News - Education

Monday, Nov. 24, 2008

Casual Vibe, Serious Learning

Children play big role at public Montessori school

Zalaya Neely is hunting polygons.

The 9-year-old and three of her third-grade classmates scour the halls in The Children's School at Sylvia Circle for the perfect shape.

They're on assignment for art teacher Laura Ashe, who broke the class into groups, divvied the school's four new digital cameras among them and sent the children searching. Each gets two shots before handing off a camera.

"How about this one," says Courtney Rinehart, pointing to a boxy, metal case jutting from the wall.

"Nah," Zalaya scoffs. "That's a rectangular prism."

Zalaya seems frustrated. But then she sees it.

"The exit sign," she exclaims and points the camera, pushes the button -- "click."

The Children's School is Rock Hill's only public Montessori school. Any resident can send a child no matter whether they live in the school's attendance zone. The catch is it's up to parents to get children there. The only buses transport students with special needs.

The school operates under the assumption that children should play a big role in their education.

That means a campus atmosphere unlike most. Students sit on the floor in groups instead of at desks. Older kids mentor youngsters. Three-, 4- and 5-year-olds are all in the same class. First- and second-graders are too, as are fourth- and fifth-graders. Third-graders get a class of their own.

Lessons are hands on.

Student projects and art adorn otherwise drab, white walls.

The vibe is casual.

Ashe, 52, couldn't feel more at home.

"I seriously have the best job out of anybody I know," she says. "That's not lip service. I love my job."

Ashe's classroom is as colorful as the way students describe her personality.

An image of Audrey Hepburn looks down from a wall near the ceiling. A poster of the band Foo Fighters hangs next to one of musician Ben Harper.

Bookshelves are crammed full of Highlights and National Geographic magazines, games and art books. Bits of past and future projects are strewn about the room -- a ceiling-high stack of shoe boxes in one corner; a crate of old newspapers, a box of beans, a salt shaker full of green glitter.

Music from a Diana Krall album softly plays during class.

"I play all kinds of different music," Ashe says. "The jazz is my favorite because it mellows them out a little bit."

Her ways have won over students.

Walking to the office one morning, she passes students who break from their lunch line to squeeze in hugs.

"Hey Ms. Ashe," a girl shouts from down the hall. "I like your scarf."

Ashe runs her classes with a cool hand.

When students get loud during instructions, she stops.

"I'll wait for everybody to get calm," she says. "I need the rest anyway." The hum hushes. "Oh. You're ready."

Ashe's approach exemplifies the Montessori philosophy, says principal Sandra Lindsay-Brown.

"She has an eclectic perspective, which I like," Lindsay-Brown says. "She sees things totally different than the average person."

The digital cameras are one example, she says.

Ashe thought cameras would engage children. She wrote a grant request and sent it to the Rock Hill School District Foundation, which awarded her $850.

Another example, Lindsay-Brown says, is Ashe plans her lessons according to what other teachers are doing, supplementing their lessons with art.

Zalaya's group of third-graders, for instance, isn't one of Ashe's scheduled art classes. She invited them over during her 45-minute planning period for enrichment.

"She's my favorite teacher," says Zevi Heffner-Gibson, a sprightly 7-year-old eager to share creative ideas. "She's silly.

"She tells us to be cool artists. Go slow. Listen to the jazz."

Zevi's class of first- and second-graders is working with the cameras for the first time. Their mission is to pair up and shoot a portrait of each other. In an earlier class, they painted biomes -- desserts, rainforests, frozen tundras.

Ashe instructs them to pose according to their habitats, where they'll later paste the photos.

The kids ham it up. Some shiver for the frigid polar climates. Others feign heat exhaustion.

Most agree the cameras are a hit.

"It's a cool surprise," says 8-year-old Rachel Pierce. "But video cameras would've been better."