Student Posts – Page 5 – Cities, Suburbs & Schools Project at Trinity College

Montessori Magnet School Tour

November 10, 2013November 10, 2013Bianca

Bianca Brenz

Montessori Magnet schools are not generally located inside of public schools, however, the Montessori Magnet School at Moylan School is. 760 students attend Moylan School and of those students 157 are Montessori Magnet students. The principal of the school, Carolyn Havrda gave the tour around the Montessori Magnet School and gave those on the tour an inside look of the everyday experiences of the students in the Montessori Magnet School (ranges from Pre K to 3rd Grade). Havrda led the tour into the courtyard at the entrance of Moylan School where there were gardens that were made and taken care of by Montessori Magnet students. Throughout the tour Havrda expressed the theme of independence instilled in each student.

A video was played based on Maria Montessori, the women who created this form of teaching. Throughout the video real life accounts were shown from students who had been in Montessori Magnet Schools and loved their experiences. During the tour a commonly asked question was: “Is it difficult to adjust from Montessori to Public School?” the answer was simple and was answered in the video. Because the Montessori method of teaching grants students the ability to be self-disciplined and self-motivated, making the adjustment from Montessori to Public was an independent step in their lives that students were prepared for. Havrda explained that young students interact with older students in Montessori Magnet schools, which provides them with a learning opportunity with no help from their “guides” (because independence is the goal teachers are not called teachers but rather guides who help guide the students to become independent). In a classroom where ages range from 3 years to 6 years, young students learn what is acceptable and what is not acceptable from their older peers and older students gain confidence in showing younger students what to do.

Independence among the very young Montessori Magnet students was emphasized as a way to prepare students for the real world and their futures. Throughout the tour and looking into classrooms children were preparing their own snacks, cleaning up after themselves, and did not receive very much help from their “guides”. I learned that students not only prepare their own snacks, but they also help prepare their meals, and eat inside of their classrooms as opposed to the cafeteria at Moylan School. I had the opportunity to sit in on a Montessori style class and immediately saw children acting independently. In this classroom children were not told what to do, they had a choice, giving them a high level of independence. In one corner children were playing amongst themselves, and at another end of the classroom children were preparing and eating their snacks, and cleaning up after themselves once snack time was over. Below is an image that I took while sitting in on the class; many shelves look identical to these in their neatness:

Maria Montessori started this Montessori movement and schools like Montessori Magnet at Moylan School reinforce the importance of one of Montessori’s missions: granting children independence for their futures.

Dennis Parker’s Reflection

November 10, 2013Emily Meehan

At the luncheon for the One Nation Indivisible school integration conference, “Where Integration Meets Innovation”, a panel of speakers explained the massive strides that have been taken towards educational equality in Hartford as a result of the Sheff v. O’Neill lawsuit. Panel members also spoke about how although decades progress have been made, the Sheff team, along with the city of Hartford, still has a lot of work ahead of them. A particular member of the panel who spoke of these conflicting emotions was Dennis Parker, who has been an attorney for the Sheff plaintiffs for nineteen years.

Parker explained that his team is in the midst of making very stressful, and confidential, negotiations for the case. He remarked on how during taxing times of case, he finds it important to reflect on “what Sheff means.” To do this, Parker brought the audience back to 1989 when the lawsuit was just beginning. He explained the major wealth disparities that existed in Connecticut at the time. Connecticut, the wealthiest state, with some of the most prestigious suburbs and schools in the nation, was also home to three of the nations poorest regions: Hartford, Bridgeport, and New Haven. One of the major issues with such imbalance, Parker said, was that the school systems in those these areas reflected the poverty of the regions. Students in the thriving suburbs benefited from rounded educations, and were given opportunities that students in Hartford, New Haven, and Bridgeport would not receive.

Since then, major progress has been made. Not only has magnet school enrollment increased, but the quality of such magnet schools are better than some may have imagined. Parker said, “Now everyone in the region has the opportunity to go to incredible magnet schools.” The Sheff team is closer than ever to fulfilling their goal of 41% of Hartford students being enrolled in desegregated schools.

Parker recognized that even once Sheff reaches its goal, there will still be many students in segregated settings. He agreed with another member of the panel, Martha Stone, and who said, “we are only looking at, at best, a glass half full.” However, Parker believes that it is more important to look at how far the Sheff team has come since the great disparities of 1989. He agrees that the case is stressful, and there is still much work to be done, but when we reflect on where the process began, we remember how much progress the team has made. Parker concluded by stating that he hopes the Sheff team’s work benefits not only students in Hartford, but students in surrounding districts as well.