The Role of Accountability
In the last few weeks, we’ve been discussing four principles of a Montessori program: interest, choice, trust, and accountability. Interest, choice, and trust are bounded by three tools we use for accountability.
Before we talk about those, though, let’s back up and consider what accountability means. It’s not punitive or forceful. Instead, accountability is a system that allows children to make meaningful choices within the limits of responsibility: to themselves, to the community, and to the state standards.
In a Montessori environment, we use three tools of accountability: a daily work journal, weekly (or more frequent) one-on-one meetings with guides, and the state standards. Children are expected to record what they are doing each day, and keep work in a designated folder. Weekly, a guide meets with each child to review the work record and completed work, and to discuss progress and goals. In these meetings, children celebrate progress, share areas that are still struggles, and assess movement toward meeting standards.
Of course, a first-year’s work record and goal-setting look very different from a fifth-year’s! But within this transparent, predictable accountability structure, children can fully exercise their freedom and develop skills they’ll use for a lifetime.