Lisbon Montessori School Reviews (9)
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The school paraded a very experienced teacher upon registration only to announce that teacher will not be teaching 1 week before school starts, the replacement was inexperienced compared to the first teacher. The teachers should be named "supervisors" as no teaching goes on. The whole year my son was playing with a butterfly puzzle (6 pieces) and the facilities outdoor are boring and minimal, while everything is sitting on a pile of sand, I could have created a large sand castle with the amount of sand I had to empty from my son's shoes each day. The school had 1 or 2 field trips, they did no group activities, no learning songs, painting, etc. no activities in general, my son never brought anything he had worked on at school. I believe they understood Montessori as being lazy and leaving the kids be. The owner/manager suddenly became a teacher too, as she is ONLY about saving costs. The staff are always talking about how tired they are, you can see zero enthusiasm in their face, they just want to go home and rest. The school is always asking parents to pay or bring everything when they did want to run an event. Finally the school ended with a "party" that turned out to be 50% bragging about themselves and their wonderful success (give me a break), and the other 50% was congratulating 1 single student for being the first person to make it through the whole school from start to end. It was embarrassing both for the child and for us, teachers spoke about what an amazing student he is, other kids danced around him, and then he came and talked about this "amazing" school. It was horrific. Not a single word about our children or even their class. Now the new school my son is attending is asking us to get him an OT because he is behind, and it makes sense, he wasn't taught anything. I would call this place a daycare more than a "school". Don't make our mistake.
Reply from Lisbon Montessori School, 07/03/2024 @ 17:29:51
Dear HJ, We are sorry your teacher was forced to stay home for a difficult pregnancy. Her replacement was AMI-trained and certified, as are all our guides. Parents who attend our frequent workshops or read our FAQs know that Montessori teachers do not showcase students’ work. Preschoolers don't bring work home, because in Montessori, we use hands-on materials to help them develop their gross and fine-motor skills to laying a solid foundation for their intelligence and imagination to take flight. Field trips are not a significant feature of a Montessori preschool level, many Montessori schools do not conduct field trips at the preschool level. Sand is a creative medium for preschoolers, perhaps children can be asked to empty their shoes before entering the car. I, like most Montessori administrators, teach in the classroom because we are passionate about Montessori education. You described the Montessori teacher as a ‘supervisor’ (we call them Guides). A guide's task is to foster active learning, not regimental learning. As Dr. Maria Montessori explained, "The teacher's ideal is to be able to say, the children are working as if I did not exist.” This is far more work than you can imagine. We wish you could have investigated the Montessori method before sending your child to a school that would not meet your expectations. Having said that, we are sorry that you had such a negative experience and hope your son does well in his new endeavor.Reviews from Google
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