I decided to put my ridiculously long post in a PM... (mostly because I didn't want so many details out in "public" forever)
I didn't read through the other posts yet but I do think it's always wise to consider traditional schooling. I do miss the concreteness of cutoffs, when someone has learned something, etc.
I can't say much about the fit of traditional schooling for your ds. I can only say why it would be a wrong move for us (though I continually re-evaluate this, as I did when another, more traditional charter school called me recently because my kids had gotten in through the lottery - I ended up turning it down). My kids, one ds in particular, have more difficulty with a traditional, sit-and-listen approach, and one of the things about montessori that helps them learn is that they are nearly always taking instruction in very small groups (like 1-4). For ds with the slow processing speed, this is much easier for asking for oral instruction to be repeated, etc. than it would be in a classroom where he'd have to stop everyone in order to get that. For me, the other thing I like about it is the flexibility - I can get on the teacher's back and ask for subject acceleration when I think it's necessary, but I don't have to if I think my child is on the level or behind (their 2E-ness plays a role). While there are things about a more traditional setting that are appealing, I'm afraid that I'd be boxed in. And I'd only consider certain pseudo-traditional schools (mostly charters or private). For us, the neighborhood school, while supposedly excellent, is out of the question because it does not allow for enough acceleration in anything... it couldn't be more "inside the box". That's not to say I won't change my mind next year or next month, but for right now, balancing the various factors, we'll stay with the montessori. (thanks ladies, for making me think through this yet again :))
Last edited by snowgirl; 09/19/10 11:47 AM.
