DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 411 077 PS 025 760

AUTHOR Pendleton, D. Renee, Comp.; Kahn, David, Ed.

TITLE The Adolescent Colloquium (Cleveland, Ohio, October 3-6,
1996). Summary of the Proceedings.
INSTITUTION Montessori Teacher Education Collaborative, Cleveland, OH.
PUB DATE 1996-00-00
NOTE 90p.
AVAILABLE FROM Montessori Teacher Education Collaborative, 11424 Bellflower
Road, Cleveland, OH 44106 ($5, plus $.50 shipping in U.S.;
$1 shipping in Canada; $2.25 shipping elsewhere).
PUB TYPE Collected Works Proceedings (021)
EDRS PRICE MF01/PC04 Plus Postage.
DESCRIPTORS *Adolescents; Educational Environment; Educational Needs;
*Montessori Method; Program Development; Program
Implementation; School Community Relationship; Secondary
Education; Staff Development; Teacher Student Relationship
IDENTIFIERS Challenge; Cosmic Approach; *Erdkinder; Montessori Schools;
Spiritual Development

ABSTRACT
This publication summarizes the proceedings of a Montessori
colloquium on adolescence, designed for trainers and practitioners to find
common ground between the theory of Erdkinder (observing children and,
accordingly, creating a suitable environment) and practice as seen in current
Montessori secondary programs. Opening remarks on the need for a common
vision were made by Renilde Montessori. The paper topic:; were: (1)
adolescents' educational e,,s (John Lone:;; (2) spiritta1 development and
healthy environments for adolescents (Pat Ludick); (3) adolescents' need for
challenge, changing relationships with teachers, and responsibility (Larry
Schaefer); (4) Conscious Cosmic Education (John McNamara); (5) program
implementation (Linda Davis); the need to meet the goals of Cosmic
Education before starting a real Erdkinder (Margaret Stephenson); (7) a
proposed course of action leading to the establishment of an experimental
Erdkinder program (Camillo Grazzini); (8) personal perspective on the third
plane (Kay Baker); and (9) the need for a model and training for adolescent
programs (Peter Gebhardt-Seele). Questions regarding each paper and a general
discussion are summarized. Erdkinder was established by the group as a worthy
goal but there was divergence of opinion as to how quickly an Erdkinder model
could be implemented. (KB)

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THE ADOLESCENT COLLOQUIUM

OCTOBER 3-6, 1996

CLEVELAND, OHIO

SUMMARY OF THE PROCEEDINGS

PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND

DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL
HAS BEEN GRANTED BY

`r e-
Q hCU t: r\
TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)

rcopY AI/A[1_743LE'
 WHAT Is MTEC?

The Montessori Teacher Education Collaborative

(MTEC) operates the Ohio Montessori Training
Institute (Cleveland) and the Washington (DC) Mon-
tessori Institute. MTEC also supports the expansion
of AMI training throughout the world.

PUBLICATION STAFF

David Kahn
Editor

D. Renee Pendleton
Associate Editor

Melissa Meade
Layout Artist and Typesetter

,3
 THE ADOLESCENT COLLOQUIUM

OCTOBER 3-6, 1996

CLEVELAND, OHIO

SUMMARY OF THE PROCEEDINGS

0 1997 Montessori Teacher Education Collaborative

BEST COPY AVAILABLE

4
 PREFACE

The Adolescent Colloquium was planned by the Montessori

Teacher Education Collaborative about six months before it con-
vened in October, 1996. Its goal was to bring the entire AMI elemen-
tary training community together with a selected group of AMI
secondary practitioners. Around the seminar table at Case Western
Reserve University, trainers and practitioners were ready to take
action, to find common, ground between theory and practice. There
was much at stake, for the practitioners were asked to represent their
convictions, experience, and direction, and the trainers were asked to
share their understanding of the third plane according to the writings
and legacy of Maria Montessori's vision.

The Colloquium had a certain inevitability about it. Montessori

early adolescent work in the United States has reached a point where
it needs specific direction. Today there are approximately 150 ado-
lescent projects in the United States in both private and public
schools, yet with the proliferation of these "urban programs" over
the last 20 years, there is no governing standard or consensus of
design. Teaching personnel who are committed to the adolescent age
group, strong in content levels, and trained in Montessori are few in
number and very different in background and approaches. At present,
there has been no documentation for adolescent projects; program
efforts have been neither compiled nor analyzed. Nor has there been
a sustainable Erdkinder founded on the principles put forward by
Maria Montessori in the appendices of From Childhood to Adolescence.
Something needed to happen.

Probably the most difficult part of this meeting was the discrep-
ancy between Montessori's Erdkinder and what existing Montessori
secondary programs are actually doing. Therein lay the dilemma of
the ,meeting. How should the Montessori movement proceed in
achieving consensus about third-plane Montessori design according
to the vision and details in Montessori's writings?

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 The record, as reported in the following summary, speaks for
itself. Erdkinder was established as a worthy goal and, as Camillo
Grazzini and Baiba Krumins G. stated in an unpublished paper,
"everyone has understood that it is time, at last, to consider Dr.
Montessori's indications and directives in their entirety rather than
selectively, partially, or reductively." There was divergence of opin-
ion as to how fast a Erdkinder model could actually be implemented,
but there was general agreement around this one point: We have
barely begun the quest for Erdkinder.

The collective enterprise is necessary to bring to the surface the

deeply imbedded true nature of the adolescent. The entire Montes-
sori community must see the convergence of the first and second
planes on the third plane as still another movement of an unfinished
symphony. The Montessori century of discovery and revelation of
the child's nature culminates with Erdkinder. This great adolescent
experiment belongs to every Montessorian because each is a con-
tributor indirectly to this magnificent new period of growth and
development.

The Adolescent Colloquium expresses its gratitude, first and

foremost, to Debra Hershey-Guren and the Hershey Foundation, not
only for their outstanding support of the October meeting but for the
commitment they have made to Erdkinder research and develop-
ment in the Cleveland, Ohio, area. Second, the hard work of the
Colloquium participants should be acknowledged as a genuine and
unprecedented act of cooperation. Also, special thanks to Renee
Pendleton, who had the patience and interest to assemble these
proceedings with the editorial skill and precision that now makes
them accessible to the public. In addition, the North American
Montessori Teachers' Association (NAMTA) has made it possible to
bring this unique pedagogical event into a larger Montessori forum
by distributing this booklet to its members in lieu of its Summer 1997
NAMTA Journal issue (volume 22, number 3). Finally, this gathering
of AMI trainers and practitioners would not have happened without
the support of the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI), and
its branch office, AMI /USA.

David Kahn
July, 1997
Adolescent Colloquium participants, front row, seated: John Long, Larry Schaefer,
Joen Bettmann, Pat Schaefer, Allyn Travis, Monte Kenison; second row, seated: Tom
Postlewaite, Pat Ludick, Linda Davis, Laurie Ewert-Krocker, Peter Gebhardt-Seele,
Virginia McHugh, Renilde Montessori, Bob Fleischhacker, Mike Strong, Debra
Hershey-Guren, Jenny Hoglund; standing: John McNamara, Camillo Grazzini, Kay
Baker, Margaret Stephenson, Patty Pantano, Deborah Bricker, Alcillia Clifford-
Williams, David Kahn. Photo taken by participant Orcillia Oppenheimer. Absent: Paula
Polk Lillard.
 THE ADOLESCENT COLLOQUIUM
OCTOBER 3-6, 1996

SUMMARY OF THE PROCEEDINGS

compiled and edited by Renee Pendleton

This summary is meant to provide a concise synopsis of Colloquium proceedings,

relying heavily on paraphrase and condensation. Direct quotes of participants'
comments are indicated by quotation marks.

OPENING REMARKS: RENILDE MONTESSORI

A very important Montessori principle is the idea of true respon-

sibilitynot doing an assigned chore but responding to what is
needed. The young adolescent needs to feel that something is needed
specifically from him or from her.

Similarly, we have a mandate to take responsibility. Because the

world is in crisis, our mandate is to look after the future of humanity
by responding to the needs of the child. We cannot simply stick to our
small, separate issues; a common vision is necessary to the work
before us.

Colloquium participants wereKay Baker, Joen Bettmann, Deborah Bricker,

Alcillia Clifford-Williams, Linda Davis, Laurie Ewert-Krocker, Bob
Fleischhacker, Peter Gebhardt-Seele, Camillo Grazzini, Debra Hershey-
Guren, Jenny Marie Hoglund, David Kahn, Monte Kenison, Paula Polk
Lillard, John Long, Patricia Ludick, Virginia McHugh, John McNamara,
Renilde Montessori, Orcillia Oppenheimer, Patricia Pantano, Tom
Postlewaite, Larry Schaefer, Patricia Schaefer, Margaret Stephenson,
and Allyn Travis. Moderator was Mike Strong. Brief biographies of the
participants appear at the end of this summary.
Renee Pendleton is Associate Editor of The NAMTA Journal and Director
of Communications for both the North American Montessori Teachers' Associa-
tion (NAMTA) and the Montessori Teacher Education Collaborative (MTEC).

The Adolescent Colloquium 1

8
 FIRST PRACTITIONER: JOHN LONG

In a subsistence-level, agricultural society, the 13- or 14- or 15-

year -old is not quite an adult, but very close to it, taking a responsible
role in the work to be done and participating in society. By contrast,
the adolescent in our society is "held prisoner in a state of arrested
childhood." The dilemma of adolescence, then, is that we are "hard-
wired" to be adults by the age of 14 or 15, but in our society we cannot
take on adult roles at this age. The challenge is to find ways of putting
adolescents into situations where they can take on responsibility,
where they can cultivate a sense of their own capacity to develop into
responsible adults.

This is what Maria Montessori called "valorization of the person-

ality"an understanding of one's strength, one's worth. This con-
cept is in contrast to our society's current shallow conception of
where self-esteem comes from. Montessori understood that it comes
from work, from a sense that one's work is worthwhile, and from
affirmation by surrounding adults that one's contribution is valued.
Service work is one way to do this; the farm is also a rich source of this
type of experience.

Adolescents need a connection with not just their peer commu-

nity and not just their school community but a larger community in
which they can find a place. In relation to the peer community, rules
need to be drawn to discourage the formation of cliques, boyfriend/
girlfriend pairs, and even best-buddy pairs. The adolescent needs the
experience of working in a groupnot just a self-selected group but
a group that includes people that adolescent finds it difficult to work
with.

The questions we need to answer are "Who is the adolescent?"

and "What are the adolescent's needs?" In answering these ques-
tions, we take into account individual and personal development,
development within the scope of human life (physical changes in
adolescence, the study of other developmental stages, etc.), emo-
tional development, and development of the individual in society-

2 Montessori Teacher Educatibh Collaborative

as a member of a community. This is, according to Montessori, a
sensitive period for finding one's place in society.

As for preparation for high school, Maria Montessori says stu-

dents who finish Montessori Elementary are academically ready for
high school,' but John stated that he does not always see that
readiness among our Elementary graduates. Important cognitive
and academic work needs to be accomplished during adolescence.
This work can grow out of the life of the farm. There is also a role for
connections with urban society; this is, after all, the society they
probably will live in as adults.

If the Primary years are the age of "help me to do it myself," then

these are the years of "help me to think for myself." Communication,
technological, and thinking skills are all important. Personal vision is
important at this age. Many young people at this age decide on their
life's work. Spiritual and religious study is also important. Sexuality
needs to be addressed.

QUESTIONS

David Kahn: "Describe your personal vision of the adolescent and how
the adolescents you have worked with have affected you.... When you first
made the transition from the Elementary to adolescents, what surprised,
struck, or frustrated you?"

Pat Ludick remembers John's surprise or admiration for the great

intellectual ability of these young people, especially when the mes-
sagein part from the Montessori community and certainly from the
outside communityhas been that this age group has a great deal of
difficulty concentrating and cannot approach any intellectual task in
depth.

'"We claim that the average boy or girl of 12 years who has been educated till then at
one of our schools knows at least as much as the finished High School product of
several years' seniority, and the achievement has been at no cost of pain or distortion
to body or mind," Montessori, To Educate the Human Potential.Ed.

