It was malicious but more in the this child just won't do what I want him to do way. The teacher/owner was a do as I say style teacher and DS is so not a do as I say child. DH and I also didn't punish DS based on her recommendations, We made our own decisions based on our beliefs and discussions with DS. So we may have contributed to the downward spiral by not showing complete support of the teacher. I posted what I truly believe to be an extreme experience with the Montessori system as a warning. If your child is interested in pleasing a teacher or can get intrinic pleasure from progressing through the routine, I think Montessori can be a very positive experience for gifted children. For those of us with rebels, it might not be a great fit
In fact, in the public school, DS just received a Student of the Month award for his classroom. It was a tremendous boost to his self esteem and I think put a nail in the coffin of the I'm a bad kid belief that he has had.
I won't ever forget what she did, and I learned alot form the experience. Thankfully, our son has recovered well and finally after a year has a glint back in his eyes
