Counter Argument / Scope Inform Synthesis Paper

                Writing a counter argument first helped the synthesis paper be more balanced and thoughtful.  There is a tendency when one has a certain opinion about something to not want to look or hear anything from the other side or another perspective.  So when we were forced to look at it from there first it made us look at the other side and even take up its position and argue it.  When you argue something, no matter if you agree with it or not, you get a way better understanding of the material.  The counter didn’t really alter my first hypothesis that the Montessori Method has great attributes that I think would improve traditional education, but it did inform me of the aspects of teacher training and how there is less training for a Montessori teacher.  I also was forced to look at the perspective that kids will not learn unless they are forced to learn.  There is some truth to that but by and large if kids are into something or exited about something they will learn and maybe grow more than if they were forced to learn in the traditional classroom.  Another big aspect of the counter was the reward system that traditional education sets up with grades and stars and other awards that Montessori does not.  Montessori just looks at the mastery of skills and moves on relying on the reward that the child feels for having mastered and accomplished something.  Test scores are a huge argument when it comes to education and the need to make sure that the way we teach reaches a certain standard that is measured by tests.  What I was informed of during the counter argument is that the test scores for both methods are very similar up to the eighth grade.  So then that shapes the argument of, well if they lead to the same place which journey is better for the child.  I came in thinking it was a no brainer that Montessori was a better more fun journey, but I think that there are also students who thrive in the traditional environment and could fail to progress as well when give the amount of options to choose from that are in the Montessori method.

Changes/Direction from the Scope

                I began the journey of the research paper with the thought that I would be researching the harmful qualities of drinking milk.  Through a few painful hours of not finding any academic research that would support that hypothesis I decided to change directions and go with another interest.  I decided to study the Montessori Method of education because both my kids currently attend a Montessori school.  A question I have always pondered since we first sent them six years ago is whether it was a better alternative then traditional school.  So the paper is sort of around that question and then has evolved into looking at the maturity rate of kids and how that interacts with both traditional and Montessori.

Portions of Counter Argument brought into Paper

One aspect that I am bringing into the synthesis paper from the counter is the idea that teacher driven teaching, like is done in traditional education where the teacher controls the lessons and when they happen, and how that compares to student driven learning, like in Montessori where the student selects the lessons they are interested in and when they want to, and the advantages and drawbacks to this aspect.  It is true as far as research shows that kids have a real disposition to learn and want to learn and so the free environment of the Montessori classroom is perfect to foster a child that gets into lessons and gets going.  But on the flip side there are students who are easily distracted and may tend to focus on socializing or messing around in that environment.  Therefore the traditional environment may be better for some students.  Some psychologist have found that when the options for learning are open ended or there are too many choices, learning tends to stall from indecision and to many options.

                Teacher training is another aspect that I will look at from the counter argument.  It is true that Montessori teachers have less training then traditional teachers which can have some negative effects.  More people can become Montessori teachers because it is easier and that will lead to more bad teachers coming into the schools.  There might be psychological issues with different students that they are not equipped to handle because their main focus is observing and offering suggestions to the students.  Whereas a tradition teacher through their four year degree will have taken child development classes and be better equipped to handle certain challenges in the classroom.

                Another aspect that I will bring is the award system differences between Montessori and the traditional classroom.  Traditional classrooms award grades and gold stars for achievement while Montessori relies on the fact that the reward for a student’s is learning and mastering something and the sense of accomplishment that comes from that.  I think that there are many different personalities in this world and either one can motivate different kids.  Yes it is fun to learn something new but at the same time kids love trophies and gold stars and get a great feeling inside when they have earned them, that may propel them to learn at a faster rate.