The easiest question in the world for any teacher or daycare provider to answer is “What do you do with the students?” In fact, ask this during any school tour and in response, most programs will slide you a glossy card stock sheet of paper containing a bullet point list and cute pictures of happy children. It might seem sufficient to let your questions end there and focus on those details, but do not walk out that door without asking “Why?”
Daily schedules, lunch, nap, recess, toileting, parent communication and academic learning details are important. That’s the “What.” I meet parents carrying spreadsheets full of these questions. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, but why do the teachers do what they do? Almost no one asks me that. If they did, they would learn three very important things:
- Our methods are intentional, well-conceived and always based upon the developmental needs, abilities and interests of the children.
- Not only do all of our teachers have a reason for their actions in the classroom, but these reasons have been shared, understood and applied across the entire faculty.
- Each one of us is passionate about our work. When you ask us why, you will learn what inspires us.
When I present these elements to parents, it is a wonderful moment. You can see their minds expand into a new space. They undergo a palpable reshuffling of priorities. Things which were not on the table when they walked in, suddenly jump to the front of the line. Every single parent wants an inspired teacher for their child. They would love a teacher who knows and can articulate the rationales for what they do. Parents want their children to be raised in an intelligent, thoughtful, supportive village. However, if I do not mention them, these concepts do not come up during the visit. To me that says a lot about parent’s expectations for education, but it also makes MAB even more unique.
Asking why is also the quickest way to determine the depth and breadth (or lack thereof) of a school’s educational philosophy and method. Most of the programs out there, especially the big chains, do not hold up to follow up questions. I have toured many of them and asked the questions myself. I met the director of a national chain, which moves children from room to room and station to station every 30 minutes. She told me they do this because young children have a naturally short attention span and they don’t want them to become bored. This answer was so fundamentally backward that I decided not to ask them how they work with children to strengthen attention and concentration. I definitely did not ask them what becomes of the child who finally gets settled with a work 5 minutes before he is told to move to another room.
We want you to ask us why. That alone should be reassuring as a parent. We know that you’ll appreciate what you hear. Montessori holds up. We’ve got 125 years to prove it. Not only that, but MAB has nearly 25 years of work in Loudoun on which to base our answers. Explaining our work and what drives our methods keeps everything fresh in our minds. It helps us to refine and rethink everything we do. But even more important than that, we want you to know why. That makes you a better partner to your child and a stronger part of our community. It also leads to the foundational trust and confidence that every parent deserves in the people caring for their children.
