Montessori vs Waldorf in Education

Paper Summary:

This paper looks at the two fastest growing educational systems in the world today, Waldorf and Montessori. The paper aims to assess the similarities and differences between these two models in terms of historical background, teaching philosophy, environment and curriculum. The author states that in recent years the system of compulsory public elementary and secondary education has become less and less efficient. The need for an alternative to public schooling all over the world has been growing, which is why analyzing the effectiveness of these systems is significant.

From the Paper:

"There are quite a few differences as far as the philosophy of teaching between the two models of schooling. Firstly, in the case of Montessori children are encouraged to work independently whereas Waldorf schools are based on cooperation among students. In fact, there is a great difference in terms of socialization. The Waldorf philosophy holds that the child gradually learns to be a social being (Ibid.) and that his or her social development is as important as any other kind of knowledge, and that this can only occur through working together and achieving a sense of belonging to a certain group, whereas the Montessori model stresses the importance of not bothering others while performing one's task. Also, the role of the teacher is drastically different from one model to the other. The Waldorf teacher is actively involved in the teaching procedure; his mission is to teach good social behavior and to encourage children to join together in their activities, whereas the Montessori teacher does not get involved in the activities unless the child requests his help. Last but not least, Montessori education focuses its attention on introducing children to the real world during the first six years of schools so that children are able to use these experiences for the rest of their lives thus imagination is not an important part of early education in the case of Montessori schooling (Hall: 125). On the other hand, Waldorf does exactly the opposite: it uses children's imagination to teach them about the real world by relying on stories and games."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bonilla, Carlos A.; Bonsteel, Alan. (1997). "A Renaissance Man: Rudolf Steiner and the Waldorf Movement". In A Choice for Our Children: Curing the Crisis in America's Schools (pp. 141-148). San Francisco: Ics Press.
• Bonilla, Carlos A.; Bonsteel, Alan. (1997). "La Dottoressa: Maria Montessori and Her Schools". In A Choice for Our Children: Curing the Crisis in America's Schools (pp. 125-132). San Francisco: Ics Press.
• Hall, Clifton L. The First Lady of Education. (1953). History of Education Journal, 4.4, 124-128. Mayclin Stephenson, Susan. Montessori and Waldorf Schools. <http://www.michaelolaf.net/MONTESSORI%20and%20WALDORF.html>
• Shell, Barbara. "A Look at Waldorf and Montessori". Association of Waldorf Schools of North America. <http://www.awsna.org/awsna-faq2.html>

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