Coach's Corner

When exploring options for early childhood education, many parents find it challenging to differentiate between traditional daycare and a Montessori school. While both environments may appear similar on the surface, a place to drop off children in the morning and pick them up in the afternoon, their approaches to child development are fundamentally different. A Montessori school is not simply a daycare center but a purposefully designed learning environment that nurtures a child’s holistic growth and fosters a lifelong love of learning. Every moment in a Montessori classroom is a meaningful opportunity for a child to explore, learn, and grow, setting it apart from a typical daycare experience.

What is Daycare?
Daycare, available in various forms such as preschools, childcare centers, or nanny services, primarily addresses the basic physical and emotional needs of young children who are not yet capable of being independent. Daycare professionals provide a safe and supervised space where children engage in structured activities throughout the day. While daycares offer a valuable service to families, they do not typically focus on an educational philosophy or prioritize self-directed learning experiences that cater to each child’s unique developmental needs.

What is Montessori?
Montessori is an educational philosophy that provides children with a rich learning environment where they are free to explore, engage, and discover. Every material, activity, and space in a Montessori classroom or outdoor area is designed with purpose, encouraging children to develop independence, critical thinking, and self-discipline. Montessori teachers act as guides, observing and supporting children as they navigate their learning journeys.

While both Montessori schools and daycares may offer similar logistical arrangements, the experiences provided in a Montessori environment are deeply intentional and tailored to promote every child’s cognitive, emotional, and social growth.

Critical Differences Between Montessori and Daycare
Freedom to Choose

In a Montessori school, children can choose activities that interest them. This autonomy fosters responsibility and ownership over their learning, allowing them to build confidence and self-motivation. In contrast, daycare centers often follow a set schedule, with the entire group simultaneously participating in the same activity, regardless of individual preferences or developmental readiness.

Educational Purpose
Montessori teachers design activities to build specific skills, such as fine motor coordination, concentration, and problem-solving. Children might practice pouring water, sorting objects by color, or assembling puzzles. Each activity is intentionally aligned with developmental milestones. Daycare staff often select activities to keep children entertained and occupied without focusing on deeper educational goals.

Teacher-Student Relationships
Montessori children stay with the same teacher for multiple years, allowing for the development of strong, trusting relationships. This continuity enables teachers to understand each child’s learning style, strengths, and areas for growth. Daycare, on the other hand, often has children transition to new teachers or classrooms each year, making it harder to form lasting connections.

Focus and Noise Levels
A Montessori school promotes focus and concentration, where children work independently or in small groups in a calm, orderly atmosphere. Daycare settings can sometimes be more chaotic and noisy, making it challenging for children to focus and engage deeply in their activities.

Purposeful Play-Based Learning
Both daycare and Montessori embrace play-based learning, but Montessori designs its activities with a specific educational purpose. For instance, a child practicing tying shoelaces or stringing beads is not just playing. They are developing fine motor skills and problem-solving abilities. Daycare often emphasizes free play, which may not always incorporate a structured learning element.

Grace and Courtesy
A Montessori environment emphasizes teaching grace, courtesy, and respectful communication. Children learn to express their needs and resolve conflicts peacefully using appropriate language. In a daycare setting, discipline and conflict resolution may not be integrated into daily activities and are often handled separately.

Self-Discipline and Regulation
The Montessori approach helps children develop internal self-discipline. Children learn to understand the reasons behind rules and are encouraged to make thoughtful choices. Daycare discipline often relies on external enforcement and may not prioritize teaching children to regulate their behavior independently.

Teacher Training and Stability
Montessori teachers typically have extensive training in child development and the Montessori philosophy. They tend to be long-term school community members, providing stability and consistency. Daycare staff may have less formal training, and high turnover is typical, leading to less continuity in care and learning.

Exploration and Discovery
Montessori children are given the time and freedom to explore activities at their own pace. Teachers provide short, individualized presentations, after which children continue practicing and exploring independently. Daycare centers often operate on a set schedule, where children are moved from one activity to another, regardless of their engagement level.

Age Grouping and Developmental Flexibility
Montessori are multi-age communities, allowing younger children to learn from older peers and older children to reinforce their knowledge by teaching younger ones. This grouping is based on developmental stages rather than strict age divisions. Daycare centers, however, typically group children by chronological age, limiting the opportunities for cross-age learning.

Montessori: An Intentional Educational Experience
Montessori is not just a place for children to spend time while their parents are at work. It is a thoughtfully curated educational environment that nurtures children’s natural curiosity, independence, and love of learning. By focusing on the whole child's cognitive, social, and emotional development, Montessori schools offer a unique experience that prepares children for success in the next stage of their education and throughout their lives.

