This is part two of an ongoing exploration of Maria Montessori’s vision for middle school and high school. I’ve dubbed it Farmschooling – Montessori Middle School.  In part 1 we discussed what is going on in the teenage mind and how unsure of themselves they really are.  In part 2 we will explore some of the recommendations Montessori made for reaching our teens!  Again, I will be quoting from Montessori Today by Paula Polk Lillard. (Note we are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program.  Any money received via this relationship is used for our homeschool!  PS. I’ve made a grand total of $0.00 from affiliate marketing… but the FTC says I have to tell you that IF you buy it, I will make 4% of the sale as commission.)  And, same as before, in some areas I will paraphrase and in other areas I will quote verbatim.

In part 1, we learned that the third plane child has a very difficult time concentrating and focusing.  However, Montessori still had faith in the teen’s abilities, even with their diminished concentration.  She believed in the benefits of academic knowledge and intellectual study,  and how important it is to grow and expand the field of knowledge.  Study, she believed, answers a need of the intelligence and therefore, does not cause mental fatigue, on the contrary, she believed that it regenerates and strengthens “the development of the mind.”  She further discussed that adolescents have a great need for creative expression.  This is not for the purpose of understanding art, but for their own means of self-expression and self-discovery.  

Maria Montessori discusses that the child’s natural drive for independence is further extended in the third plane into two new areas:

•  a need to make a “direct contribution to society and have it recognized” and
• a desire to become financially independent

We, as parents, need to encourage students in their efforts to achieve independence via helping them identify opportunities opportunities where they can experience stewardship and selflessness.  

One of the teen’s primary focuses is to understand and explore reality, in both the natural world and in human organizations and institutions.  Their mantra shifts from “help me to do it myself” to “help me to think for myself”.  In the natural world, they want to test themselves, to test what they can do, how far, how fast, etc. and to explore what they can become.  So opportunities that might present themselves to explore would be work with Habitat for Humanity, hiking, backpacking, and various wilderness adventures.  In this plane, they are learning to use tools, work the land and develop skills for maintenance and repair of minor machinery.  

In the human organizations and institutions category, it perfectly matches their desire for financial independence, they want to explore:

• commerce
• trade
• production and
• economic exchange

At this stage they are learning to question deeply and research answers… with a focus on solving problems.  And the adults in their world NEED to listen to their teen, their reasoning, their conclusions, their ideas, their imagination.  Give them a voice and an avenue to be heard… not only at home but also in the larger world.  Get them involved in activities outside the home, especially environments where they can collaborate and work with other homeschoolers, such as coops, virtual homeschool classes, etc.  They need this interaction with peers where they can develop self confidence and explore their capabilities.  

For homeschoolers, this can be a challenge.  However, we have recently stumbled upon a fantastic organization Virtual Homeschool Group.  My boys have been taking middle school science, photography and Spanish via VHSG all this year and we are more than impressed.  I am shocked at how much my boys love the interaction with the teachers and students, the classes and the quality of instruction they are receiving.  And did I mention it is FREE?  Yep, and I’m not kidding.  We have been enrolled for this entire school year and the only money they received was a donation we gave ’cause we are so impressed!  There are ways to bring your homeschool students into this kind of peer rich environment!  Seek them out for your children!  

Montessori, like in all the planes before, continues the focus on development of the child’s personality.  In the younger child, this development of their personality is called “normalization”, in the third plane Montessori calls it “valorization of the personality”.  Valor’s root in Latin means strong or worthy… she defines it as:  “discovering and developing one’s own worthiness and strength”.  It is THE goal of the third plane teen.  

In the Cincinnati Montessori Secondary Teacher Education Program, Marta Donahue shared a chart that was shared with her 16 before from John Long.  It shows the characteristics the child is ready to develop in the lower plane of development and the third plane of development.  If we can remember what characteristics we are trying to develop, a well thought out plan can invoke these qualities… and bring forth valorization!

The vogue “self-worth” concept is NOT what Montessori meant by self confidence.  She referred to is as a practical notion grounded in the individual’s profound sense of REAL accomplishment.  In understanding their real limits and capabilities.  Success in life depends on a self-confidence born of a true knowledge of one’s capabilities, combined with the many-sided powers of adaptation…. and Montessori believed this can only be accomplished through work and direct experience of the environment.  