10The
Adolescent Colloquium 3
 Mike Strong: "Is there
A very important Montessori principle anything you expected to work
is, the idea of true responsibility not that did not work?"
doingan assigned chore but reSPond-
ing to what is needed. The young ado-
lescent needs to feel that something is When John started his
needed specifically from him or from work with adolescents, he
her.. took the place of someone
who had left detailed notes
Similarly, we have a mandate to
take responsibility. Because the world
and outlines. John quickly
is in crisis, our mandate is to look after
discovered, however, that
the future of humanity by responding the lectures he delivered
to the needs of the child. We cannot based on these notes, no
simply stick to our small, separate is matter how brilliant, were
sues; a common vision is necessary to "a lousy way to work with
the work' before us. adolescents." He began to
substitute storytelling as a
(Renilde Montessori)
way of initiating work with
the adolescents. Adoles-
cents, he added, seek out a
very high level of competence in the adults who work with them, and
this is a challenge to us.

Larry Schaefer added that adolescents are quite blunt and will
"tell you the truth, from their perspective, very easily and without a
great deal of tact." Moreover, when one of them is in conflict with an
adult, just or unjust, they rally around each other so that the conflict
is with the whole group.

Camillo Grazzini asked about the apparent conflict between

John's assessment of adolescents' intellectual capabilities and the
comments of Dr. Montessori on this subject.

John responded that he does not think these are in conflict. His
observation is that the early adolescent is capable of tremendous
intellectual work, but that this work has to "resonate with them
personally, with their personal experience." The approach cannot be
a textbook approach, but must be experiential and real-world. It

4 Montessori Teacher Education Collaborative

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must "touch those issues that are key to them at this point in their
lives."

Linda Davis asked about specific approaches for intellectual work.

One approach would be to have 12 to 15 young people hold a

seminar discussion about a novel they have all read, with an adult
facilitator. "The point of arrival is for the adult to largely disappear
from that discussion" so that the questions and discussion come from
the adolescents themselves.

Linda pointed out that in Montessori's writings, the emphasis is

on a change in intellectual ability. She quoted from "Erdkinder": "the
power of assimilation and memory which endowed the younger ones
with such an interest for details and for material things seems to
change." So instead of memorizing and acquiring knowledge the way
Elementary-age children do, adolescents are reflecting on what they
know in a new way. John agreed and added that they are thinking in
a more abstract way, a more adult way.

Tom Postlewaite added that there is a clear difference between

the way a 12-year-old thinks and the way a 14-year-old thinks. The
kinds of discussions one can have with a 14-year-old one cannot have
with a 12- or 13-year-old. There seems to be an intellectual explosion
at this age.

SECOND PRACTITIONER: PAT LUDICK

1. The Spiritual Development of the Young Person

Adolescence is a time of awakening, enlightenment, gaining of
knowledge about who they are, the construction of self. The sensitiv-
ity of adolescents prompts them to ask existential questions: Who am
I? Why am I here? Why is life as it is? They also wonder about the self
in relation to the community. This questioning sometimes takes place
independently, but more often in a group of their peers. Here they
begin to listen to others and see their own viewpoints. Diverse
cultures within the adolescent program are very important to build
this grand conversation.

The Adolescent Colloquium 5

12
 After the nurturing of the Primary and Elementary years, the
young people we get in Montessori adolescent programs are very
confident. They have a rich experience which gives them ideas
waiting for expression and makes them ripe for what we can offer.

Community is "a task, not something that just happens because

we have a lot of young people together." It requires that individuals
recognize their own gifts and weaknesses as well as those of others.
When young people are confident, they are much better able to listen
to and learn from others, as well as to have a sense of generosity and
empathy. Collaborative learning projects allow them to do all the
things adults do to function as a community: problem-solving,
communication, trust, respect for others' knowledge, the sharing of
something finished that the group has done together.

Community also needs to move out of the peer group and beyond
the school environment into the larger community: "going out."
Service projects enable them to see the needs of others and do
something about these needs. In addition, the presence of other age
groups on a Montessori campus helps to provide a sense of commu-
nity beyond the immediate peer group. Celebrations should embrace
this whole school community.

Sexuality is another part of spiritual development: We need to

help young people to realize the power of their whole being. One way
to assist this realization is to revisit with them the whole continuum
of life, utilizing the variety of ages in the Montessori community.

Young people are realizing the meaning of vocation. They need

opportunities to explore and practice. Adults in the young person's
life add to this dimension through talk and mentoring.

2. Environments in Which I Have Seen Adolescents Thrive

The classroom needs to be a large, open area so that the adoles-
cents can move. Moreover, they love to be all together in a large
group.
13
6 Montessori Teacher Education Collaborative
 The citythe civilization in which the young people liveis an
important environment. They need to be led into the city to find
places that are nourishing and cause them to reflect on the history of
the city, the stories of the people, the struggles that go on: factories,
bridges, museums, theaters, parks, libraries, churches. Using public
transportation and mapping routes are important skills.

Class trips into nature and to national monuments are important.

Finally, the farm is an impor-

tant environment, allowing them The challenge is to find ways of
the opportunity to live in commu- putting adolescents into situa-
nity, in a home, not a dormitory. tions where they' can take on
responsibility; where they can
Work is essential, as is learning
cultivate a sense of their own
about other cultures (the Amish, capacity to develop into respon-
for instance). The farm allows time sible adult.
to reflect as well as a chance to do
daily tasks: cooking, cleaning, (John Long)
shopping, budgeting, mainte-
nance.

QUESTIONS

Mike Strong: "Is there anything you expected would work that did not
work?"

Parents are concerned with proficiency testing and high school

preparation whether we like it or not, whether we believe in it or not.
Our school has some non-Montessori-trained staff members, and
they are very much influenced by this push. What doesn't work is the
idea of "preparing young people who are going into French III." It
results in desk work, memorization, etc. We haven't yet figured out
a way to make some of the components of our program aligned with
the needs and characteristics of young people.

Tom Postlezvaite: "How much input do the students have into their
course of study and how they learn?"

The Adolescent Colloquium 7

14
 There needs to be a basis, a framework of knowledge that builds
on the Primary and Elementary experiences. I would never just say,
"What do you want to do?" Within that framework, though, the
young people show us where their sensitivities are, where they desire
to go, and we need to listen. We present them with a theme or broad
idea and they decide where to go with it: an individual or group
project, an article to study, etc.

THIRD PRACTITIONER: LARRY SCHAEFER

Adolescents in our society often feel as if adults don't like them

or don't treat them as human beings. Furthermore, "traditional"
ways of educating adolescents discourage them from asking ques-
tions and learning to think for themselves. Young people don't want
to be given things that are easy. They want a challenge; they want to
find out whether or not they can do something. They want to be given
the chance to fail as well as succeed.

When Larry and Pat Schaefer founded Lake Country School in

1976, their children-15, 14, 13, and 111/2participated in the project
by helping with cleaning, maintenance, etc. The school needed them
and they loved doing the work. "If you want to move a mountain, get
a thousand teenagers....My image is that the Great Wall of China was
built by teenagers."

The leading of the adult must be very subtle: Adolescents don't

want to feel pushed around. The image is of dancing with the
adolescenta great waltz, not a modern free-form danceand of
leading in a subtle way.

The student's relationship with the teacher changes at this age. It

becomes more of an apprentice-master relationship. The adolescent
needs to see something of substance and something of character in
the adult. They need models of excellence to provide high standards.
In addition, adolescents need to be held to their better, nobler selves
because they live in a world that disorients them. In order to hold an
adolescent to his or her better self, one needs to do the steps of the

15.
8 Montessori Teacher Education Collaborative
dance (these are the principles that everyonestudents and adults
alikehas to follow):

1. No cliques;

2. Function on the principle of human-heartedness;

3. The person you like least is as important to you as your best

friend;

4. Your community is your civis, your town, so you have to

develop a code of civility;

5. Act under the principle of being a good neighborcaring,

helping;

6. The issue of leadership (both great and little acts of leadership):

eighth graders are the leaders, and they develop a sense of
responsibility.

In Larry's opinion, the pre-eminent study for the adolescent is the

broad scope of the humanities. A subset of that is the understanding
of the human condition over time.

QUESTIONS

Peter Gebhardt-Seele: "Describe your actual day-to-day classroom

practices."

It's a sensitive period for poetry. I also teach philosophy, with

which they have a wonderful encounter. "The capability of the young
adolescent, combining high intelligence with emotion, is stunning."
The difference between the upper Elementary and the junior high is
that at this age there is more of a course of studies. I teach little
courses that inspire them, but not all the time.

The Adolescent Colloquium 9

16
 Camillo Grazzini: "What is the
Too often I ask teachers, preparation of the adult to work with
"Have you done the Great this level? Also, how do you address
Lessons?? and they re- the issue of specialization of staff since
spond, "No, not yet, because the refinement of skills is so high at
they can't read and write? I
this age?"
say, "Have you ever thought
that maybe they only need
ears to listen with?" The adolescent needs to see
competence in the adult. We have
(Margaret Stephenson)
49 students and a core staff of three:
a naturalist who also teaches math;
Miss Stephenson reminded
me that students at this age
a poet who teaches writing and
are most interested in hu- literature; and my daughter Chris,
man invention and discov- who teaches history, social studies,
ery. She told me to retell the and seventh-grade math. In addi-
stories of history and hu- tion, we have professors from the
man development that em- university come in: microbiologists,
phasize invention and historians, dancers, etc.
discovery. When I did that, it
worked like magic. Their in-
terest took off... . We spent
Linda Davis: "In my experience,
two weeks living on a tree when there hasn't been a specialist
farm in downstate Illinois. available or when the question being
They had real work to do on studied was more philosophical, I've
the tree farm and contact found it helpful to return to ancient
with the workers. There Greek thought. They have been very
evolved a very natural responsive to this. Do you find this to
rhythm of the day: work in be true, and is it significant?"
the morning, rest and re-
flection after lunch. . . . I
observed a profound differ- "I think that the classical age is
ence between the students a central experience."
in the farm environment and
in the classroom environ- Mike Strong: "In what way does
ment.
who the adult is matter with this age
group in comparison to how it matters
(Linda Davis)
with younger children?"

Larry gave the example of a teacher to whom the adolescents

were downright cruel because he had no empathy for them, no
10 Montessori Teacher Education Collaborative
17
generosity of spirit, and was too directive. Pat Schaefer pointed out
that as the students get older, the demands on the adult are stronger.
You need to be psychologically balanced and have spiritual depth. A
person who does not know who he or she is, who is not psychologi-
cally grounded, cannot work with the adolescent. Young people can
spot any weakness, any phoniness. You also have to be very intelli-
gent and able to think on your feet. You cannot be uncertain of
yourself intellectually.

Larry added that adolescents are blunt and direct; therefore, you
can't take things they say personally. You have to remember that this
is an anti-adult age and they have to pull away from adults and
question them. Renilde Montessori added, "The reason why we are
so frightened of adolescents is because they know us so terribly
well."

GENERAL DISCUSSION OF LONG, LUDICK, AND SCHAEFER PRESENTATIONS

Paula Lillard pointed out that what Pat Schaefer said about the
adult in relation to the adolescent is virtually the same as what the
parent-infant program tries to instill in the parent. She added, in
relation to preparation for high school, that the high schools in her
area say they want students who can speak, write, and think on their
feet, and who are interested in learning; give us these students, they
say, and we will do the rest.

David Kahn asked for comments about the specialist-generalist

role. Tom Postlewaite commented that students know what the adult
does and does not knowespecially after three years. So it is impor-
tant to bring in people who do know specialized topics in depth. This
also puts the students in contact with one more adult, to see how that
person thinks and approaches the questions they ask.

Pat Ludick added that adolescents watch how adults interact

with one another, so when adults team up to do something for the
adolescents, this provides a positive model of interaction.

The Adolescent Colloquium 11

LLb
 Tom added that the naturalist/microbiologist who works with
his students is also a good writer and works with the students on
their journals. It is important that students not think that if you
specialize in one area, you aren't any good at something else.

John McNamara pointed out, in defense of the generalist, that

when an adult faces a problem in the real world, he or she does not
think, "Is this history or English or math?" It's important for students
to see a person who has an interest in many different areas, not just
in one. In addition, in any parent body there are specialists in all
kinds of fields (doctors, lawyers, etc.); plus students can get on the
Internet and talk to scientists all over the world.

Linda Davis inquired about foreign languages, which do require

a teacher with a high level of expertise. Another concern brought up
by several people was assessment and the expected level of compe-
tence or achievement for the students.

FOURTH PRACTITIONER: JOHN MCNAMARA

I call what I do "Conscious Cosmic Education." My program is

based on what I learned in 1971-72 in Bergamo, especially To Educate
the Human Potential. Like I did when I taught at the Elementary level,
I am still trying to help the students' passage to abstraction, to
stimulate their interest, to capture their imagination, to meet their
need for group work, to respect their growing moral awareness, and
to give precise keys so they can proceed to make discoveries on their
own.

