Montessori parents aren't an elite group
My son is in first grade in the Juneau Montessori program, which makes us new Montessori parents. I have to say, I'm bewildered by all the upset over the Montessori program in Juneau.
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After watching my child struggle to fit in and learn in a standard kindergarten classroom (despite the best efforts of his absolutely lovely kindergarten teacher), I am just so relieved to have him in the Montessori program that I can't care that much where the program is housed or how consolidated it is. Having him in a classroom that is meeting his needs is all that matters to me.
However, that doesn't stop me from being disturbed by Edith McHenry's venomous Jan. 7 letter to the editor. Categorizing Montessori parents as "upper-middle class" parents plotting to grab resources away from students in the mainstream classroom is misleading. I can't pretend to know the incomes of all the families in the program, but I know that our family could not be considered upper-middle class (our son didn't attend the Montessori preschool in Douglas because we simply couldn't afford it). Indeed, none of the families I know well enough to make a guess at their incomes could be considered upper-middle class.
The Montessori program is equally available to every child in the school district, regardless of income, with preference given to children with special needs. I don't know why there aren't more special-needs children in the Montessori classroom. I know that every year there are several Montessori spots held open in the first grade for them. Only if there are no special-needs applicants are other children placed in those spots. Because of this policy, some parents had to hold their breath until almost the start of the school year this year to find out if their children would be in the program or not.
I truly wish each and every child in Juneau could be in a Montessori classroom. So far as I can tell, Montessori parents share only one thing in common with each other, and that's a desire to give their children a positive educational experience.
Surely this is something we have in common with all parents?
Christine Doiron
Juneau