Montessori methods make sense for California

I am writing in regard to

Dan Walters’ recent commentary (“California schools still plagued by ‘achievement gap,’” Nov. 28). Walters outlines the radical change in 2013 for California’s public school financing called the Local Control Funding Formula.

Since 2013, California has dramatically increased school funding. Heightened local control and more money should be good for education. Unfortunately, the Policy Analysis for California Education concludes California is still behind in educational outcomes.

As an educator, I am familiar with a similar dilemma that occurred 114 years ago in a suburb of Rome. In a new housing development, just built for Rome’s poorest, children were running wild. It seemed that nobody could bring order to the chaos.

The developer asked a young physician with a reputation for her success in teaching disabled children at the University of Rome. In 1896, Dr. Maria Montessori was among Italy’s first female physicians. Being drawn to post-graduate work in the new field of psychology, she created a novel system of education based on her interactions with children society had discarded, housed at the university’s hospital. In 1907, she answered the developer’s call because she wanted to know if her educational methods worked with nondisabled children.

Since then, educators have adopted many of Montessori’s materials. However the fundamental Montessori magic rests in following the child. It means a flip in the classroom. The teacher doesn’t set the agenda, the needs of the child do. I firmly believe that’s what’s missing in our public school classrooms. Our California teachers are the best, we just need to give agency to the student. It’s a paradigm shift. It is not easy, but, I believe, it is necessary to bridge the gap.

I suggest Marin school boards and teachers visit Montessori schools around the county to see models of student-centered environments.

— Gayle W. Mills, San Rafael