In math, for instance, I design activities and materials to help the

student derive the formulas that a book would simply give to them.
In short, I still try to provide concrete materials and manipulative
tasks, acknowledging the superiority of learning by means of several
senses rather than by means of just one. Students are interested in
their bodies, so, over the years, we keep data on their height, weight,
neck-to-wrist ratio, etc. The students use these data to learn about
graphs, tables, ratios, percentages, decimals, fractions, and the met-
ric system.
19
12 Montessori Teacher Education Collaborative
 I believe the child is a living organism, not someone to be graded
or classified. The goal is not to fill the child with facts, but to cultivate
his or her own natural desire to learn through allowing each child to
experience the excitement of learning and to develop his or her own
natural tools for learning to the maximum.

Even at this level, I still think of all the lessons as three-period

lessons, even though each period may take months. The first period
is still to arouse the student's interest. True learning begins with a
question or problem in the mind of the learner. The second period
engages the student's active participation. The third period makes
the child aware of what he or she has learned.

My program is very student-driven. Students have told me that

when they go into high school, they want to have finished honors
algebra. They also told me they want to pass the ninth-grade profi-
ciency exam (a state requirement for high school graduation) in
eighth grade so that they won't have to do all the extra test-prepara-
tion work the high schools require. Since it is a student-driven
program, I listened.

Love and security are essential to human survival. A loving

environment in addition to the loving home is very important. It's
important that adolescents have someone outside the home who
truly understands them. As a generalist, I get to know the whole
student. It's relatively easy to teach someone reading, writing, and
arithmetic. The more difficult and more important aim of education
is to help students to be total human beings.

Because of their unique physical development, adolescents need

warm, affectionate teachers with a sense of humor who do not nag,
condemn, or talk down to them. In relation to the peer group, the
same principle applies. They need reliable relationships within a
protected, understanding environment. Each adolescent needs to
feel that he or she is joining a small community in which everyone
students and adultsgets to know each other well.

The Adolescent Colloquium 13

 Family is also important. In spite of conventional wisdom, ado-
lescents need to be intimately tied to their families. They yearn for
parental attention and guidance.

Montessori principles are applied to individuals, not to a class.

Adolescents are widely diverse. They have to be treated as individu-
als. Not only are they very different from each other, but each one is
constantly changing.

Physical activity is not separate from intellectual development.

Mental development is connected with movement and is dependent
on it. Movement is not something to reserve for physical education
class.

I define my role as threefold: to prepare an environment to help

students pass from childhood through adolescence to adulthood. My
main two ways of accomplishing this are to avoid setting up obstacles
and to avoid being an obstacle. The more I withdraw from the
process, the more the students assume ownership.

QUESTIONS

Alcillia Clifford-Williams asked for clarification on the concept of

someone outside the home who understands the adolescent.

Of course, I'm thinking of a teacher. Adults often remember a

high school coach or someone else. It's too bad that it's usually in the
extracurricular activities. The need is perhaps even greater today
because we don't have the extended family.

"What is the role of foreign language study?"

Right now, we do have a French teacher, but I claim that when I

did the French, although the students ended up with "horrendous
accents," they learned more French than they do now. Having a
French teacher is a weakness on my part. When Maria Montessori

21
14 Montessori Teacher Education Collaborative
says two or three lan-
guages, she is implying Sexuality is another part of spiritual
that the adult should development: We need to help young
know two or three lan- people to realize the power of their
guages. whole being. One way to assist this
realization is to revisit with them the
whole continuum of life, utilizing the
FIFTH PRACTITIONER: variety of ages in the Montessori com-
LINDA DAVIS munity.
For our program's (Pat Ludick)
first year, we were in con-
trived space in the main
building. This was not separate enough; my students' expectations
were being lowered by the proximity to the 9- to 12-year-olds. I have
a sense that adolescents really need their own place. The second year
we moved to a second, satellite building, where we had a suite of
rooms, including one main room with books, tables, and a lab in the
corner; plus a series of smaller rooms that served as an art studio;
plus a kitchen where they could prepare food and gather to eat; plus
a computer room.

I was the generalist. Parent volunteers and others helped with

computers, chemistry, physics, art, fitness, etc. Many came in on a
regular basis: one afternoon a week, once a month. Contact with
many adults is important, and students gain a sense of reality by
learning from someone who makes a living in the field being studied.
The students loved having access to these experts but were frustrated
that they were available on a limited basis; they wanted them to be
there when/they needed them. They also told me that they liked
having both the specialist teachers and one teacher who knew them
well.

Before we began our program, I looked at the state goals for

learning, the state-approved textbooks, etc., and I made elaborate
lists of expectations based on these. But then I visited the top high
schools in the area and asked what students typically know when
they enter these schools. The answer was "not much."

The Adolescent Colloquium 15

22
 In terms of specific expectations, one was that our students had
to take a state-required American Constitution test. We studied for
it, and they did quite well. The other reality was that many students
were applying to high schools where they would have to take
entrance exams. I gave two achievement tests per year, using older
versions so we could go over them. They also worked on their own
with commercial test-preparation books. All the ones who applied to
competitive high schools got in.

Academically, the ideas are there;

Programs for adoles-
the seeds have already been planted cents are springing up it

for concepts that are just being intro- in Montessori schools

duced to most 7th- and 8th-grade stu- wherever you look, like
dents. This doesn't mean it has all mushrooms." If there is ,;
become abstracted, but it's there in a no guidance, then they
more sound way than it is for students will do it without gold-
who learn these things for the first ance; and.it Will be the
time in a seemingly more academi- children who suffer.
cally rigorous middle school program.
(Peter Gebherdt-Seele
In answer to whether our students
coming out of the upper Elementary
are "three years ahead," one part of
the answer is no, they couldn't go into high school and pass all the
tests, but the other part is yes, the basis is there. My sense is that
academically we can relax a little bit. They need to be challenged for
their own development, but not for the purpose of getting into high
school.

In terms of overall structure, I started out with a grand plan of

"integrated studies," and I gave the students a chart. But soon it
wasn't working because some of them wanted to learn all about some
areas but didn't necessarily want to learn a lot about some of the
other areas. I was trying to make Cosmic Education conscious for
them, rather than allowing them to make it conscious for themselves.
Miss Stephenson reminded me that students at this age are most
interested in human invention and discovery. She told me to retell the
stories of history and human development that emphasize invention

23
16 Montessori Teacher Education Collaborative
and discovery. When I did that, it worked like magic. Their interest
took off.

What was interesting to me was that if there was a structure, they

wanted it to be followed. If the plan was going to be changed, they
wanted a good reason.

Aside from adopting Larry's rule of no girlfriends/boyfriends

(for which I am grateful), I did not want to go in with a list of rules.
Instead, I chose a few key words for us to talk about and refer to as
the year went on: work, will, reason, responsibility, and love.

I knew we were not going to go and live on a farm, but I wanted

them to have some kind of farm experience. The first year, we spent
two weeks living on a tree farm in downstate Illinois. They had real
work to do on the tree farm and contact with the workers. There
evolved a very natural rhythm of the day: work in the morning, rest
and reflection after lunch. This farm was a very restful environment,
but it was also very isolated. There was no real sense of connection
to a community, other than the workers on the tree farm and our own
community in the house. The second year we went to southern
Wisconsin to Carrie and Mark Johnson's small farm. Carrie set up
work opportunities with various neighbors, creating more of a sense
of community.

I observed a profound difference between the students in the

farm environment and in the classroom environment. This difference
convinced me that had I continued with the program my goal would
have been to spend more and more time on the farm.

There is a task for each age, and there is a profound reason why
adolescents act the way they do. If we give them the environment
they need, we will see a totally different kind of being.

QUESTIONS

David Kahn: "Had you stayed there teaching, what would you have
done with respect to farm visits?"

The Adolescent Colloquium 17

24
 Parents are more inclined to let go of their children in the summer
(many go to camps, etc.), so we were talking about more extended
periods in the summer. In addition, I would have done more parent
education so parents could understand the role of that time away and
the general principle of separation during adolescence: that it does
not necessarily mean separation from the parents but separation
from the role of the child.

David asked for clarification of the distinction between separa-

tion from the parents and separation from the role of the child,
especially in light of the fact that long summer visits to a farm would
separate the adolescents from their parents.

Linda responded that it means the same thing as when a parent

puts a young child down to explore and the child becomes physically
separate from the parent, but the parent is still there with open arms
the child can see. The tie is an emotional one, and it is strengthened
by the child's autonomy at any age. The experience of being away
from home helps the adolescent to appreciate the parent more, both
as a parent and as an individual.

Margaret Stephenson commented that "physical separation does

not necessarily mean spiritual separation" but that only through
physical separation can children really meet themselves. She empha-
sized the need for parent education on the importance of separation.
Patty Pantano added that the period spent away from, parents was
important to her students because "for the first time in their lives,
they had an experience that was totally theirs." Linda recalled the
comment of one of her students who said she valued the time away
because "when I came back, I felt so close to my mom." Tom
Postlewaite agreed that the students are very different when they
return from the farm and added that he tells parents to use the time
when their adolescents are away to reflect on their own role as
parents and how they are going to respond to the different person
who comes back.

25
18 Montessori Teacher Education Collaborative
 Camillo Grazzini distin-
The adolescent needs to see guished between physical, men-
something of substance and
tal, and emotional independence,
something of character in the
adult. They need models of ex-
saying that physical indepen-
cellence to provide high stan- dence does not always mean
dards. In addition, adolescents emotional independence. For
need to be held to their better, example, one can be indepen-
nobler selves because they live dent emotionally and still stay
in a world that disorients them. in the same environment. An
adolescent can be separated and
(Larry Schaefer) still be in communion with his
or her parents. Parents should
allow physical, mental, and
emotional independence at different times.

David Kahn asked what differences there might be with the much
longer separation required for a true Erdkinder and wondered about
the lasting effects, beyond "homecoming jubilation." He went on to
talk about the "irreplaceable emotional high points" experienced in
the home, as an outgrowth of daily life, that form a spiritual founda-
tion for the child. How can parents maintain a "spiritual territory"
for their child in the child's prolonged absence? "Is the early adoles-
cent really ready to make this emotional connection to the larger
community without the parent's intermediary role? . Will parents
. .

take the risk; should they take the risk?"

Mr. Grazzini commented that the community environment can

offer something just as rich as the family environment can offer.

Renilde Montessori pointed out that adolescents need autonomy

and that "parents, with all good intentions, can be very intrusive."
The "intimate talks" which parents think are such valuable moral
learning experiences can be agony for the adolescent, who simply
needs to get on with life.

The question, David reiterated, is "how much from the family,

how much from the Erdkinder?" He quoted a passage from The
Human Tendencies and Montegs-ori Education concerning a balance

The Adolescent Colloquium 19

28
between the family and the school. Do the students stay on the farm
for the entire two years of early adolescence? How long does it take
to establish autonomy? How often do they go home?

Alcillia Clifford-Williams commented that we can't put a time

limit on the development of autonomy in relation to the parent. It has
been a recursive process for both her and her son. In middle school
(at Ruffing East in Cleveland Heights, OH), he went off to the farm
and she had no misgivings. But recently, as a high school student, he
complained that she was "choking" him, and she realized she had to
back off.

Paula Lillard recounted that the young people in her school who
went to the farm wrote letters to their parents and thus maintained
good communication.

Margaret Stephenson pointed out that in Maria Montessori's

conception, the parents would come and visit the adolescents, stay-
ing in the guest house.

FIRST TRAINER: MARGARET STEPHENSON

I think we have encountered some gems already, which will help

to provide a foundation for work with the adolescent. I'm not really
interested in continuing discussions on the adolescent; I'm ready to
go, even if that means making mistakes and backtracking.

Thanks are due to the adolescent projects of the past and present,
because even though most of the projects that have been tried have
fallen somewhat short of Dr. Montessori's ideal, they have given
something back to us, and they have tried to do something for
adolescents, who so desperately need help in our society.

There are some givens, and if we don't heed them, we will only
keep making "compromises." First, To Educate the Human Potential, p.
3: "Not in the service of any political or social creed should the
teacher work, but in the service of the comptelte-human being, able to

20 Montessori Teacher Education Collaborative

exercise in freedom a self-disciplined will and judgment, unperverted
by prejudice and undistorted by fear." This must be our aim, even
more consciously with adolescents than with the other planes. Both
the adolescent and the adult must be prepared to work for this aim.

