The classrooms where most children learn in modern schools are not unlike those used over a century ago. However, times have changed significantly, and what students need in current times are quite different, too. The best solution is for education to be personalized to meet the individual needs of each student. Programs like the ones that are offered at Montessori schools help children succeed by providing individualized instruction.
Getting Children Excited About Learning
A broad curriculum can be tailored to meet the needs of each student. English scholars who struggle with math will have a different experience than those who have other strengths and weaknesses. In turn, this improves the educational experience by making the subjects more appealing to students and motivating them to be more involved with what they learn.
When students learn at their own pace, they are often willing to study harder to move more quickly on to other things that interest them. In traditional schools, fast learners are sometimes unintentionally punished for learning quickly when they have to endure boredom as the rest of the class catches up. With personalized learning, student ssimply move on when they learn something and stay on a subject until they fully understand it.
Engaged Students Retain Knowledge
While it’s often seen as perfectly normal for students to memorize important dates in history for one semester and forget them in another, school can offer children so much more than the opportunity to excel at taking tests. Passively regurgitating information that they don’t feel a connection to does not serve students as well as being actively engaged in their education.
When children learn in an environment that is personalized to connect with them, they become active participants in learning. They’ll feel, and actually be, more engaged with all the subject matter they learn. When students have some control over what they are learning, they have a stronger interest and can therefore learn more on a long-term basis.
Children Set and Meet Goals
As part of a personalized educational program, children often work with their educators to set academic goals that they genuinely want to achieve. Being able to set their own goals and subsequently achieving them can help them feel empowered to learn and confident that they can tackle the challenges of school. Because the goals are set with an instructor, children are guided down the paths that ensure they will learn what’s necessary.
Special Interests
Children who are working with a personalized curriculum can pursue their interests. In addition to the basic subjects, students can work to learn a foreign language or advanced math skills if this is an area that they excel in. Instead of being held back or focusing on a general elective that they’re not interested in, students have the freedom to actually take on more subjects and learn more than they would in a traditional school.
When educators and parents strive to deliver a personalized educational experience to children, everyone wins, especially the students. Individualized instruction and programs, such as those offered at Montessori schools, meet all students where they are and help them succeed by giving them what they need to learn and thrive.
