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Can Jeff Bezos Bring a Montessori Education to Underserved Children? Does He Want To?

9/25/2018

 
Jeff Bezos recently announced that he would commit two billion dollars to two initiatives, one of which was to create a network of full-scholarship preschools in underserved communities.

Reaction has been “wary,” focusing mostly on the lack of detail in the announcement. (There was also one of those periodic meditations on tech moguls’ love affair with Montessori education.) The two professional organizations of Montessori educators—no doubt hoping for an unprecedented spotlight on and promotion of work they hold dear—issued statements that fizzed with enthusiasm (see here for AMI & AMS).

​For my part, I was focused on one word in the announcement
Picture
Despite this headline in Chalkbeat, Bezos is not proposing to launch and operate Montessori preschools, but rather Montessori-INSPIRED preschools. That’s a huge difference, because although there are some studies showing an advantage to the Montessori method (see here, here, and here) research also shows that fidelity matters—children in Montessori classrooms “supplemented” with non-Montessori materials learned less than children in high-fidelity classrooms (see here and here).

I hope that Mr. Bezos and whoever he listens to on education matters are keeping in mind that the method has a lot of components, and, excepting the consequences of adding materials to the classroom, we don’t have data on outcomes when the method is tampered with.

What happens if you
  • employ teachers who lack Montessori training? (There are thousands of teacher training programs in the US. Fewer than 25 offer Montessori training.)
  • eliminate or shorten the 3 hour work cycle typical of Montessori preschool classrooms?
  • eliminate or change the multi-year age groupings?
  • eliminate or change Montessori scripted lessons? (Did you know that Montessori uses scripted lessons?)
  • eliminate or change the curriculum?
  • eliminate or change the Montessori conception of a prepared environment?
  • change what is usually a high student-teacher ratio?
I don’t know the answer to any of these questions. I don’t think anyone does.

The Executive Director of the Yale Education Studies program wondered, in a New York Times op-ed, why Bezos didn’t make use of existing institutions to promote his preschool vision, rather than creating a network out of whole cloth? One obvious answer is that he wants tighter control to shape the organization as he sees fit, and to populate it with people he trusts.

Another likely reason is that he’s (rightly) suspicious that Montessori educators will be sticklers about the method, and he wants the flexibility to adapt the method as he sees fit. This may even be what he meant by another phrase in the brief announcement that drew a lot of attention: “the child will be the customer.”

Fair enough, it’s his money. But if that’s true, you may as well drop the “Montessori-inspired” bit.

Indeed, I’m predicting that picking and choosing elements of the Montessori toddler program (and not adopting it wholesale) will yield student outcomes (academic and social) that are indistinguishable from other preschools. I think the components interlock and all are integral to its success.

​Montessori is, indeed, “inspiring” but using the education program as a jumping off point for your own homebrew will, I predict, disappoint.
whirled peas
9/26/2018 12:02:50 am

I thought you would be interested in this note from the Montessori Foundation sent out to a wide list (and other Montessori organizations have followed suit)

In case you missed this story in last week's news, Montessori alumnus, founder and CEO of Amazon.com, Jeff Bezos, and his wife, MacKenzie, pledged to donate two billion dollars to launch a network of Montessori preschools serving young children from low-income families and creating new support systems to help address homelessness in America.


As Mr. Bezos told the New York Times on Friday, the new education effort plans to build and run a national non-profit network of free Montessori preschools to serve low-income children. "I'm excited about that because it will give us an opportunity to learn, invent, and improve. The child will be the customer." The New York Times article adds, "Mr. Bezos went to Montessori schools and has said it developed his sense of exploration and focus."

We believe it is no accident that two of the three most successful companies in the world (Amazon and Google) were founded by former Montessori students. Jeff Bezos, Larry Paige, and Sergei Brin were given the opportunity, in the microcosm of their Montessori classrooms, to develop the skills required for success in today's world. The gift of a Montessori education ultimately enables children to become individuals, who can think for themselves, think of others, and think out-of-the-box.

Why this matters

The Montessori community is at the crossroads of efforts to change the direction of education policy and teaching across the United States and abroad.

The Montessori Foundation and International Montessori Council are members of the Montessori Leaders Collaborative. We work with a network of Montessori organizations, universities, researchers, and public-policy groups working together to redefine education in America from the ground up. Our goal is to bring schools into alignment with a century of research into child psychology, mental health, brain development, and common-sense thought about how schools can best prepare children for an ever-changing future.

The Montessori Foundation and The International Montessori Council are working together with the Montessori Leaders Collaborative to develop a collective, united, strategic response to this unprecedented opportunity.


We strongly encourage schools and individual Montessori groups to not approach the Bezos Family or Amazon directly. We need to see what they have in mind and speak with one voice.


While this proposed project may not help existing schools or organizations directly, it is a milestone for Montessori as a whole and will benefit children in untold ways.


Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos' pledge is only the latest from a growing number of prominent figures, who not only advocate for Montessori as a key part of the future of school reform but are beginning to make major personal investments in its advancement. The Bezos' contribution is important in its sheer size and as a signal for what is to come.


From decades of experience, we know that Montessori works. It is gratifying to see the growing body of evidence and support for investment in the development of fully implemented Montessori programs everywhere.

******************************************

It sounds like the Montessori community will do their best to hold Bezos to best practices :)

Tory Callahan
10/19/2018 07:16:27 am

Imagine if Mr. Bezos first invested in R&D. His effort could consider current research, evidence and data to design what the best work of today could yield relative to diverse student needs? It is discouraging that we rely on practices from over 100 years ago rather than updating. We've learned some things since then that could help. "Best practices" is a moving target. Dare I hope that is what "inspired" means?


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    The goal of this blog is to provide pointers to scientific findings that are applicable to education that I think ought to receive more attention.

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