I would argue that that the difference is philosophical more than better worse. Others have talked about structure or not or the right structure or institutions. The difference really is about what one perceives as the role of schools. Different goals different outcomes and they aren't really. The issue about change is simply because people can't SEE the other clearly (especially the standard).
To someone socialized into the normal school system, montessori is incomprehensible and measure as such. The outcomes that are targeted from the montessori philosophy are antithetical to the outcomes standard education seeks to measure. What is happening can easily be labeled 'lazy' or 'disorganized' and the people who are expected to provide outside oversight can't easily identify the learning that is occurring. Outside evaluation requires legibility.
The opposite is also true. Standard school looks confusing and stupid to someone trained in the montessori philosophy - but not quite incomprehensible. That isn't because montessori is special but because it is different and the description of anything different is typically anchored in what is known. If you only knew montessori normal school would look incomprehensible - but because it is inherently a reaction it is taught as such.
I was a montessori kid until 5th grade then ended up in a 'standard' school. I struggled because it was not what I knew. I was accultured to be self sufficient and self-manage and suddenly I was getting yelled at for it. I remember just getting up to go to the bathroom (which was the norm at my prior school so I didn't interrupt others) and getting yelled at for...disrupting others. I think if you looked at the content learning outcomes - the outcomes were effectively equal, some better some worse. But if you look at how each taught me to think there is no comparison - I still rely on the montessori education to this day.
All of this is the same reason why getting higher ed faculty to switch from lecturing to active learning is so hard - if all you know is lecturing its really hard to understand what is happening in an active learning classroom.
Said another way:
>You can’t understand Google unless you know that both Larry and Sergey were Montessori kids. ... In Montessori school you go paint because you have something to express or you just want to do it that afternoon, not because the teacher said so. This is really baked into how Larry and Sergey approach problems. They’re always asking ‘Why should it be like that?’ — Marissa Mayer, former VP of Google
To someone socialized into the normal school system, montessori is incomprehensible and measure as such. The outcomes that are targeted from the montessori philosophy are antithetical to the outcomes standard education seeks to measure. What is happening can easily be labeled 'lazy' or 'disorganized' and the people who are expected to provide outside oversight can't easily identify the learning that is occurring. Outside evaluation requires legibility.
The opposite is also true. Standard school looks confusing and stupid to someone trained in the montessori philosophy - but not quite incomprehensible. That isn't because montessori is special but because it is different and the description of anything different is typically anchored in what is known. If you only knew montessori normal school would look incomprehensible - but because it is inherently a reaction it is taught as such.
I was a montessori kid until 5th grade then ended up in a 'standard' school. I struggled because it was not what I knew. I was accultured to be self sufficient and self-manage and suddenly I was getting yelled at for it. I remember just getting up to go to the bathroom (which was the norm at my prior school so I didn't interrupt others) and getting yelled at for...disrupting others. I think if you looked at the content learning outcomes - the outcomes were effectively equal, some better some worse. But if you look at how each taught me to think there is no comparison - I still rely on the montessori education to this day.
All of this is the same reason why getting higher ed faculty to switch from lecturing to active learning is so hard - if all you know is lecturing its really hard to understand what is happening in an active learning classroom.
Said another way: >You can’t understand Google unless you know that both Larry and Sergey were Montessori kids. ... In Montessori school you go paint because you have something to express or you just want to do it that afternoon, not because the teacher said so. This is really baked into how Larry and Sergey approach problems. They’re always asking ‘Why should it be like that?’ — Marissa Mayer, former VP of Google