Montessori students have so much freedom that I worry about how they will deal with being asked to sit in a seat and do a specific assignment when they transition to a traditional school. (Please notice that this is not a question about academics; this is a question about whether the child will be able to conform to the rigidity required by traditional schools.)
Starting at the age of 5 or 6 years, traditional schools expect children to sit in chairs, hold writing utensils, and stare at white pages under florescent lights for long periods of time. Without even touching the academics of traditional schools, we already have a major problem. The expectations they place on children of this age are unrealistic and exhibit a clear lack of acknowledgement or understanding of child development. What they are asking of these young children is physically painful for them; their bodies and muscles (yes, even eye muscles) are still developing at this stage. To deny them movement and useful things to do with their bodies and minds is like denying them oxygen. They are also asked to control their bodily needs in ways that are nearly impossible for them. And without speaking to the academics being offered, these youngest students are in no way engaged in what is going on the classroom. At this crucial period of their lives when they are most active and have the most energy, they are asked to sit passively and let someone else do all the work for them. So many young children in traditional schools are considered discipline problems because they won't sit still, won't do their worksheets, have terrible fine motor skills (i.e. bad handwriting), and on and on the complaints roll out from their teachers. Is it any wonder why? Traditional schools are not addressing their first and foremost fundamental needs for movement and activity. The most basic behavioral expectation in traditional schools is exactly the same for a 5 year old, a 9 year old, a 13 year old, and an 18 year old - sit in your desk, be still, be quiet, and focus on what's put in front of you by someone else. In stark contrast, Montessori acknowledges and celebrates this all-important aspect of child development and, in continuity with their own developmental needs, leads children to a point where they are empowered to meet more rigid demands and expectations.
Our primary students have freedom of movement. Everything they do involves movement. In the primary classroom, there are very few tables and chairs. A majority of their work is done on the floor (where they are most comfortable) and absolutely everything is tactical and concrete. Everything they do can be touched, picked up, tested all over, handled, etc. When you visit our primary classroom, you are amazed by how busy they are. Their minds and hands are constantly busy. Their bodily needs are also still very strong at this point in their lives. When their body finally registers the need for a restroom, it's needed NOW. When they get hungry, they need food NOW. They have very little control over their bodies and thus are given complete control over how and when to meet those needs.
Lower Elementary is, in itself, a transitional time for our students. As these students reach the age of six and continuing through the age of nine, they enter into the middle stages of child development and their need for movement and activity begins to decrease. They become more comfortable sitting in chairs, although there are still plenty of times when they would rather be on the floor. Their concentration expands and we find they can focus intently on something for long periods of time. For the most part, their fine motor skills are well-developed so the need to handle everything begins to decrease as well, although it is still important that they periodically have things to do with their hands throughout the day besides just hold a pencil. They still need lots of time to run, play, and expend energy so they get an hour for recess each day to break up their longer, more intense periods of work. This time is a very important break for the mind and the body. They are also starting to learn to be the masters of their own bodies rather than letting their bodily needs master them and the demand for immediate attention to personal needs diminishes.
In Upper Elementary and by the time a student reaches the age of nine the need for movement is drastically decreased. It is not uncommon to find upper elementary students sitting in one place working for well over an hour without ever moving. They are comfortable with books, worksheets, and other means of abstractly absorbing information and have lost the need for busy hands. They have reached a stage where sitting in the floor is no longer fun and comfortable; they prefer tables and chairs. They still play vigorously at recess for short periods of time but they start to enjoy times of just visiting with friends or teachers. It becomes more of a break for the mind and less for the body. So by this stage of child development they are quickly reaching the point of being ready to face the demands traditional school place on students. Their ability to concentrate for long periods of time has been honed and their bodily needs such as restroom needs, hunger, thirst are well-controlled. They don't need endless amounts of movement. Essentially, the students have reached a stage of development where these demands are actually age appropriate.
As I have explained the progression of the Montessori program as contrasted against traditional schools which treat all children the same regardless of age, I hope you can clearly see that when students are developmentally ready to deal with being asked to sit still, learn abstractly, and do things a certain way they will have absolutely no problem doing so. Students over the age of 12 should not have problems dealing with the rigid behavioral demands traditional schools place on them - even Montessori students - because they are developmentally ready and able to meet those demands head on.
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