To Educate the Human Potential (pp. 4-5) also describes the 6-12
period, when the seeds of everything are sown. If neglected or
frustrated during this period, the mind becomes artificially dulled.
These seeds are "held lightly in the mind" and germinate later,
"when the will becomes more directed"during adolescence. Mon-
tessori does not say that we should dig up the seeds from time to time
to see whether they have rooted.

To Educate the Human Potential (pp. 7-8): "The child of six who has
been in a Montessori school has the advantage of not being so
ignorant as the child who has missed that experience. He knows how
to read and write, . . . has already acquired the basis of culture, and
is anxious to build on it, to learn and penetrate deeper into any matter
of interest." But is it really so? Are all the children coming into our
Elementary programs ready? Are they all reading, writing cre-
atively, able to do multiplication?

Dr. Montessori says children leaving the Montessori Upper

Elementary are three years ahead of their counterparts in other
schools. But is this really true of all our children in all our schools?
Furthermore, is Cosmic Education really firing up and inspiring all
the children in our Elementary schools? Is it really giving a vision of
the universe? Are the children getting the proper basis of language
and math? These are also givens we must have in place before we
begin to plan an Erdkinder.

If these givens are not in place, we cannot hope to start a real

Erdkinder. Granted, what we would start without these givens might
be better than what exists now for adolescents, butare we looking for
better or are we looking for best?

28 The Adolescent Colloquium 21

 I don't think Dr. Montessori had in mind that we gather adoles-
cents who are ready from all around the country and bring them to
one place, 3,000 miles from some of their families, who would never
be able to visit. Therefore, it seems to me, they have to be in the local
region.

Underlying the Montessori idea of "an aid to life" is her vision of

the child as the cosmic agent of humanity and its survival. The theme
that runs through the four planes is putting the child in touch with the
cosmic task of the world and its inhabitants in a manner that is fitted
to the psychology of each discrete plane. If a child does not get this
connection in one plane, he or she cannot move on to the next plane
fully prepared.

In the first plane, this connection is made subconsciously yet

concretely through the materials. In the second plane, it is made more
consciously, through approaching Cosmic Education as a drama, not
as a lifeless curriculum. This drama is the vision of Montessori. If this
drama inspires the child of the second plane, then when that child
reaches the third plane, he or she will be able to ask, "What is my role
in this drama?"

Too often I ask teachers, "Have you done the Great Lessons?,"
and they respond, "No, not yet, because they can't read and write."
I say, "Have you ever thought that maybe they only need ears to listen
with?" How can we open for the child these doors into the cosmos if
we don't give the Great Lessons until the year is half over?

Going Out is also important to give the Elementary child a

complete vision of the universe, and a particularly valuable aspect of
Going Out is community service. This is the basis for the service
we've been talking about for adolescents; it needs to begin earlier
than adolescence.

The cosmic plan and the adolescent's place in it is the logical

focus of study for the third plane, as the seeds of Cosmic Education
germinate and the student knows what he or she wants to study. I

22 Montessori Teacher Education Collaborative

29
don't think the cosmic plan can be fully explored at the second plane.
It is too vast. That is why Montessori tells us to sow seeds. And after
these seeds are sown, there has to be a period of silence, darkness,
and rest, during which the roots grow deeper, before any shoots
appear above the ground.

What, then, do we have to give adolescents? Freedom to study

Cosmic Education at the level at which they can explore and from
which they can write, without tying the study to a syllabus or
curriculum. I also wonder if the place of the sixth Great Lesson is, as
Mario Montessori told me once, the transition between the second
plane and the third. He said it
pulls together the seeds that
have been sown in the second
AMI is not there to approve or to
plane. Maybe we could make
disapprove anything. AMI tries
this another opening drama for
to maintain Maria Montessori's
the adolescent. principles and guidelines at any
and all times, because if we don't,
I think we need funding for they will disappear. We are there
a research student to write up to help and encourage.
any project that is started, from (Renilde Montessori)
the beginning and in detail. We
have no Erdkinder model to go
on, as we had with the infant
work, the casa dei bambini, and the Elementary.

QUESTIONS

Peter Gebhardt-Seele: "Could it be that the rest period for the seeds is
the 12-14 period, and that the seeds are shooting or germinating at the 15-
18 period or even later?"

I think that's probably true, but I think that they need to revisit
Cosmic Education at the beginning of the third plane and reflect upon
where they might like to go or what they might like to look into in
more depth. Maria Montessori emphasizes that 12-14 is a creative
period, in art, in language, in music, etc.

The Adolescent Colloquium 23

30
 Linda Davis recalled a 13-year-old boy who spent weeks re-
searching World War I and produced only a half-page report. A few
weeks later, however, he started a fiction story, which grew into a
short novel. It was the story of a soldier in World War I.

Tom Postlewaite asked whether the revisiting of Cosmic Education

means that we should retell the Great Lessons at the beginning of the third
plane.

I don't think we should necessarily retell the Great Lessons, but

we should put students in touch with literature like Brian Swimme's
The Universe Is a Green Dragon or H.G. Wells and others who are
dealing with the themes of Cosmic Education, as well as newspaper
articles and the like. Community service is also vitally important.

David Kahn: "To what degree can you take the philosophical realiza-
tions of Cosmic Education that take place in the second plane (the cosmic
task, belief in human progress, responsible participation in nature, etc.) and
transfer them to the history of ideas?"

I think that's where we should be going, where we should be

taking Cosmic Education. These children are ready for philosophy,
for great ideas, especially ideas with their roots in the Story of the
Coming of Human Beings, which emphasizes the gifts of intellect and
love.

Larry Schaefer: "That phrase about children being three years ahead has
always been a troubling phrase for me. First of all, it seems an unworthy
goal. Second, ahead of what? To use it as a given, therefore, seems a little
troubling."

Montessori says that after the second plane the child is capable of
real, hard intellectual work. I wonder if we really make full use of
those years and give them everything they could learn, or whether
we're satisfied with giving them what they give in the public schools.

31
24 Montessori Teacher Education Collaborative
Montessori children, at 12, have done things that high school stu-
dents haven't even touched. That's what she's talking about. There
will, of course, be individual children who won't attain this, but that
doesn't matter, as long as we don't label them.

Larry asked for more clarification. Monte Kenison read from To

Educate the Human Potential:

We claim that the average boy or girl of 12 years who has been
educated till then at one of our schools knows at least as much
as the finished High School product of several years' seniority,
and the achievement has been at no cost of pain or distortion
to body or mind. Rather are our pupils equipped in their
whole being for the adventure of life, accustomed to the free
exercise of will and judgment, illuminated by imagination and
enthusiasm. Only such pupils can exercise rightly the duties of
citizens in a civilised commonwealth. (p. 1)

Monte commented that you cannot compare traditional educa-

tion to Montessori educationit is not measurable.

Strilli Oppenheimer agreed with Miss Stephenson and added

that the intellectual ability of children is undervalued.

Camillo Grazzini agreed that achievement cannot be quantified

in terms of ability to read, write, or do math. Learning is a matter of
exposure and experience.

SECOND TRAINER: CAMILLO GRAZZINI

Mr. Grazzini presented a paper outlining a proposed course of

action leading to the establishment of an experimental Erdkinder
program. The full text of this paper will be published at a later date.
Following is his list of recommended studies and the documents they
should produce.

What Needs To Be Done

(a) An enquiry into the level of acceptance of an
Erdkinder community on the part of present-day

7e Adolescent Colloquium 25
 American society, that is to say, by: the educational
authorities; parents; potential staff or personnel; and
the potential adolescent members.

(b) Outline of a plan for setting up the boarding/

residential school including the student hostel, the
farm, the guesthouse, shop, etc.; and for their coor-
dination into a single overall structure for the func-
tioning of the Erdkinder community.

(c) Information on the most important institutions that

have been set up for adolescents (past and present),
and especially on how these institutions have been
organized.

(d) A plan concerning the team of experts for the

Erdkinder community: component members; their
various tasks; and their coordination.

(e) A "Montessori" syllabus (possibly unified/inte-

grated) of the academic curricula adopted by the
secondary schools involved in the "adolescent
project" or "urban compromise."

(f) The national programme or curriculum for the first

three years of secondary school.

(g) A single comprehensive report on all the observa-

tions made by the adolescent practitioners.

(h) An outline of a Montessori "plan of studies and

work" prepared and organized/systematized for
immediate use in the Erdkinder community.

(i) Collecting all of Dr. Montessori's unpublished lec-

tures on the secondary school; and (possibly) revis-
ing, translating and publishing them in a single

33

26 Montessori Teacher Education Collaborative

 Figure 1

AMI

1st Plane

2i-id Plane
NAMTA/MAP
"Urban
Compromise"

volume. Clearly this would have to be done in

cooperation with AMI.'

DISCUSSION AND QUESTIONS

Mike Strong proposed a visual representation of how he interpreted Mr.

Grazzini's paper. He asked if he was correct in his interpretation that the
North American Montessori Teachers' Association (NAMTA), with its
Montessori Adolescent Project (MAP), is already supporting the "urban
compromise"' programs and that AMI should support the development of
a true Erdkinder, which does not yet exist (see Figure 1).

Not entirely, Mr. Grazzini replied. We should try to use the

experience and great achievement of the existing projects, find what
is common to all of them, to move toward a true Erdkinder.
'From "A Montessori Community for Adolescents," unpublished paper by Camillo
Grazzini and Baiba Krumins G. Copyright ©1996 Camillo Grazzini and Baiba Krumins
G. All rights reserved. No part of this paper may be reproduced without the advance,
written permission of the authors. Printed by permission.
'The phrase "the compromise situation".Was used by Mario Montessori Jr. to designate
adolescent programs started by Monteg'sorians but not involving a long-term residential
farm experience (cited in Gang, 1979).Ed.

The Adolescent Colloquium 27

34
 Mike proposed an addition to the chart, an arrow leading from
within the "urban compromise" box to the blank space where
Erdkinder will go, with a swirling tail that encompasses the whole
contents of the "urban compromise" box (see Figure 2).

Mr. Grazzini and other participants reacted favorably.

Larry Schaefer: "It's a little fearful, what I'm about to say. First of
all,... [Mr. Grazzini's paper] is full of thoughtfulness, great to hear, and I
hope we all have a chance to read it and to understand it. But it embodies,
actually, all the apprehensions and fears I had coming here. What business
do I have being here? I don't have an Erdkinder. What have I got to say in
regard to the Erdkinder? What more is there to say after that statement?
That's my apprehension. How can we continue this dialogue, this Collo-
quium? That's my apprehension."

Pat Schaefer pointed out that the very nature of an Erdkinder is

that it must flow from a community and the adolescents of that
community. It has to belong to a place and to the people who have a

Figure 2

AMI

1st Plane

2nd Plane
NAMTA/MAI3
"Urban
Compromise"

28 Montessori Teacher Education Collative

sense of ownership of the place.
Therefore, she questioned the What, then, do we have to give
possibility of a national model adolescents? Freedom to study
using children drawn from all Cosmic Education at the level
over the country. Making any at which they can explore and
individual project into a national from which they can write, with-
out tying the study to a syllabus
model would run the risk of vio-
or curriculum.
lating the sense of ownership.
Nobody wants to be a model. (Margaret Stephenson)

Mr. Grazzini used the ex-

ample of an Italian family who, for business reasons, must relocate to
the United States. They know they will have no trouble finding a
Montessori environment for their children aged 2, 4, and 10, because
there is a standard, a common thread. He explained that the purpose
of a model is to find the standard that would be common to any
Montessori environment for adolescents.

Margaret Stephenson agreed that Erdkinder is a "community

endeavor and therefore a collection of community endeavors." Just
as the infant communities and the Elementary classes have grown out
of the existing Primary classes, Erdkinder projects "should come
naturally, as the next plane of development, from the existing Mon-
tessori community." It will be "regional, rather than national or
global." Nevertheless, she agreed with Mr. Grazzini that we need
some kind of "guiding body" under the direction of AMI.

She reiterated that the plan is already there in Montessori's

writings. In regard to the questions of parents' willingness to let
children go away, she said we need to emphasize that the Erdkinder
is only for the first sub-plane of the third plane. The children are not
going away for six years, only for three. During the second sub-plane,
the young people return home and start their high school studies in
preparation for the university.

36 'The Adolescent Colloquium 29

 Mike clarified that Mr. Grazzini had proposed both a national
model and a coordinating body, and that Miss Stephenson's com-
ment is consistent with the latter.

