just given to them. Additionally Dr. Lim has

mentioned that her son had a very shy personality which prevented him from making friends and

developing new relationships. She realized that not only will Michael be able to develop a deeper

relationship with his teacher, but also help him make friends through all of the collaborative

work the school partaken in.

Similar to the Montessori philosophy, the Reggio Emilia approach is very much

student-led and relies on the student’s growth. However, the main difference would be that the

Reggio Emilia approach focuses on how the students learn from very hands-on experiences. The

school likes to teach through various forms that are not traditional, such as dance, music, and

puppetry. The philosophy focuses on the innovative ways that can help a child learn about their

individuality and see what they can do with their power and potential in a given environment. In

the newsletter published by Goodwin University, “The Pros and Cons of Reggio Emilia: Is it

Right For Your Child?”, (2019); urges that the Reggio Emilia approach, “empowers children to

take pride in their own education, so that they have positive experiences in the classroom and

feel passionate to continue to learn and explore,”(3). They elaborate the different benefits of this

principle by illustrating how the students become more empathetic, accepting, respectful, and

understanding as a whole. Goodwin University prompts these assertions in order to declare the

benefits that students will receive in comparison to what might be lacking in schools that do not

follow this principle. It also explains how their mission point is more about letting the child

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construct their own knowledge by their own means, rather than what society tells them to. The

Reggio Emilia approach urges students to express themselves more openly and take into account

their feelings regardless of how it may be perceived to others. However, to bring in another

perspective, Brandon Gantt published a doctoral study: “Perceptions of the Reggio Emilia

Approach to Early Childhood Education, (2021); to strike the argument that the Reggio Emilia

approach in schools is too abstract and unpredictable, as it “has not consistently shown a positive

influence on cognitive, social, and emotional development of young children.” The researchers

believe that there is no fundamental basis to be able to gauge the child’s development as it is

student-directed and not shown through physical work. Gantt puts into perspective on how the

approach focuses a lot more on practice than theory in order to show the inconsistency of the

practice.

Although a lot of private schools are starting to expand and become more recognized

around the world, the most prominent teaching to this day is the traditional mainstream public

education system. Unlike private schools, public schools have a set curriculum and standard for

every grade that they teach and follow. Everyone in the class learns the same things and are

given work to practice on what they have learned and show what they know. Public schools

follow this set of curriculums in order to prepare their students for college in a more mainstream

setting. They do this by having their students take standardized tests to see if they have reached

developmental milestones according to their grade levels. This helps the school see what subjects

students are excelling in as well as lacking in. This can become very advantageous for students

who attend public schools because they are used to not only taking the test but the testing

environment. Whereas, those who attend private schools are not used to these tests. Through a

Stanford University study, it was found out “that students at charter schools were more likely to

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score worse than public schools students than they were to outperform those students -- 37%

percent of charter schools did worse than comparable public schools, while only 17% did better.

The rest, 46%, scored the same,” (“Why I Send”). The public education system is universal, it is

open for everyone. Since there are no financial requirements or restrictions in enrolling a student

in a public school, it reduces the chances of a population where it is highly dominated by one

race, and instead leads to greater amounts of diversity. This benefits everyone as everyone is

equally given the chance to receive education regardless of their background. Not only does this

create somewhat of an equal chance, “researchers have documented that students’ exposure to

other students who are different from themselves and the novel ideas and challenges that such

exposure brings leads to improved cognitive skills, including critical thinking and problem

solving,” (Wells). This shows how with more exposure to diversity it helps children to expand

their learning beyond what is in their books but also learn within their surroundings.

Despite all the differences between all the various educational philosophies, the common

similarity within all of them is the important role that the teacher plays in each one. Whether the

teachers observe from afar, or guide the student up close they play a significant role. They see up

close how each philosophy works for a child. In a personal interview with a public middle school

teacher, Laura Walters, she talks about working with students from different educational

upbringings and how they naturally incorporate what they learn in a mainstream setting. When

asked the ambiguous question: What is the best educational philosophy for students? She

answered, “I would have to say it is a case by case situation. There isn't a universal method as

there are benefits to both public and private schools, and I think that it is a matter of finding what

fits best for your child and their needs.” Walter believes that the best educational method is

finding out what is best suitable for their child because one specific route can not navigate

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everyone in the exact same way. Walter further shared her thoughts on what public schools could

provide that private schools could not, and vice versa, she responded by saying that, “public

schools provide more exposure from different perspectives of a topic, whereas private are

allowed to sensor and pick and choose what and what not to teach, however private schools

allow for more intimate level teaching as teachers can have more one-on-one time with their

students.” When she compares her students at an academic level she noticed that the students that

have attended private schools were all at different skill set levels, whereas, those who attended

public school previously were all generally at the same level. However when she compared them

in a social aspect she was not able to clearly distinguish whether or not they were shy or

outgoing due to their educational background or mere personality.

The answer to the research question of: What type of early educational development

philosophy best prepares students to learn in a mainstream setting is deemed too vague. Which

may not be the anticipated direct answer, but there is no other way to put it. A person can fight

for one philosophy over the other, however, through the research of articles and interviews it

shows how every method has their own positives and negatives. It is a matter of determining

what values and morals each philosophy best applies to the targeted audience and what the

parents believe will benefit their child’s needs. Having to choose one universal method that is

considered the “best” is impossible, because of the fact that everyone works and learns

differently. One has to take into account the natural intelligence level that everyone is born with

as it can have a significant effect on their ability to learn and excel at certain concepts and

subjects. This research showed a new perspective as to how people approach each step

differently and accordingly to what works best for them. The research has also shown that people

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learn to adapt into new environments and settings with the different developed skill sets that they

have encountered.

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Works Cited

Britto, Pia. “What's the most important phase of life?” UNICEF,

https://www.unicef.org/parenting/child-development/most-important-phase-life-class.

Accessed 22 March 2022.

Gantt, Brandon, and Loris Malaguzzi. “Perceptions of the Reggio Emilia Approach to Early

Childhood Education.” ScholarWorks,

https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=11129&context=dissertatio

ns. Accessed 21 April 2022.

Goodwin University. “The Pros and Cons of Reggio Emilia: Is it Right For Your Child?.”

Riverside, 31 January 2019,

https://www.goodwin.edu/enews/pros-and-cons-of-reggio-emilia/. Accessed 17 Feb

2022.

Lim, Winnie. Child Psychologist. Personal Interview. 15 March 2022

O'Carroll, Eoin. "Maria Montessori: Is the Montessori Method any Good?" Christian Science

Monitor, 31 Aug 2012. SIRS Issues Researcher,

https://explore.proquest.com/sirsissuesresearcher/document/2263517173?accountid=1938

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Walters, Laura. Teacher. Personal Interview. 11 March 2022

Wells, Amy Stuart, et al. “How Racially Diverse Schools and Classrooms Can Benefit All

Students.” The Century Foundation, 9 February 2016,

https://tcf.org/content/report/how-racially-diverse-schools-and-classrooms-can-benefit-all

-students/?session=1. Accessed 22 March 2022.

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“What are Public Schools? - Education and Career FAQs.” Learn.org,

https://learn.org/articles/What_are_Public_Schools.html. Accessed 22 March 2022.

“Why I Send My Children To Public Schools.” Utah PTA,

https://www.utahpta.org/why-i-send-my-children-public-schools. Accessed 22 March

2022.

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