As a child growing up i experienced many different schools. my dad was in the military and we moved a lot. i would have to say that by far i succeeded the most in Montessori schools.
this schooling method was developed by Maria Montessori. This Italian woman took the "defective" children that were shunned from normal schooling systems and gave them a chance to really make something of themselves.
she realized children learn differently. if we are all different people wouldnt that only make sense? her system focuses on going at their speed their way until every individual learns what they need to learn.
i know in my school there were a bunch of different rooms. these classrooms were not your typical classes. it wasnt all 5 year olds in one class and all 10 year olds in another. you were grouped by level of success. if class A was learning ABCs and a 5 year old already mastered that they may go into the room with the 7 year olds and learn to read words. it also wasnt "group learning". we had some group activities like critiquing and sharing work, but our studies were done alone. if you were a kinestetic learner you would work with your hands and body etc etc. however you learned you were accomidated to. the lesson was never moved forward until the teacher KNEW you mastered the previous lesson.
as a teacher i think it would be extremely difficult to individualize learing for each student, but thats where you see the seperation between people who go there everyday because its "your job" and people who come in every day because its your passion. if you truely want to see these kids succeed and do well you will put the effort in. i know personally this strategy works. i did faar better in that school than anywhere else. i hope there is a Montessori school near me when my son is old enough to attend.
For more info about Maria Montessori Check out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Montessori
http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-mont.htm
http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/montessori2.html
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