The challenge for the educator of the third plane (12 – 18) child is to develop an education plan that combines intellectual pursuits and discovery with REAL situations… both in nature and in society.  Montessori emphasized that subjects should be interlinked instead of divided into categories.  So all-inclusive curriculum or unit studies are absolutely something we will be investigating! We have one already identified that we are planning to use this summer.  It is called Paths of Exploration and we are already starting to make this curriculum more hands-on.  You can see these works here.   And, just as in the lower planes, students are encouraged to follow their interests.  Again the teacher is to serve as a guide.  

We can summarize part 2 with these thoughts.  Teens have a strong need to:

Maria Montessori mentions six areas as the foundation of the academic program for the adolescent.  We will explore those in part 3.  

Until next time

I’m reading Montessori Today by Paula Polk Lillard again and this time I’m focusing on the adolescent / middle school aspects of Maria Montessori’s philosophy of education.  What I see in the homeschool world is many moms who are very excited about Montessori for their younger children.  However, finding middle school Montessori enthusiasts is rare.  In fact, I don’t know any other homeschoolers that are using Maria Montessori’s concepts for Middle School.  And that is a shame.  Montessori was brilliant and her pedagogy has withstood the test of time.  So, for those that are homeschooling and have children who are approaching middle school, I thought I would share what I’m learning and reading about Montessori middle schools … I’m calling this concept “farmschooling”.  This will be a long article with lots of detailed information, so I’m going to break it into several posts.  This is Part one and it will focus on the characteristics of this Third Plane of Development for adolescence.  It will certainly help you understand your teen better, at least it has helped me!  

Since not many folks are homeschooling with a Montessori slant, I thought I would explain some things we are doing and connect it with Montessori’s vision of an Erdkinder (middle school or adolescent envionment).  But I need to lay a bit of a foundation first before I jump straight into the teaching aspect.  In this post, I will be quoting from Montessori Today by Paula Polk Lillard.  (Note we are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program.  Any money received via this relationship is used for our homeschool!  PS. I’ve made a grand total of $0.00 from affiliate marketing… but the FTC says I have to tell you that IF you buy it, I will make 4% of the sale as commission.)In some areas I will paraphrase and in other areas I will quote verbatim.  Suffice it to say, I think if you don’t have this book, you need to get it, especially if you are teaching 0-12 aged children.  It’s an easy reading book that really sums up Maria Montessori’s philosophy well.  When I was still the chairman of the board of our local Montessori school, we had multiple copies of this book on our bookshelf and we would literally hand them out to new families attending the school.  

Maria Montessori developed a theoretical framework of education for children from birth to adult.  She regarded the adolescent stage as a period of great vulnerability… she went so far as to liken it to the 0-3 stage.  Here’s why:  The infant is in a totally vulnerable state and requires careful attention and devotion on the part of adults, it is a new being, a child.  In this second period (adolescence), great weakness is apparent, and again, very special consideration must be given, a new creation is taking place but this time it is an adult.  Just like in the early stage where a child is in self-construction mode, so are adolescents.  During this stage they are introverted and self-conscious…. yet at the same time, they have a huge drive to join society as an adult member.  Therefore they show a keen interest in the social organization of the world around them, where they are trying to make sense of people’s behavior, in both the present and past. 

In the first plane of development (0 – 3) children are sensorial explorers, in the second plane (6 – 12) they are reasoning explorers, now in the third plane (12 – 18) they become human explorers… focusing on figuring out society and where they fit in.  Montessori believed that adolescents needed calm and solitude if they are to make sense of their self and the world.  She continued stating they are filled with doubts, hesitations, emotions and discouragement … being very sensitive, embarrass easily and lack confidence.  They have a great need for strengthening of self-confidence.  In addition, they have difficulty concentrating and are easily distracted.  

At the same time, adolescents are impressive intellectually.  They want to discuss big abstract ideas and reason through to conclusions, based on evidence.  They are interested in discussing moral and spiritual issues, the purpose of life and the meaning of death.  They like to debate what the author of a book is really saying, or an artist truly intended through his painting, or a composer expressing through their music.  They want to explore what others are thinking and feeling and are perceptive about their strengths and weaknesses.   

Montessori had a deep faith in the benefits of academic knowledge and intellectual study in spite of the adolescent’s diminished capacity to concentrate and we will explore how she proposed teaching adolescents in the next post.  Here is Part 2

Until next time….