David Kahn asked if Mr. Grazzini's idea is that we should "make

the leap" to "pure Erdkinder," or whether he would accept the idea
of continuing to work toward Erdkinder from the urban programs
that already exist. He added that NAMTA's Montessori Adolescent
Project (MAP) was declared dissolved as of the NAMTA adolescent
conference in December, 1995, because it became clear that, with all
the new programs starting up, NAMTA could not take the responsi-
bility. It needs to be in the hands of a training organization, "not to
set up a training course per se," but to provide support. He concluded
that the farm projects being started.by Lake Country School and by
the Montessori schools in northeast Ohio seem to be moving in the
direction Mr. Grazzini has proposed.

Larry responded that even though his school has bought a farm,
the realization of Erdkinder is still at least 10 years away. The amount
of money still needed to build the necessary buildings is very large.

Miss Stephenson suggested that rather than buy a farm we find

a farmer who is willing to accommodate the Erdkinder, perhaps in
conjunction with other farms in the area. The three necessities are the
environment, materials, and work opportunities.

David suggested that the real question is how long this process
takes. "It may not be everything all at once.... It may be in compo-
nents." He asked if Mr. Grazzini would be willing to accept this "as
a reasonable set of conditions."

Miss Stephenson pointed out that the first casa dei bambini did not
have all the materials we now have. Dr. Montessori spent many years
making and trying new materials. Of the three essential components,
it would seem that the environment has to come first.

37
30 Montessori Teacher Education Collaborative
 Mike suggested that two complementary paths seem to be emerg-
ing: the national model and the regional projects. Miss Stephenson's
emphasis is on maintaining community within the school. Larry is
saying yes, but it is a struggle for a small school to "manage this
incredible transition." Mr. Grazzini, on the other hand, is saying that
a national model has the advantage of being able to draw children
from across the country, and parents might be willing to pay quite a
lot for this high-quality program. Mike concluded, "I can imagine a
national model somehow complementing the local/regional efforts."

Mr. Grazzini said he thought we were confusing two issues, first,

the acceptance of what Montessori designed for the Erdkinder, and
second, our ideas of what is
possible and what is not. He
suggested we try to deal with
Like I did when I taught at the these issues separately.
Elementary level, I am still try-
ing to help the students' pas-
sage to abstraction, to stimulate Larry reiterated that his is-
their interest, to capture their sue is what he has to offer to
imagination, to meet their need this discussion, since he does
for group work, to respect their not have an Erdkinder. Linda
growing moral awareness, and Davis pointed out that Larry
to give precise keys so they can has himself to offer as a "strong,
proceed to make discoveries stable adult" who can give
on their own.
moral guidance.
(John McNamara)
Peter Gebhardt-Seele reit-
erated that when Maria Mont-
essori started San Lorenzo, she had a plan to begin with, but she
modified her practices as "the children revealed to her how to do this
thing." We are now, with the Erdkinder, at about the same point
where the casa was in 1907. We must now begin with the Erdkinder
plan and go through the same experimentation process.

Returning to the chart, Mike reminded Larry that Mr. Grazzini

had wanted the arrow to be added, indicating what the current

38 31
The Adolescent Colloquium
programs have to offer to the emerging Erdkinder. Mr. Grazzini
added that these programs are a base on which to build.

Pat Ludick expressed the desire for a deeper appreciation for the
hard work and dedication of those who "are in the trenches"more
than just a statement that their work is being observed. She pointed
out that it may be hurtful to some of the adolescent practitioners to
hear their work referred to as a "compromise." Erdkinder, she
added, is a grand ideal; "I don't know how it would be realized in my
lifetime."

Pat Schaefer commented that programs like Pat Ludick's have

lighted the way and removed some obstacles, making the work easier
for those who follow.

Mr. Grazzini said to Pat Ludick that he did not intend to be

judgmental about the work of the urban programs and that what he
had said about them in his paper had come from the articles he had
read in The NAMTA Journal.

Mike Strong returned to the chart, saying that he thought some

people had been expecting the "urban compromise" block to be at
least partially under the AMI heading and that it was perhaps "a
shock for Mr. Grazzini to be so perfectly clear" that that block is
outside the AMI column. Nevertheless, Mike expressed his own
opinion that, inside the AMI column or not, the existing programs are
"absolutely wonderful," even if the ideal is something else.

Paula Lillard commented that those who are just starting adoles-
cent programs turn to the faculty of the existing programs for advice
and support.

Linda Davis recalled that none of the early Erdkinder programs

started in the U.S. in the 1970s still exist. We need to study and learn
from these "failures." Perhaps a coordinating committee such as Mr.
Grazzini proposes could help more programs stay viable. Interaction

J.
32 Montessori Teacher Education Collaborative
between practitioners and philosophers is essential for the eventual
development of an Erdkinder.

Returning to the chart, Mr. Grazzini said that a compilation of all

the urban experiences, including John Long's chart of characteristics
and needs (see Figure 3), would provide valuable insight for the
establishment of an Erdkinder environment.

Patty Pantano agreed with Pat Ludick and proposed that the
phrase "urban compromise" be dropped altogether and replaced by
a more positive term: the "urban contribution." Many people agreed.

David Kahn pointed out that this contribution is in process.

Erdkinder is not something you arrive at right away; it takes time to
evolve into it. The ideal of Erdkinder is what has driven the urban
programs; these programs were not started as ends in themselves. He
asked Mr. Grazzini whether a national model Erdkinder, without a
connection to a community process, without stages of development,
would ever be able to be replicated.

Mr. Grazzini responded that just as the casa dei bambini is essen-
tially the same whether it is in Bergamo or Cleveland, the Erdkinder
would also be essentially the same because it is a response to the
needs of the adolescent. The character of the Erdkinder would not be
relative to each community but would depend on what is a true
Montessori model.

Peter Gebhardt-Seele commented on the large amount of detail

work to be done before the model as set forth in "Erdkinder" can
become reality. These details are what we are here to decide upon.

Miss Stephenson wondered aloud whether these details really do

have to come first. She traced the history of the Elementary course,
from the first short course in 1935, through Dr. Montessori's experi-
ments with it while she was in India, to the courses Mario Montessori
began to give in Europe. She compared this and the emergence of the
Erdkinder to a birth process. The baby does not emerge immediately;

The Adolescent Colloquium 33

40
 Figure 3

CHARACTERISTICS
Physical
a time of tremendous physical growth, sexual maturation,
and boundless energy

Emotional
a time of developing self-awareness, uncertainty, emotional unevenness,
a self-critical age

Social
solidarity with peers, identity with race, gender, & ethnicity, critical of each
other & especially of adults, question rules and beliefs, a humanistic age,
a moral & ethical age, seek increased independence

Cognitive
a thinking & critical age, capable of mature thought if framed within a
personal context, a creative age

NEEDS
Physical
physical activity and time for relaxation, contemplation

Emotional
meaningful work, opportunities to contribute to their communities

Social
to build community, reliable and close relationships with peers and with at
least one adult

Cognitive
opportunities to express creatively their new interests, thoughts, and
emotions; to acquire flexible and inquiring habits of mind; to develop a
personal vision.

34 Montessori Teacher Education Collaborative

41
the time and the circumstances must be right. Someone joked that we
must therefore be in labor, and that is why it is so painful. Miss
Stephenson agreed and continued, saying we must consider what is
absolutely essential to the structure to be brought forththese are
the organs that have to be ready for the infant to survive outside the
womb. These essentials are the environment, the materials, and the
work. In addition, in preparation for the fourth plane, the developing
person must undertake an exploration of an ever-expanding society:
the family, then the casa, then, at the second plane, the double
environment of the classroom with its materials and the society
outside, with the people, their activities, and the biological and
geographical elements of the universe. Now, for the third plane, the
exploration is even wider, encompassing the farm and the commu-
nity of the rural area. It echoes what the children explored at the
second plane: civilization and how it came about. But now the
exploration takes place in reality because the adolescents are actually
doing it. Cooperation with the land, cooperation in commerce, and
cooperation in the cultural life of the rural society touch materially
the things studied in the second plane and afford the adolescent the
opportunity to see his or her place in society.

Mr. Grazzini agreed that this may not be the time to decide all the
details. But we can unify the work that has been done and bring it
together with the essentials of Montessori's books and manuscripts.
If the human being is what we study, then we must create an
environment which uniquely addresses the psychological character-
istics of the adolescent.

Mike said that the Colloquium participants who are working in

the urban programs have to go back to their schools and keep going
with those programs. He said it sounds like Mr. Grazzini would like
other people, meanwhile, to begin working on Erdkinder, so that as
Erdkinder develops, the urban programs continue to be valuable and
there is communication between the two.

David Kahn went back to the "organic process of developing

Erdkinder," pointing out that if that process is acceptable, then we
are already making great progress. He asked whether Mr. Grazzini

The Adolescent Colloquium 35

42
 could accept the process of evolv-
On the one hand, all of the ing toward Erdkinder, or
designated pieces have to be in whether "pure Erdkinder" has
,
place for the Erdkinder to suc- to start up full-blown.
ceed; but on the other, hand,
Erdkinder can happen only
gradually; by experiment.
Mr. Grazzini responded that
those working with adolescents
(Linda Davis; citing now must continue their work
"Erdkinder ") because it is the only possible
thing under current conditions.
However, we still need to estab-
lish something we can "touch" so that we can see the physical,
psychological, and emotional environment for the third plane. Con-
tinue what you are doing now, but if you want to see the child at the
third plane, you need to establish a new environment.

"If you build it, they will come," David suggested.

Mike proposed three possibilities: (1) that the people in the urban
programs stay with themcircumstances may dictate that these
programs go on indefinitely; (2) that someone, in the next few years,
build a complete Erdkinder model; (3) that people like Larry Schaefer
and Paula Lillard keep trying to get there.

Mr. Grazzini suggested that numbers 1 and 3 be combined into

only one possibility because arrival at Erdkinder "is the dream of
everybody."

Linda Davis inquired about people just starting programs. Where

do they fit into these categories? She quoted "Erdkinder," which
says, on the one hand, that all of the designated pieces have to be in
place for the Erdkinder to succeed, but on the other hand, that
Erdkinder can happen only gradually, by experiment. She expressed
the desire that the Colloquium specify elements that a beginning
program needs to have. She pointed out that model programs prob-
ably do not exist at any of the other levels (3-6, 6-9, or 9-12), yet from
one city or even one country to another, these programs have

43
36 Montessori Teacher Education Collaborative
common elements that make them Montessori. Even so, each pro-
gram reflects the culture of its locality and the personalities of its
teachers and children. This balance of similarities and differences
from one program to another needs to be addressed at the adolescent
level.

Mr. Grazzini said that one must look at what Montessori has said
in order to determine what to do. Montessori, he pointed out, looked
at the third plane through the first and second planes so that she had
the basis for the reality of Erdkinder.

Tom Postlewaite commented that when there is something that is

not working in his own classroom, something that is not leading to
concentration and spontaneous engagement for his students, he
appreciates opportunities, such as those offered at NAMTA confer-
ences, to hear what is working for others. He suggested that proven
practices be somehow compiled for the use of programs just starting
up, so that they do not have to "reinvent the wheel."

Mr. Grazzini agreed. There is an outline for the work in

Montessori's writings, but there are no detailed programs for math,
history, and so on. Because we are trying to satisfy both the parents
and the state, any two programs will be very different from one
another. The point is not for all programs to use the same materials
or techniques but to look for common elements.

Monte Kenison pointed out that although we all strive for a high
standard, the standards for the adolescent level are not clearly
spelled out, as they are for the other levels. Now that the pioneers
have tried different things and come back to report the results, we
should try to build a common visiona frameworkof what a
Montessori adolescent program should be. This would give everyone
something to strive for, even if its full realization seems very far off.

Returning to the chart, Mike Strong offered this summary: The

practitioners present seem to be looking for some AMI guidance in
their current ("urban") work, but, although there is no official AMI

The Adolescent Colloquium 37

44
position, the AMI trainers present seem to be leaning toward
Erdkinder only.

Monte said he had a bit of a problem with the chart's placement

of the "urban" programs seemingly outside of AMI. He said it might
make the people who have done the experiments feel that they have
not been doing "the right thing," which is unreasonable because
"there wasn't a right thing to do."

Mr. Grazzini drew a border encompassing both the "Erdkinder"

block and the "urban" block on the chart (see Figure 4). Monte and
Linda agreed.

