Maria Montessori strongly cautioned against leading children to believe that fantasy was reality, believing that it made it harder for children to distinguish between the two and led to issues of trust later on.

We’ve had our kids in Montessori since they were 3 and 4–they’re now, as of yesterday, 7 and 8–and had never known this about Montessori. Unfortunately we found out the hard way, in that our kids, who still believe in Santa though are beginning to question, were told by their new teacher (six weeks) that Santa Claus isn’t alive. My bottom line is this: If that’s the case, especially since Montessori education starts with such young ages, Montessori schools ought to make that part of their philosophy known up front. The divulging of that kind of information should be left to the parents, and if they’re not going to do so, they should let the parents know at the outset.

As much of a fan as I am of Montessori-style education, I happen to believe Maria Montessori was seriously off-base on this point. Imagination is something to embrace and encourage, not stifle too soon with the reality of the world. Not only does it deny children the only time in their lives they’ll be able to enjoy their imagination as innocently and joyfully as only a child can, it ignores the fact that reality will set in soon enough all by itself, particularly in our 21st century world. Coming to realize the borders of reality and imagination on one’s own is a vital and empowering part of life. That there are adults who believe in fantastic things they might or might not be better off believing doesn’t mean they were taught to believe too much in imagination, only that they weren’t taught to believe well enough in the world as it is. The well-bred mind can make that distinction for itself without having to be told from the earliest age that fantasy is bunk. Childhood is for children, not miniature adults.

I’m going to have to seriously question the new school we’re interviewing on Monday to determine just how much weight this mindset is given in their school, because if it’s much more than none, we’ll have to seriously consider homeschooling. If we wanted our children to grow up that fast that way, we’d have put them in public school.