MONTESSORI VS WALDORF: The Differences You NEED To Know!

[@c.c.l.9139]

I definitely want to pick and choose between the two philosophies for my own kids. I can't imagine taking out fantasy or taking out early reading. I was a very precocious reader myself and was actually writing my own fantasy stories by 6.

[@jespejo16]

Agreed I do both 😅for my daughter I read her book the next day I act it out 😅like the little red ridding hood I read her at bed time them then act it out the next day with added a little extra i pretend to be the big bad wolves and we have a magical garden that we have to walk through a crystal for her to hold on as protection spell something like that

[@nkamilla003]

Waldorf/Montessori teacher here! I HIGHLY suggest taking ur kid to either one school ESPECIALLY primary school

[@alika207]

So great to find another person who teaches in both schools! I teach music in a local Montessori school and Waldorf school.

[@theculturedkidlanguages]

Oh gosh I love that you're sharing this coz there is so much confusion around the differences here. I had no idea about the dark underbelly about these educational philosophies.

[@zhaniyabekbau9379]

3:13 about teeth. My grandmother is cardiologist and grandfather surgeon. Both doctors. And they said that when child loses their first tooth it is when they are ready to go to school. (In my country it is a popular debate when to send a child to school 5? 6? 7?) So they said that this is how doctors tell when to start formal education. Although I never heard pediatrician’s opinion on that. It is interesting to know that both Montessori and Steiner had same opinion. And Montessori was a pediatrician (if I remember correctly) I don’t know if Steiner had medical background.

[@confidentlymom]

Steiner was just a philosopher - but yes! That's definitely the way many cultures marked the next stage of child development/maturity! What country are you and your family from? I muchhh prefer that than the American way of "ok your kid is 3, time for school!"

[@zhaniyabekbau9379]

@@confidentlymom I'm from Kazakhstan (Central Asia). In CIS (former Societ Union Countries) formal school (grade 1) is from about age 6. Children don't have to know how to read or write, although many parents prefer to prepare them, so we also have grade 0 (optional) We do 11 grades (mostly). Anything under ages 6-7 is called kindergarten (so terms like daycare, preschool, pre-k and even the western definition of kindergarten confused me at first). Kindergartens have groups like younger kids 2-3, middle group 3-4, older group 4-5, and school prep/grade 0 5-6. Ages vary from place to place. Kindergarten is optional, usually sent after 2-3. I and my sibling were all sent after 1. It is really hard to find a daycare, the majority will accept after age 2 or 1.5. Earliest I saw was 8 month, in Western Countries I saw daycares from 2 month. Everything under 6 is optional, but children must go to formal school after they turn 6 ( some will send to 1st grade, some to 0th). Homeschool is not allowed, unfortunately, if you don't have special circumstances. I believe this is true for all CIS countries (9-15 countries).

[@confidentlymom]

@@zhaniyabekbau9379 I think you're right about homeschool for all the CIS countries. It's really a shame on it. In the US we are starting to have some states add more and more restrictions to it as well unfortunately. It's so interesting as we used to be raised up by skills and seem to forget that with how educational models are turning today (at least in the US, a lot of standardizing)

[@momiadeagua]

Steiner studied sciences at first. He developed several practical knowledges based on his "esoteric" visions, spiritual such indeed If people forget we are spiritual beings, then they "ll find difficulties un accepting Waldorf's foundatoons.

[@deeeno6867]

That’s very interesting. My fiancée was developmentally delayed both academically and physically. She didn’t learn to read until she was about 12, which is around the same time that she started loosing baby teeth. I wonder what these philosophers would have to say about that. Was it just her body trying to communicate that she needed much more time than the average kid before starting academics?

[@evgeniialitvina902]

Wow, that was really educational! I first heard of Waldorf school from Ashley (Hapa Family), but she never mentioned those esoteric aspects of it. Then recently I started reading the "Drama Queen" by Sara Gibbs and she actually described her childhood in antroposophical society including her attending a Steiner school. Honestly, that was kinda shocking for me as I (due to never looking for any details on Waldorf myself) got used to think of Waldorf as somewhat close to the Montessori school but with better focus on imagination. I'm so curious to dive into details of both now! Thank you for the video, looking forward to watching the next ones!

[@confidentlymom]

Yes! they are VERY different, definitely some core overlaps in early education and how they see the world overall, but verrrryyy different expressions really indicative of the founders life experiences! Can you share a synopsis of what her experience was at school?? I've read/watched countless experiences but I dont think I've heard one from an autistic perspective! I can't tell if I think it'd be easier or more challenging depending on where the person is on the spectrum

[@evgeniialitvina902]

​@@confidentlymom, long story short, it wasn't a good experience) She even sometimes calls her former classmates "survivors", but I'm not entirely sure why yet. As for her as an autistic person, she had struggles with almost everything: lack of friends and bullying because of her overly active uncontrollable chattering, problems with physical activities due to sensory overload, and too much of the esoteric impact which aggravated already existed difficulties distinguishing between fantasy and reality. By now I've only read up until the point where she is in her early teens, so that above is only relatable to the period prior to that age. But honestly, I don't expect it to get any better...

