Waldorf Schools

Montessori schools are popular worldwide with parents of children in the primary grades. Interestingly enough, the educational concepts pioneered and codified by Dr. Maria Montessori (1870-1952) decades ago to educate mentally disabled and ineducable children in the inner city have morphed into a kind of schooling generally available only to middle and upper-class families nowadays.

How do I know a school is a genuine Montessori school?

Caveat emptor! Not every school which claims to be a Montessori school adheres to the founder's standards and methods. That is because the name Montessori has never been protected by trademark or copyright law. As a result, you can have a Montessori school with any strength of Montessori-ness you can imagine. In truth, the genuine article is a school member of the American Montessori Society. The association will have officially sanctioned it. It will have certified Montessori teachers using Montessori methods and equipment. That is not to say that a school that claims to be a Montessori school but is not part of the national association is any less good or adequate. That, as always, depends on the quality of the teachers and teaching. Remember that Montessori has become a household name, much like 'Xerox,' which is synonymous with 'copying. '

What is so appealing to parents about the Montessori method?

What, then, is so appealing about Dr. Montessori's methods? At the heart of her philosophy is that children learn differently from adults and should be allowed to learn wherever and whatever

If you are an expatriate with school age children and are in the United States for a stint of a couple years and intend to return home, then an international school is a great option for you. No sense in sending your children to a regular American public school only to have them yanked from that culture a few years hence. Educate them according to the curricula and standards to which you are accustomed. They won't have to back track and fill in the material which they missed. International schools make a point of using curricula approved by the authorities in your home country. Obviously if your home country happens to be the United Kingdom, France or Germany, you are in luck.

International schools are concentrated in major urban areas as a rule. However, you will find schools in some rather unlikely places. It is always a good idea to ask your consulate or embassy for suggestions. Most are day schools. That works well for a young family.

• Atlanta International School
• Austin International School
• Awty International School
• British American School of Charlotte
• The British International School of New York
• British School of Boston
• British School of Chicago
• British School of Houston
• British School of Washington
• Chinese American International School
• Dallas International School
• French Immersion School of Washington
• French American School of Los Angeles
• French American School of New York
• German-American International School
• German-American School of Palo Alto

What do Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Alec Baldwin, Greer Garson, Rodney Dangerfield, Sean Connery, Kevin Kline, Timothy Hutton and George C. Scott all have in common? They have made movies set in private schools.

There are several classic movies which are set in private schools. Aside from lovely shots of manicured campuses and grand buildings, most of these films don't represent private schools accurately. But then, that was not their intent.

For example, the Harry Potter series gives a romanticized view of life in an English boarding school. The dining hall and faculty gowns still exist in many English schools. Everything else is delightful fantasy. Goodbye Mr. Chips! is a two tissue tear jerker. Dead Poets Society always leaves a lump in your throat. School Ties shows the kind of nasty prejudice which was the norm way back when.

Hollywood tends to view private schools the way media does in general. It plays private schools as bastions of privilege and wealth. Military schools are an easy backdrop for shoot 'em ups. In any case there is much more to private schools than those themes. Here are a few titles to add to your collection.

The List

• Angel (1984) with Cliff Gorman, Susan Tyrrell, Dick Shawn
• Anne of Avonlea (1987) with Megan Follows, Colleen Dewhurst, Marilyn Lightstone
• Au Revoir Les Enfants (1987) with Gaspard Manesse, Raphael Fejtö, Francine Racette
• Charlie Bartlett (2007) with Anton Yelchin, Robert Downey Jr., Hope Davis
• Chasing Holden (2003) with DJ

If you had to choose when to send your child to private school, would you send her to private school for the primary grades or high school? It's a tough call. The expense alone is a significant consideration for many parents. Another consideration is the market where you live. Do you have several private school options to choose from? Using the search tool on Private School Review, I asked it to list schools within 25 miles of my zip code in Raleigh. There were 119 schools to choose from. Not all would meet my requirements, but at least I had some material to work with. Investigate your local private school options and see how those schools meet your requirements.

Could you send your child to primary school through 12th grade in the same school? Or would you have to consider individual schools for the immediate, middle, and high school grades? Would it make sense to send your child to public school for primary grades and then consider private school for high school?

Frankly, I always feel that the high school years are where things can go off the rails. I wanted my children in a well-disciplined, severe learning environment. That's what I got when I sent my two daughters to boarding school. They both attended private pre-schools. One attended a private primary school, and the other went to an excellent, tiny K-6 elementary school, which happened to be right across the street from our home in our northwest