John Long pointed out that more and more adolescent programs
are being started, as evidenced by record attendance at the most
recent NAMTA adolescent conference. These schools "are at least in
the loop" of NAMTA and AMI; even if they are not AMI-affiliated
schools, they are at least trying to maintain an AMI Montessori

Figure 4
AMI

1st Plane

2nd Plane
NAMTA/MAP
"Urban Erdkinder
Contribut,
Contribution"
,,..

38 Montessori Teacher Education CollaborZ

standard, as Monte discussed. What help can we provide for these
schools so that they do not hurt the good name of Montessori by
inventing programs on their own with no guidance? He joined with
Tom in calling for clear guidelines for the intermediate work.

THIRD TRAINER: KAY BAKER

I'm not going to repeat the Montessori perspectives that have

already been discussed. Instead, I'm going to give a more personal
perspective on the third plane.

One question I've asked myself about the Erdkinder is "Should

it exist?" The answer is an unqualified yes, and it needs to exist now.
Parents have dedicated themselves, given time and resources, so that
their children can attend Montessori schools. In a practical sense,
these parents are the reason we all have jobs. And these parents want
their children to continue in Montessori beyond the 9-12 class. We
live in a world of faxes and e-mail, where people want things
immediately. Likewise, these parents want programs for their ado-
lescent children right now. I don't think the same pressure was there
for the early 3-6 people starting their first classes.

The first challenge for a Montessori adolescent program is whether

it naturally follows what we already have in place. The next consid-
eration is its content. The nature of the Montessori curriculum has
always been the universe, so that is not in question. What is in
question is the externalization of this curriculum: the books, the
materials, the adults, the schedule, the physical environment, etc.
Even more critical is the issue of masterywhat do the adolescents
have to master? Certain things must be mastered before one can have
certain other experiences, just as one must master walking before one
can run.

The next issue is the preparation of the adult, including the

adult's full development as a person in addition to practical prepa-
ration in the content. In areas of morality, for instance, the adult's life
should reflect what is being taught. While the length of the training

The Adolescent Colloquium 39

4,6
 program is still up for discussion,
"the fact of it seems to me to be ...
For the third plane, the
essential."
exploration is even wider,
encompassing the farm
and the community of the Another issue concerns the
rural area. It echoes what needs of the adolescent: What are
the children explored at the these needs, as opposed to wants,
second plane: civilization and as opposed to the wants of the
and how it came about. But adult? Identifying the adolescent's
now the exploration takes needs will help us to explain our
place in reality because the programs to parents: If they un-
adolescents are actually
derstand what the need is, they
doing it. Cooperation with
will understand our response to it.
the land, cooperation in
commerce, and coopera-
tion in the cultural life of the Continuity of development is
rural society touch materi- another consideration. If a school
ally the things studied in commits to aid development from
the second plane and af- birth to maturity (or for a portion
ford the adolescent the op-
of that time span), then every staff
portunity to see his or her
place in society.
member needs to understand the
continuity.
(Margaret Stephenson)
QUESTIONS
This may not be the time to
decide all the details. But David Kahn remarked that there
we can unify the work that has been an assumption that "the plan
has been done and bring it of studies could remain essentially
together with the essen- traditional on the Erdkinder pre-
tials of Montessori's books mises." Yet, "there seems to me to be
and manuscripts. If the hu- a split between how the plan of studies
man being is what we study, is organized and the prepared envi-
then we must create an en-
ronment of Erdkinder." How, then,
vironment which uniquely
addresses the psychologi-
does the Erdkinder environment
cal characteristics of the uniquely support the plan of studies?
adolescent.
Mike Strong proposed a clarifica-
(Camillo Grazzini) tion: On the one hand, we have the
work on the farm, and on the other

47
40 Montessori Teacher Education Collaborative
hand, we have the visiting specialists, etc. Are these parallel or are they.
integrated?

Kay replied that this issue needs very careful consideration in

relation to developmental needs. Does the environment (for ex-
ample, the "museum of machinery") serve only to remind the adults
of what the adolescents are to be taught, or do the specialists come in
and encourage the adolescents to think about different subjects? The
question is, what are the things that need to develop at this particular
period of life? The adolescents themselves have to reveal this to us.
We don't yet have enough anecdotal evidence.

Mr. Grazzini pointed out that Montessori wrote about a "plan of

studies and work," not just a "plan of studies." David responded that
perhaps there should be studies that arise from the work and also
studies that are more formal and independent of the work. Kay
added that the key is what maturation is necessary at this stage of
development.

Margaret Stephenson pointed out that we need to provide what-

ever academic preparation these students need for wherever they are
going after the Erdkinder. We need to prepare them to get into the
college, university, or vocation of their choice. We can use documen-
tation and guidelines from programs outside of Montessori that have
"filled the need." Kay responded that we need to take into account,
at each plane of development, the tremendous capability of the
human intellect. Intellect allows a person to make moral decisions, to
have a balanced emotional life, and so on. She interpreted Miss
Stephenson's remark to mean that we need to attend to intellectual
development.

Larry Schaefer observed that the adolescent needs to work, but

not alone. If specialists come in, the adolescents want to relate to
them as people, not just as subject specialists. Kay agreed, citing
instances of people who, asked why they have chosen a particular
career, respond that it was the influence of a person.

The Adolescent Colloquium 41

 Peter Gebhardt-Seele returned to the question of needs. There are the
needs as expressed by the adolescent as well as the needs that somebody else
determines for the adolescent. How can we use needs as a tool for talking to
parents when parents have their own ideas about what the adolescent
"needs" to get along later in life?

Kay replied that it is a combination. You can't ignore the fact that
these young people will eventually have to live in a society that has
a certain structure and therefore makes certain demands. These
needs have to be given equal weight with the needs that occur by
virtue of being a human being.

Peter responded that in the Elementary class, we make the point

that children don't need pressure from adults in order to recognize
and adapt themselves to the culture around them.

Kay referred to Montessori's "bulb" chart of the planes of educa-

tion,' noting that there is a bulge at adolescence. She said we have not
yet fully explored the development that is specific to the adolescent.
We already know what the society needs are, so we need to concen-
trate on other needs.

Linda Davis read a passage from "Erdkinder" about studying one

person or historical period in detail. She cited examples of her students'
history studies, initially triggered by the old cemetery near one of the farms
they visited. Once back in the city, they consulted with a historian, who
showed them how to research a house or person they found interesting.
During this research, one topic triggered another as the students' interest
took control. She asked whether-there is some consistent way to get students
started doing these in-depth studies Montessori recommended, or whether
we simply have to "hope they're going to stumble across a graveyard."

Kay suggested that the in-depth studies Montessori mentions are

perhaps intended to be examples of how adolescents can continue
their study of the universe, which began in the Elementary years.
Perhaps not every adolescent has to go about it in this way. Mr.
Grazzini agreed that these were just examples. The aim is to gain a

49
42 Montessori Teacher Education Collaborative
sense of history. Kay added that studying history and gaining a sense
of time links with the adolescents' need to know their own potential
as human beings. This is a way to reconcile the adolescent's intrinsic
need with the parent's desire that certain subjects be mastered.

Linda reiterated that practitioners may be looking for ways to

spark students' interestways that might be analogous to the
timelines and Great Lessons at the Elementary level. Referring to
David's question, she asked whether it needs to be linked with
experience or brought in more abstractly.

David referred to the idea of "key experiences" and "key mate-

rials." Through key experiences, interest is sparked by experience.
The unity of the farm environment lends itself to interdisciplinary
studies, just as the unity of the Elementary environment, centered on
the universe, leads to interdisciplinary studies.

Miss Stephenson agreed. She suggested that the sixth Great

Lesson could be a bridge between the second plane and the third.
Students would become interested again in the things they perhaps
didn't have time to study as deeply as they would have liked in the
Elementary. In addition, the environment"the graveyard next
door or the shoe factory next door; ...it doesn't much matter what"
will spark students' interest. The staff should act more as tutors than
as teachers.

John Long referred to Peter's challenge to sort out adolescents'

true needs. Adolescents, he said, do not feel any need to understand
history, per se, but they do have a need to self-consciously construct
their identity. This need emerges as a tremendous desire to under-
stand their gender, race, religious heritage, family history, etc. These
needs, then, are the roots of interest in history. Kay replied that even
though history is the entry point, it must be personalized to meet the
needs of the adolescent.

'Cited in Grazzini (1995).Ed.

6'he Adolescent Colloquium 43

 Monte Kenison pointed
Another issue is about the needs out a parallel between the first
of the adolescent: What are these subplanes of both the first and
needs, as opposed to wants, and third planes of development:
as opposed to to the wants of the He said we seem to be strug-
adult. Identifying the adolescent's gling with the idea that be-
needs will help us to explain our cause we have had a classroom
programs to parents: If they un-
environment for the 3-6, 6-9,
derstand what the need is, they
will understand our response to it.
and 9-12 age groups, we feel
we need a classroom for young
(Kay Baker) adolescents. He interpreted
Montessori's vision to be that
just as the infant and toddler
explore their environments without a classroom, young adolescents
need to do the same. They are ready to apply the intellectual work
they have done at the 6-12 level to a small, controlled environment.

Miss Stephenson reiterated Montessori's statement about the

adolescent's extraordinary decrease in intellectual capacity. She also
cited a study from several years back (perhaps done at the University
of Kansas) that found the same decrease, especially in ability to learn
under pressure. This is why, she concluded, adolescents need to be
free to learn according to their own interests. Kay clarified that it is
not intellectual power that diminishes but the capacity to receive too
much information of the same type. It's important to help parents
understand this, so that they do not think it is a waste to send their
children out to a farm for three years.

FOURTH TRAINER: PETER

GEBHARDT-SEELE
We need to provide whatever aca-
Programs for adolescents demic preparation these students
are springing up in Montes- need for wherever they are going
sori schools wherever you after the Erdkinder. We need to
look, "like mushrooms." If prepare them to get into the col-
there is no guidance, then they lege, university, or vocation of their
will do it without guidance, choice.
and it will be the children who (Margaret Stephenson)
suffer. Therefore there is an

44 Montessori Teacher Education Collaborative

51
urgent need to come up with a model and a training concept for that
model. But if it is not carefully designed, we would be better off
leaving the task to the practitioners in the field.

Since we cannot design a model in the short time we have left here
in the Colloquium, we must at least come up with a process that will
yield one in the near future. When Maria Montessori began her work
at the first casa dei bambini, she had some idea of what she was going
to do, but, as we know, only in the course of this work did she finally
develop what today is the Children's House. With our Erdkinder
model, we are about at the point where Montessori was in 1907. We
have a draft and an idea, but no one has gone through the process of
evaluating it with children. Many of the ideas Montessori had
originally are still with us: the Seguin boards, the fraction insets. But
the toys, dollhouses, and so on, with which she began, were later
removed; likewise, she added many new materials that were not in
her original plan. The deciding factor was observation of the chil-
dren. Perhaps the same is to be expected with her Erdkinder model.

Maria Montessori did not base her goals on the expectations of

parents, of society, or of the government. She looked at the children
without compromise and strove for the best realization of their
potential. To observe children successfully, you need a criterion for
what is progress and what is not. Montessori found this criterion in
the phenomenon of normalization, the primary mark of which is
polarized, concentrated work. At the beginning, we make a lot of
decisions for the children, but after they are normalized, their likes
and dislikes can be trusted to reflect their developmental needs.

When the Elementary level was designed, what methodological

tools were used? First, they kept what had been successful at the 3-
6 level: Let the children follow their inner directives to work, and
create an environment suitable for that work. The materials were
designed with scientific accuracy and tested against the children's
spontaneous acceptance of them (just as they were at the 3-6 level).
Again the criterion was normalization. The fear that the children
might "miss" some portion of the curriculum was not the determin-
ing factor.

The Adolescent Colloquium 45

 So our methodology should include looking back at all the
experience that has gone before us in adolescent programs run by
Montessorians. This could be done through a collection of anecdotal
evidence as well as a formal analysis of the components of existing
programs. In addition, our methodology must include looking at
Montessori's writings on adolescents. Through both of these meth-
ods, we can determine the details of the program:

1. Boarding

With young adolescents, the family no longer has

immediate impact. This is not to say that the family
should be entirely omitted from the adolescents' lives,
but in everyday life, they need to be away from the
family.

Boarding has the advantage of being able to draw from

a wider pool of parentsthat is, parents from many
different schoolsthus avoiding the need to convince
every parent at a single school of the value of living on
the farm.