[@confidentlymom]

@@evgeniialitvina902 Yeah that makes sense on all fronts! There are a lot of reddit threads and articles from "survivors" of the school because there is this "cult like" aspect to it all and if she referred to them as Steiner schools instead of Waldorf, then I'm going to assume it was much more associated with the not-so good classic aspects vs. filtered/watered down Waldorf of present times. I def don't see it getting an better if you're just getting to teen years 😬

[@evgeniialitvina902]

@@confidentlymom, yeah, she attended her Steiner school in the late 1990s and 2000s, so I can guess how much different it was comparing to what Waldorf schools are now. That is also why I'd like to hear your story with switching to Waldorf after Montessori with your daughter and some reasons behind this )

[@PrplElephants]

I’d love more information on how you introduce fairy tales and books in your family!!

[@confidentlymom]

For introducing books, I have this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fHfVh419nLCmfZosi=MLMDTJhkLsseXFIT and there's a follow up to that one, which the concepts hold true, but some of the examples i use i've changed my mind on, but the philosophy behind them we still practice. And then as far as fairy tales we usually wait on the classics until about 3 years old to dive in - this blog post I just found is fairly similar to what we do: fairydustteaching.com/2010/11/age-appropriate-fairy-tales/ - but I introduce some of their "4 year old" recs at 3. Basically the way fairy tales were designed is the stories of the 3s at 3, so 3 little pigs, 3 billy goats gruff, goldilocks and the 3 bears and then we also did sweet porridge (my kids LOVE, you can just google it and print it out), and the giant turnip. Anything super simple and repetitive you could easily memorie and re-enact with dolls is my rule of thumb. My almost 5 year olds FAVORITE book is this one: bit.ly/3uzCgea I like it because it has minimal pictures, but enough for her to look at while I read. We even have it on vacation with us right now. We've had this for 6+ months with literal daily reads. Though this one is incredibly similar, with more stories, and on sale ofr less right now: bit.ly/3GgGYQw

[@agnesfouche4788]

Why do the word demonic appears with Waldorf school and do they tap into spiritual realms ?

[@1dddave]

Thank you for a very informative and interesting video. I don’t know anything about Montessori but, I taught in Waldorf Education for 20 years and I found nothing here to object to. I wasn’t sure whether you said that anything regarding Anthroposophy is taught in Waldorf Schools. It isn’t. That would be indoctrination and thus a violation of WE’s mission to educate the student towards freedom and independent thinking. Although WE students do learn ABOUT the world’s great religions, religion of any kind as a belief system is not supposed to be taught in Waldorf Schools. Again, thank you very much for this excellent presentation.

[@SaraGhathery]

Waldorf is my choice i think

[@Hitogata]

My son's Montessori classroom looks very cozy and homely, in my opinion! Thought I do agree, as a designer, that the colour palette of the materials is a bit outdated and could use a modern update 😆 As an Atheist the more I learn about these methods the more I love Montessori and dislike Waldorf 😅 You said religion is not a part of it, but Waldorf seems to be very spiritual. For me spiritual and religious are the same thing. I'm very curious as how your daughter was developing anxiety over things being too realistic? And what you mentioned about how to introduce fantasy books. I actually really liked some advice you gave about books before! Like how you mentioned you tape some specific pages in the lovevery books and explained why and it makes a lot of sense! So, even thought I see you leaning more towards Waldorf, I'm curious as what more you have to say about books! 🙂

[@confidentlymom]

So it’s not that she developed anxiety form being too realistic but that solely basing things in realism left too large of a gap for undefined experiences for her as she started to have more time a part from me and I couldn’t speak/help her work through stuff I saw. My views still hold from my original video. But fantasy gave room for things to be far enough removed (so it didn’t teach behaviors we didn’t want like I talk about in that video ) but still taught lessons so when she inevitably dealt with those things she had a schema to tap into even when I wasn’t around to help her process. And I wouldn’t say I lean more waldorf. I lean in favor of the child and family values. I think the videos def skew that way though just because they were intended to fill a gap in the existing information and as a response to the DMs I’m always getting asking to identify every lovevery toy that could be related to waldorf 😅 I didn’t want to just repeat what every other KZbin video out there says. And also wanted people to not freak out if something could be qualified as Waldorf or think one was safe while the other was bad. It’s not black and white abd very teacher/school dependent. My daughter doesn’t go to either type of school anymore lol I have serious issues with both and have always planned to homeschool by the time my daughter is 6 or 7

[@Hitogata]

@The Confused Mom Sorry I misunderestood! It would be interesting to see a video about which things you don't like about both methods 🙂 As for schemas, I've only ever heard about the schemas that The Way We Play youtube/insta talks about, which are completely different things, but I guess the word can be used in different ways, so that could be interesting to learn about as well!