While daycare and Montessori schools aim to provide children with a safe and nurturing space, Montessori takes it further by creating an environment where every moment matters. Montessori schools are designed to help children reach their full potential by engaging them in meaningful, self-directed learning experiences. Every activity, interaction, and moment is an opportunity for growth. Montessori is not daycare; it is an enriching educational journey that lays the foundation for lifelong learning and development.

On a warm summer day in Atlantic City, a 17-year-old African-American teenager worked quietly in the bathhouse along the white-only beach. He spent hours each day washing, folding, and neatly arranging the bathing suits of beachgoers. Most of the time, he stayed invisible, the rhythmic work passing in silence.

Today, however, he had found a rare moment between tasks to open his copy of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass. The worn pages were smooth under his fingers as he scanned the lines he’d come to love, losing himself in Whitman’s words, which spoke of freedom, self-discovery, and the beauty of the American landscape.

As he read, a white woman entered the bathhouse with her bathing suit draped over her arm. Her gaze fell on the young boy and lingered on the book in his hands. "That’s an interesting book you’re reading," she said, a hint of surprise in her tone. "Do you understand what you’re reading?"

Without hesitation, the young teenager looked up and replied simply, “Yes.” His answer was firm yet respectful, holding his gaze as he turned his attention back to the page.

The woman raised an eyebrow but said nothing more, handing him her bathing suit before disappearing into the showers. Once alone again, the young boy returned to the book, drawn in by Whitman’s words like a hidden melody. But he couldn’t shake the feeling of the woman’s question lingering in the air. Did she think he couldn’t understand? He wondered, mulling over her expression as he went about his work, scrubbing, rinsing, and folding her bathing suit until it was as clean as the ocean breeze.

When she returned, he was still reading, the book on his lap. She approached the table where her neatly folded bathing suit lay, her face again touched with curiosity as she looked from the teenager to the book. “Do you really understand what you’re reading?” she asked again, now weighted with something unspoken.

The young boy felt a spark of irritation but answered as before: “Yes.” His eyes met hers, conveying a quiet dignity that left the woman thoughtful.

She began to leave, gathering her things, but she paused just as she reached the door. Turning back, she asked a final question that seemed to echo across the quiet bathhouse. “Then what are you doing here?”

Those six words struck in a way the teenager hadn’t expected, leaving him motionless in their wake. They weren’t meant to be cruel, yet they carried a meaning that shook him deeply. What am I doing here, he thought, feeling the question unfold in his mind like the pages of a book.

Years later, this young man would tell his son that those six words changed the trajectory of his life. They set him on a path of education, ambition, and determination, propelling him toward accomplishments no one in his family had ever dreamed possible. That brief exchange had planted a seed of possibility in his heart, sparking the resolve to create a life filled with purpose and fulfillment.

As his son, I’ve carried my Dad’s story with me, a reminder of the strength, resilience, and vision that were his legacy. My father’s courage and pride in his identity as a Black man gave me the fortitude to walk my own path, achieving things that echoed the dreams he first glimpsed that day in the bathhouse, with Whitman’s words as his guide.

Song of the Open Road by Walt Whitman (excerpt from one of the poems my Dad read to me that was used in the Volvo commercial.)

Afoot and light-hearted, I take to the open road,
Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.

Henceforth, I ask not good fortune, I myself am good fortune,
Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing,
Strong and content, I travel the open road.
You road I enter upon and look around, I believe you are not all that is here,
I believe that much unseen is also here.

Here is realization,
Here is a man tallied—he realizes here what he has in him,
The past, the future, majesty, love—if they are vacant of you, you are vacant of them.

Gently, but with undeniable will, divesting myself of the holds that would hold me.
I inhale great draughts of space,
The east and the west are mine, and the north and the south are mine.

I am larger, better than I thought,
I did not know I held so much goodness.
All seems beautiful to me.

Since reading Robert Greenleaf’s essay The Servant as Leader in early 1995, my approach to teaching, coaching, and working with colleagues changed in ways I never anticipated. The 10 characteristics of servant leadership—listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to growth, and building community—became the cornerstone of how I interacted with my students, athletes, and fellow educators. By focusing on the development and well-being of others, I was able to create a more supportive and empowering environment, which led to remarkable outcomes. That same year, I had the honor of coaching a state-championship girls' soccer team in the fall of 1995 and a state-championship baseball team in the spring of 1996. While personally gratifying, these achievements reflected what happens when a team is nurtured with trust, empathy, and a shared sense of purpose.

Beyond the athletic field, applying servant leadership enhanced my relationships with colleagues and students alike. I learned that by actively listening, being empathetic, and committing to their personal and professional growth, I could positively influence the dynamics of my work environment. My relationships with colleagues, already strong, deepened as we collaborated with greater understanding and mutual respect. I credit this to the heightened awareness and thoughtfulness that servant leadership fostered. This shift in my leadership style not only helped me achieve tangible successes but also allowed me to build a stronger, more engaged community around me.