How long to board? A school in Perth, Australia, for

instance, had boarding Monday through Thursday.
On Thursday night the students went home, spent
Friday in an apprenticeship (at a bakery, law office,
hospital, etc.), and spent the weekend with their fami-
lies. Judging by the comments I heard, family life was
greatly enhanced.

2. Setup: Farming

What type of farming? Where? Can you farm on the

school grounds? Would it be the same?

What seasons? It needs to include at least one entire

crop cycle, because you cannot experience farming if
you plant seeds and are not there to see them grow. In
addition, even in winter there are animals to feed.

46 Montessori Teacher Education Collaborati53

3. Age Level

The third plane is 12-18. I don't think Maria Montessori

said there would be two different models for 12-15 and
15-18. Yet there is evidence that 12-15 is a crucial
period.

4. Staff

We have discussed at length generalist vs. specialist.

Maria Montessori envisioned a house parent couple
and high-caliber specialists coming in. We could think
of the house parents as the generalists, or they could be
separate from the generalist.

Should the specialists be Montessori-trained?

How do we train all the staff? Do they need training?

Our discussions seem to assume that the generalist is
a fully-trained Montessorian, either Primary or El-
ementary, and hopefully both, because the third plane
builds on the second but has many affinities with the
first.

Do we need additional training that focuses on the

adolescent level?

5. Curriculum

Farming and gardening, certainly. But what about

other gross motor activities: carpentry, wood chop-
ping, construction? Are these in addition to the farm-
ing, or are they a substitute?

Money-making work in addition to farming: print

shop, restaurant.

Creative work: art, poetry, crafts. Is there an art teacher?

A visiting poet? A tinkerer?

5t The Adolescent Colloquium 47

 Involvement in professional work.

Social activities, contact with other age groups.

Academic subjects: What percentage of the adolescent's

time? How are they presented: presentations (as in the
Elementary), real-life situations (like Linda's cemetery),
response to a need (repairing a tractor), child-chosen
exploration?

Choice of curriculum: high school requirements?

Materials, museum of machinery, museum of histori-

cal documents, books and other reference tools, access
to the Internet, etc.

6. Work Style

Classes with teacher teaching? Presentations? Indi-

vidualized work? Assignments? Follow-on work to
presentations? What percentage of time for each?

7. Governance

Are decisions made by the adult or by the adolescents?

Montessori says the staff has to maintain order until
the adolescents are ready to do it themselves. What is
the process to get them to that place?

Freedom, limits, moral guidance, sexuality.

Schedule? Clothing? Inclusion of special children?

So we must list all these components and evaluate them in terms

of our experience, producing a formal report of anecdotal evidence,
or in terms of future experience, through observation, always using
normalization as our criterion. Then we can assemble the compo-
nents that receive high ratings and build a model that implements
them as a whole.
55
48 Montessori Teacher Education Collaborative
 QUESTIONS

David Kahn asked whether a decontextualized, component-by-compo-

nent analysis is really how Montessorians operate.

Peter replied that Maria Montessori certainly did operate that

way. We would never have had a checkerboard if she hadn't set out
to design a material for multiplication as an isolated component.
David rephrased his question: Wouldn't Montessorians find it easier
to look first at the whole, then at the parts, since they are used to
approaching things holistically? Peter replied that this is not an easy
process, but the details must be determined. Kay Baker added that
although she initially felt overwhelmed by the number of questions
Peter had raised, she appreciated the fact that these details do have
to be determined in order for a model to work.

Margaret Stephenson said that Peter's outline is "the ground plan

for the next move." We need anecdotal descriptions of what is going
on in these operations all over the country. Montessori based much
of her thinking on anecdotes about the first programs.

Camillo Grazzini said that we also need anecdotal information

from the environment Montessori envisionedan Erdkinder envi-
ronment.

Peter agreed wholeheartedly, pointing out that although we are

just beginning the process, we have other work from which to glean
experiences. He agreed that the most urgent thing is to start a true
Erdkinder model so that we have something to observe in order to go
through the process of improvement or development. Yet we also
need to make use of the experience that does exist for some compo-
nents, notably the academic work.

Mr. Grazzini said that we must look at the whole, not just the
parts. Peter responded that the whole is possible only if the details
are dealt with. Mr. Grazzini replied that he did not want to throw out

The Adolescent Colloquium 49

,5 6
the work that has already been done but instead to work with the
wholethe complete Montessori plan.

Bob Fleischhacker: If you create one universal model, how will that work
out in light of the cultural divergence of different areas of the country? What
details are universal?

Peter responded that

The adolescent needs to work, but "our evaluation will nec-
not alone. If specialists come in the essarily be tied in with
adolescents: want to relate to them as particular modalities";
people, not just as ,subjeat special- for instance, farming in
ists., cooperation with the
(Larry SChaefer) Amish will be very dif-
ferent than farming in
another location or un-
der another circumstance. The question of what details are universal
cannot be answered at this stage.

Larry Schaefer suggested that Peter is asking all the right ques-
tions and therefore is perhaps "the right person to do the true
Erdkinder," with others of the Colloquium participants serving on
the board of advisors to lend their help. There was general agreement
and applause.

Linda Davis expressed concern about having one model. Using the
example of color-coding brass polish pink and silver polish bluewhich is,
of course, only one of many possible color combinationsshe questioned
whether one model could make it clear which elements permit alternatives
and which do not. She said she was concerned that practitioners might get
caught up in trying to reproduce details rather than understanding the
principles.

Peter reiterated that we should look at the children to determine

whether or not it is important for them that the brass polish be pink.
Linda responded that in some classrooms, the unfortunate reality is

A, wa

50 Montessori Teacher Education CollaboratiVe

57
that unimportant details are emphasized. She wondered how we
could minimize this in the Erdkinder.

GENERAL DISCUSSION

Tom Postlewaite referred to David Kahn's question about how

the components relate to the whole. Pointing out that just having a
farm does not mean you have an Erdkinder program, he suggested
that the practical experience and knowledge of the practitioners
present be put to use. All three partsthe prepared adult, the
materials, and the environmentmust be there.

Margaret Stephenson reiterated that Peter's outline is "the ground

plan." We need to gather anecdotal evidence about what is and is not
successful from the existing programs around the country. "We have
the skeleton of what we have to put in position: the environment (the
farm), the materials (what is necessary to farm), the work, ... and also
Montessori's plan of studies." Both the practical life aspects and the
intellectual aspects are there. Around this skeleton are the human
tendencies: What exploration do we need to provide? What orienta-
tion? etc.

Larry Schaefer summarized what he thought had emerged in the

Colloquium. First, if it isn't Erdkinder, it isn't Montessori. Granted,
there are programs for adolescents in Montessori schools, but they
cannot be called Montessori adolescent programs. The ones that are
moving toward Erdkinder are a little Montessori. He estimated that
the distance between the non-Montessori programs and the ones that
are a little Montessori is perhaps 10 or 15 years, and the distance
between the ones that are a little Montessori and true Erdkinder is
maybe as much as 100 years.

The trouble with this categorization, Larry continued, is that

there are truly distinguished (albeit "non-Montessori"), long-stand-
ing adolescent programs, carefully thought out, led by serious, AMI-
trained people, who are inspired by their training and are striving to
be authentic to it. Surely these programs are in the spirit of Montes-

5 8 The Adolescent Colloquium 51

 Figure 5

KEY EXPERIENCES
(Montessori Adolescent Project Meeting, October 1994)
Developing personal identity
time to reflect (time to be alone)
joumaling
confronting physical challenge (bike trip, backpacking, camping)
identification with gender, race, religion, ethnicity (note purpose
for study of sexuality, ethnicity, diversity, religion)
vision making (e.g. writing personal mission statements)
goal setting, conferencing

Developing the intellect

writing (all types: creative, expository, journaling)
the seminar. Philosophy for Children, literature seminar, history
development of thinking skills: Seeing with the Mind, Knowledge as
Design, study of mathematics, science, history, foreign language

Self-expression
formation of a theater company
coffee house extempore
speaking before a group
the seminar

Building community
Odyssey trips
community meetings
social activities
celebrations
trust activities (e.g. ropes course)

Serving others
Curriculum for Caring; community service

Learning the ways of society

junior high marketplace
all other business activities
mentorship, apprenticeship
outings to justice center, city hall, state capitol, national capitol
working with one's hands

Learning the ways of the natural world

creation & care of a nature center, outings into the natural
world; study of ecology

The Farm

Montessori Teacher Education Collaborative

59
sori. Furthermore, all the new "mushroom" programs are looking to
these distinguished programs for guidance.

Larry pointed out that he has met young children who are
wonderfully normalized, whose personalities are beautifully inte-
grated, who have never set foot in a Children's House. Likewise, he
has met centered, independent, emotionally stable adolescents who
have never been in an Erdkinder. Surely these are Montessori chil-
dren and adolescents.

Peter Gebhardt-Seele agreed with Larry, saying that there is no

such thing as Montessori for the adolescent. We don't know what
Maria Montessori would have designed had she had the time; she
might have thrown out the farming altogether. So maybe we should
stop talking about whether programs are Montessori or not.

David Kahn said that the question being discussed is how to

universalize our experience. He then displayed some transparencies
that had grown out of NAMTA's Montessori Adolescent Project. The
transparencies listed "key experiences" and "key materials" for the
adolescent, based on the classroom work of John Long, Pat Ludick,
and Larry Schaefer (see Figures 5 and 6). David mentioned that the
specific experiences and materials listed are not as important as the
fact that this is a way to begin the process of gathering anecdotal
evidence, as suggested by Miss Stephenson, Mr. Grazzini, and Peter.

David displayed another transparency, saying that it might help

to clarify Larry's earlier remark (see Figure 7). This transparency was
a chart outlining a progression from "urban compromise" to
Erdkinder. (He apologized for the fact that the chart, which had been
designed prior to the Colloquium, did not incorporate the new term
"urban contribution.") Reiterating Larry's assessment that true
Erdkinder is many years in the future for the programs that are
working toward it, he posed a question: "Do we go directly to
Erdkinder, or do we continue our progressive approach?" He added
that Mario Montessori had supported keeping the "compromise"
programs even after Erdkinder is established in order to serve those
adolescents who are not ready for Erdkinder.

The Adolescent Colloquium 53

 Figure 6

KEY MATERIALS

Chinese Box

Tree of Life

Tree of Languages

square root
cube root
volume material
area material
binomial, trinomial cubes

atlases, dictionaries, encyclopedias, yearbooks, almanacs,

literature
"Fundamental Needs of People"
4 Kinds of Love
world flag
writing journal
lectern
raw materials for making timelines, posters, charts, etc.
historical artifacts
science lab equipment

woodshop tools
gardening tools
telephone
computer, printer, modem, CD-Rom (new technology)
sewing machine (old technology)
loom, potter's wheel, kiln
camping gear
video camera and editing equipment
tape recorder-player/CD player
TV, VCR
organizational tools: calendar, plan book

40-acre organic farm

orchards, herb garden, vegetable garden
plus buildings, dorms, craft center

54 Montessori Teacher Education Collaborative

 Alcillia Clifford-Williams suggested that, to some participants,
the main obstacle to Erdkinder might be financial. She asked Larry,
"If someone gave you a million dollars today ..., would it [still] take
100 years?"

Larry responded that it is not an issue of money. "You can't do

anything the parents won't let you do." Furthermore, the adolescents
themselves must be willing to go live in a rural place. David re-
minded him that Lake Country School's acquisition of the farm
property had, in Larry's own words, signaled to him that the parents
trusted him. Larry responded that the parents trust him to take their
children out to the farm for 12-day periods, but an Erdkinder, a full-
time boarding school, would be an entirely different matter. It is
quite possible, he added, that Lake Country School will never have
an Erdkinder.

Patty Pantano countered that although Lake Country's farm

school is not an Erdkinder, it is one more step in a long process. She
pointed out that those who start a work may never see its "perfect
blooming." Larry responded that while there are a few masters, most
Montessorians are "merely journeymen," striving, with varying
degrees of success, to implement an ideal. Yet, "if we can't say to John
[Long] and Pat [Ludick] and John [McNamara], 'That's a Montessori-
spirit-filled thing,' where are we?"

Patty agreed, saying, "the best of what we are doing goes beyond
labelsgoes beyond 'Montessori' or 'not Montessori.

Larry pointed out that we are all concerned that our programs be
filled with the spirit of Montessori.