[@confidentlymom]

@@Hitogata Next week is the criticisms for both and I talk about the which is better thing I sent you in more depth which is really where my beliefs lie lol I hold everything in life with a verrryyy loose grip and it's just my nature to argue in favor of the underdog, even when i don't necessarily think it's better or worse than what I'm arguing against. I really do think Montessori was the perfect education for me personally as a child, but I def had issues later in life from it too, which is 100% ok, no one gets through childhood without issues lol Yeah I dk that youtube/insta is or what there background is or how she is referencing it. But in psychology, schemas are just outlines basically (different psychiatrists and psychologists may have grouped them into specific labels depending on therapeutic practices though). They are essentially the "tracks" in our unconscious/subconscious mind where 90% of our behaviors/responses come from. Think of them as blueprints about how we see ourselves, others, and the world. I'll talk about them more in the fairytale fantasy video!

[@Hitogata]

@@confidentlymom I'll definitely not miss the next videos! 😀👍👍👍

[@VeganMe]

​@@confidentlymom I'd love to know what original video you've mentioned as how to introduce fantasy books is something I've been wondering about

[@dubemmbanusi7284]

I definitely prefer Montessori

[@julianachang9760]

I think you should do more study and visit more Montessori classroom around the world before you make your video. In Montessori classroom, we do use color coded system in the materials or in different curriculums. Children also have a chance to make their materials especially in the cultural areas where they can use play dough to make landforms. And one of the big thing about Montessori is that we want to give our children the real life experience so the materials they use are as real as the ones adults use in real life and they learn to handle them with care. Montessori classrooms also have cooking classes where we do real cooking with real utensils and stove and oven. Children also develop care of self and care if the environment by washing their own plates and utensils after eating or washing tables or cleaning cloths. Children in Montessori school have lots of outdoor playtime and nature time to explore natures from zoology to botany. Our children learn about solar system, the relation of the sun, earth and moon, to all the continents and the countries and cities to their home. They are encouraged to learn all about the world whatever they are interested. They have a good concept of quantity in relation to the number symbols and as a result, they learn to solve simple mathematical problems at a young age, this also helps to build logical thinking. Because they learn language in order to help expressing themselves, they are able to create story with their imagination. They understand the difference between story and fantasy. They still enjoy story based play but at the same time they long for learning real knowledge about this world. Children’s mind are like a sponge. They can understand many things as long as we are willing to explain to them. And it is in their nature to want to know the facts around them, they want to do the things we do. Give them the choice of going to the farm and play with animals or to dig out potatoes, or just stay in a fantasy-liked room to play Cinderella, 10/10 would want to go to the farm to play with the animals and dig or plant in the garden because this give them a sense of belonging and also confidence which are greatly needed to develop social emotional skills as well as executive functions. Those who say Montessori education is cold, please do your research, observe more Montessori classroom, interview successful people who attended Montessori school when they were young before making such misleading and irresponsible comments.

[@confidentlymom]

I appreciate your comment, but I did go to an American Montessori school and so did my first child. This is my true experience and researched experience. It would be irresponsible and misleading to share what you’re describing as it’s not the cultural norm in the US. I agree, most other countries are more like what you are describing, but statistically in the states they are not. I also clearly defined what it was I was referencing in this, so if others have their own experiences or find something like you’re describing I would think they have enough critical thinking skills to not base decisions off a random KZbin video but their own experiences.

[@autobotdiva9268]

if i could switch to montessori but they are a far drive

[@jacquelineyu5510]

some of these facts you described in your video are not true, please do more research, it could be rather misleading to some outsiders

[@fiatabar]

Can you please elaborate on which facts are not true? I've just started learning about these approaches.

[@saintamerican6105]

Got it, montessori is too dull for creativity and waldorf schools are demonic. Im going to do walCHRISTIANssori over herrrr :-)

[@agnesfouche4788]

Demonic ??? Please explain

[@zacsutherland3670]

WalCHRISTIANssori...please explain

[@ratherboutside2]

I thought they were demonic as well. I pulled my children. But over the past two decades as I have progressed in my study of spirituality, myth and legend, I think Waldorf education is couched in the occult, but not all occultism is “demonic”. Like any other religious or spiritual dogma, there is goodness and confusion. You have to choose what works for your family. I found the teachers to not be very grounded and I went with my gut instinct