The questions adolescents ask are: Who am I? What am I good at? What am I good for? What is my role? How do I fit in? Our role is to address the needs of these young adults and create a safe community in which they can extend themselves and take risks. We provide a curriculum that emphasizes the relevance of its subject matter, a curriculum that provides a framework through which the students will see connections between themselves and the world they will soon enter as adults. As Montessori said, we do not want complacent students, rather those who realize their potential through their own experiences.
The student, aged 12 to 15, is preparing to enter adulthood and is developing a more mature personality. This age is a period of intense physical, emotional, cognitive and social development and change, with all the insecurities and excitement that go along with that change. Montessori pedagogy is based on providing for the specific developmental characteristics and needs of each age in order to optimize the total development of the young person and to sustain the young person?s innate desire to learn. The Junior High program at Ottawa Montessori School is designed to respond to these characteristics and needs.
Physically, adolescents are in an age of significant, rapid but uneven growth that leads to sexual maturation. Adolescents have boundless energy and an astonishing capacity for work but they are also prone to periods of lethargy. This is an age of emotional vulnerability. Adolescents are very critical of themselves and everyone else. They believe that their experiences and views of the world are unique and cannot be understood by others. They constantly feel they are being judged, often negatively, about everything they say and do. They are vulnerable to hurt and humiliation. Socially, they identify strongly with their peer group and they question rules and beliefs that they previously simply accepted. Peer relationships and a sense of belonging are of utmost importance. Adolescents need to see themselves as having value to their community for what they can do. Cognitively, adolescents are capable of very mature thought if it is framed within a personal context. i.e. it speaks to their emotional and social needs. In these circumstances, they have the capacity to think in abstract and complex ways, and to analyse and argue. Adolescents exhibit a tendency towards creative work and the exploration of new interests and abilities.
In order to meet the needs of our adolescents and prepare them for higher levels of education and a mature adulthood, the Junior High program at OMS has the following characteristics:
Academically, the program is rigorous, involving students in accurate self-assessment, and individualized goal setting that emphasizes challenge, achievement, and accountability.
The curriculum is interdisciplinary, centered on topics that have personal and current relevance, and that allow for discussion and debate, as well as for the examination and discussion of values.
The Ontario Common Curriculum is met and there is a strong emphasis on skill development (research, writing skills, essay and project writing, oral communication and debate, problem solving, note taking, study skills and test taking).
French as a Second Language includes a strong core component taught by an FSL specialist plus components integrated into the ongoing activities and assignments of the classroom.
Physical activity is incorporated into the program through work on the land (at a farm), field trips (canoeing, hiking), and opportunities to build and create. Physical Education classes, intramurals and interscholastic events are directed by a Phys Ed specialist.
Opportunities are provided to explore a wide variety of creative arts and to try out new activities. Experts in a variety of fields are invited into the class as part of the integrated curriculum.
Students of this age do best with choices, not only to develop independence but also to help them learn to make good decisions. Therefore, the program incorporates ‘focused freedom.’ The teacher requires that a certain concept be incorporated into an assignment or that a certain type of assignment be completed, but the student has the freedom within those requirements to determine the actual outcome.
Scheduling permits long, uninterrupted work periods that encourage focused concentration and personal reflection while allowing for the questioning, discussion and debate that animate and drive the academic growth of this age. As in all Montessori classrooms, students choose the work they do; however, they cannot choose to do nothing.
Class meetings and discussions give students first hand experience in teamwork, conflict resolution and personal responsibility. Additional opportunities for students to contribute and recognize their value arise from community service in the school and in the larger community.
Experiences at this level must be real to be meaningful. An important component of the Junior High program is spending time on the land (that is in a natural environment) where students are responsible to one another for meeting their needs and responsible for the stewardship and development of a physical space. Wilderness trips and bi-weekly work on a farm are important aspects of the program. These land experiences allow the students an outlet for their physical energy and their need to work with their hands, provide the experience of true independence, develop the interdependence of community, and create opportunities for personal reflection in a natural setting.