Strilli Oppenheimer asked whether a farm without a "spirit-

filled" Montessorian could be a model program. Camillo Grazzini
responded that the spirit alone is not enough. He said he is always
suspicious of people who say they have not taken any training course
but they have the spirit of Montessori in working with children.

gp. The Adolescent Colloquium 55

 Figure 7

COMBINATIONS FOR ADOLESCENT EDUCATION

1 "Compromise"

2
Surrounding Nature
Urban

3
Going-Out Service
2-4 weeks

Short 2-4 Week Rural

"Compromise"

Land School
4 9-12 weeks per year

"Compromise"

Land School
5
9-12 weeks per year

"Compromise"

Rural

6 Erdkinder
(No "Compromise" Alternative)

56
63
Montessori Teacher Education Collaborative
 Strilli asked him to consider
a child who has never been in a
Montessori school but is "the
One question,I've asked myself
manifestation of what our work about the Erdkinder is "Should
is all about." He responded, "Of it exist?" The answer is an un-
course, there are certainly many qualified yes, and it needs to
children without Montessori." exist now.. .
He pointed out that he is not the
(Kay Baker)
authority; he was only trying to
convey "what I have understood The ideal of Erdkinder is what
about Montessori." has driven the urban programs;
these programs were not
Strilli replied that what is started as ends in themselves.
needed is a program that is rep- (David Kahn)
licable worldwide. Mr. Grazzini
said we should first try to imple- Just as the case dei bambini is
ment what Montessori wrote essentially the same whether it
about. is in Bergamo or Cleveland, the
Erdkinder would also be essen-
tially the same because it is a
Mike Strong said that yes- response to the needs of the
terday he had understood Mr. adolescent. The character of
Grazzini to say that there should the Erdkinder would not be rela-
be no AMI adolescent-level tive to each community but
training, and then both Kay and would depend on what is a true
Peter seemed to be saying that Montessori model.
there should be. He asked Mr.
Grazzini, "When you say that (Camillo Grazzini)
the spirit is not enough ..., how
do you reconcile that with the The very nature of an.Erdkinder
is that it must flow from a com-
idea that there should be no AMI
munity and the adolescents of
training?" that community. It has to be-
long to a place and to the people
Mr. Grazzini responded that who have a sense of ownership
it is not always easy to express of the place.
in English what he means. He (Pat Sdhaefer)
drew a distinction between the
act of interpreting Montessori's
writings and the act of giving

The Adolescent Colloquium 57

64
training, saying that his aim had been to do the former. His interpre-
tation of what Montessori is saying could be integrated with views of
other trainers and with experience.

Larry clarified what he meant when he spoke of the spirit of

Montessori: people with AMI training who are trying to be authentic
to that training.

David asked Larry what his initial reason had been for buying a
farm. Larry responded that the faculty of Lake Country School
attempts to create a Montessori environment authentic to their AMI
training. When it came to the junior high, however, there was no
training. Nevertheless, they wanted to be authentic to Montessori's
visionhence the farm.

David observed that he did not see much difference of perspec-

tive between what Mr. Grazzini says we should do and what Larry
is beginning to do. He went on to pose a question "to AMI, whatever
that is": Is it acceptable to work toward Erdkinder progressively
rather than jumping in all at once?

Miss Stephenson said she thought it would be acceptable. Both

the Children's House and the Elementary were progressive journeys
for Maria Montessori, so it is appropriate for the same to be true of
the Erdkinder. It is a spiritual journey.

Pat Ludick said that she has "deep faith that the adolescent will
show us" what we must do. We need to trust these children who have
been nurtured in Montessori classrooms. She added, "I think it is
process or it is nothing," and the adolescents themselves must be part
of the process.

Kay asked for clarification about the training of the adults. She
said her understanding was that there would be no training for the
specialists, but "there may be training or some frame of reference for
adults who are actually setting up the farm."

65
58 Montessori Teacher Education Collaborative
 Miss Stephenson suggested that Primary or Elementary training
would be a good foundation; people with both diplomas would be
even better. She went on to say it would be a mistake to set up a
training course at the adolescent level since there is as yet no model.

Renilde Montessori agreed. Especially if they have taken both

training courses, these people will be "truly immersed in Montessori
principles." At the adolescent level, there are no materials; the
environment is "the spiritual environment." The people who come to
this environment to live with these adolescents need to be guided by
the Montessori spirit. When the time comes that the program is more
established, the preparation of the adult will be more of an appren-
ticeship than a training course.

Mr. Grazzini agreed. We are not talking about formal training but
about something more speciala vocation for life.

Addressing Renilde, David referred back to Mike's question,

asking what programs that are just starting out should do with
respect to training. Granted, the adults should have either the Pri-
mary or the Elementary training, or both, but should there also be
some kind of exposure to the collective wisdom of the best existing
programs? He emphasized that he was talking about an initiation
process, not a training course.

Renilde replied that workshops, seminars, and dialogue among

practitioners should be sufficient for this purpose, as long as all the
practitioners have a firm grounding in Montessori principles.

Miss Stephenson suggested that, just as observation and practice

teaching are integral to the Primary and Elementary training, people
interested in starting programs should travel around the country and
visit the best of the existing programs. "They usually do," replied
David. Renilde added, "They can stay in the hostel and shop in the
shops."

The Adolescent Colloquium 59

 Monte Kenison stated that we do not compromise our Primary
and Elementary classrooms according to what parents are willing to
allow us to do with their children; we simply do authentic Montes-
sori, and the parents accept that and trust us. Therefore, he asked,
why are we unsure that we can convince parents that Erdkinder is the
right thing for their adolescents?

David responded that there is a difference: "AMI's work has been

to create those other programs," but there is not yet a framework for
the adolescent level. Renilde pointed out that it was not AMI; the 3-
6 and the 6-12 were created by Maria Montessori and Mario Montes-
sori. She promised later to clarify what AMI is. Monte explained that
the history of the movement was not his point. Instead, he was asking
why we seem unwilling to take the same leap of faith into the
Erdkinder that we have all taken into the Primary and /or Elemen-
tary.

Strilli pointed out to Monte that, according to her understanding,

Maria Montessori had recommended a ratio of 40 children to one
teacher in the 3-6 class, yet one virtually never finds this ratio in
contemporary Montessori schools. Is this not a compromise? Monte
responded that he was not referring to this kind of detail.

Peter pointed out that Maria Montessori started training others

very early on, even as early as 1909, when she was still perfecting her
methods. The Elementary classroom did not take its present form
until around 1948, yet Elementary courses were already being given.
Therefore, he reasoned, we should not wait until every detail is in
place before we start training teachers at the adolescent level.

Alcillia Clifford-Williams said that we need to move forward

without fear.

Mr. Grazzini said that he is collecting Montessori's unpublished

writings on the adolescent and hopes they will be published in
cooperation with AMI. Maybe this will give us a wider point of
reference for her thoughts on the adolescent 10/6.

60 Montessori Teacher Education Collaborative

67
 Tom Postlewaite said that The unity of the farm environ-
we have a plan and it is time to ment lends itself to interdiscipli-
"concretize that plan." Yet ques- nary studies, just as the unity of
tions remain concerning who the Elementary environment,
will build the model and what centered on the 'universe, leads
the plan of action will be. to interdisciplinary:studies.
(David Kahn)
Patty Pantano expressed the
desire for a model on paper,
which schools could use as a guideline when they acquire farmland.
David asked if she meant a master plan, and she said yes.

David went on to say that Miss Stephenson had once told him we
would not find out anything until we start working with the adoles-
cents on the farm. Miss Stephenson reiterated that she did not think
there should be one model. There is no model casa, no model
Elementary class. Children are all individuals, as are the people
working with them. We need variety, for the same reason that our
trainees do their observations in a variety of classrooms.

Mr. Grazzini said that we need many models from the same
pattern, not one single model.

CLOSING REMARKS: RENILDE MONTESSORI

Let me begin by addressing those who might feel unappreciated:

"We love you very much; we appreciate you very much." We invited
you here to share your exper-
tise and knowledge. Your
It is not intellectual power that work is the basis of what we
diminshes but the capacity to do here. Your work is admi-
receive too much information of rable because you have gone
the same. type. It's important to out on a ledge.
help parents understand this,
so that they do not think it is a
waste to send their children out "This morning I had this
to a farm for three years. awful feeling that you don't
really want an Erdkinder en-
(Kay Baker) vironment, because there are

The Adolescent Colloquium 61

68
so many buts" and so many questions about how to start. But from
what I've seen here, I think we are "absolutely on the verge of
starting. ... I think that you're all going to create a beautiful Erdkinder
much, much sooner than you think."

As for the parents, we have to change the paradigm of the

parents' thinking, because there are people who do not want their
children to go away for two or three years. (I think it would have to
be a three-year cycle because there are three-year cycles in Montes-
sori.) This new paradigm puts us in touch with our history. When did
apprenticeships start? In the middle ages. The human species hasn't
changed very much. The parents' arms will still be around their
children when they put them in a trusted place. So I think parents will
be a problem only if you perceive them as a problem.

At this time of sexual maturation, adolescents are not comfort-

able being around their parents, partially because their own matura-
tion causes them to see their parents as sexual beings as well, which
is extremely uncomfortable. So it is a good time to be away.

If the specialists have real enthusiasm for what they do, the
adolescents will become interested in it, too. And, of course, because
they are Montessori children, they will be passionately interested.
Furthermore, if, say, you have an architect to work with the children
on building projects, and if the architect happens to be French, they
will learn French. Likewise, if the chef happens to be Hungarian, the
children will learn Hungarian.

Adolescents have to be
We have a plan and it is time to given true responsibility.
'concretize that plan." Yet questions They can renovate a house
remain concerning who will build the and sell it. They can run a
model and what the plan of action café. They can run a hostel.
will be.
They can run a bed-and-
(Tom Posteiwaite) breakfast.

69
62 Montessori Teacher Education Collaborative
 As for the "three years
ahead," there is a difference be- We need to. gather anecdotal
tween expectations, which are evidence about what -is and is
temporal, and potential, which not successful from the existing
programs. around the country.
is eternal.
We have the skeleton of what we
have to put in position: the envi-
"AMI is not there to ap- ronment (the' farm), the materi-
prove or to disapprove any- als (what is neoessary to farm),
thing." AMI tries to maintain the work . . .
Maria Montessori's principles (Margaret Stephenson)
and guidelines at any and all
times, because if we don't, they
will disappear. We are there to
help and encourage.

FINAL DISCUSSION

The final discussion focused on the plan of action from Mr.

Grazzini's presentation (see "What Needs To Be Done," above), with
the addition of some details from Peter Gebhardt-Seele's presenta-
tion. The comprehensive report on practitioners' observations ("What
Needs To Be Done, point g) and the outline of a Montessori plan of
studies and work ("What Needs To Be Done, point h) will cover the
following areas (from Peter's "details," above) :

Setup (boarding, farming, etc.)

Children (ages, number, Montessori experience, etc.)
Staff (generalists, specialists, training, etc.)
Curriculum (percentage of weight and time)

Environment
Work Style (time in class, in individual work, etc.)
Governance (schedule, diet, clothing)

Inclusion of Special Children

The Adolescent Colloquium 63

 It was also decided that the proceedings of the Colloquium
would be transcribed, circulated to all the participants, and possibly
published in the future.

With regard to the plan of action, it was pointed out that the word
curriculum should be interpreted broadly to include not just tradi-
tional academic disciplines but the development of character, the
building of community, and related issues as well.

REFERENCES

Gang, P. (1979). Report from Erdkinder Atlanta. The NAMTA

Quarterly, 4(1-2), 62-67.

Grazzini, C. (1995). The four planes of development. In The

child, the family, the future (proceedings of the AMI Interna-
tional Study Conference, Washington, DC, July 19-24, 1994).
Reprinted, 1996, in The NAMTA Journal 21(2), 208-241.

Montessori, Maria. (1948). To educate the human potential.

Adyar, Madras, India: Kalakshetra.
Montessori, Maria. (1973). Erdkinder. In From childhood to
adolescence (pp. 97-109). New York: Schocken.

Montessori, Maria. (1973). Study and work plans. In From

childhood to adolescence (pp. 110-121). New York: Schocken.

Montessori, Mario. (1966). The human tendencies and Montes-

sori education. Amsterdam: Association Montessori
Internationale.

71

64 Montessori Teacher Education Collaborative

 PARTICIPANTS IN THE ADOLESCENT
COLLOQUIUM

Kay Baker is AMI Elementary Director of Training at the

Washington (DC) Montessori Institute.

Joen Bettmann is AMI Primary Director of Training at the

Ohio Montessori Training Institute (Cleveland).

Deborah Bricker is administrator of Hershey Montessori

School, Painesville, OH, and a vice president of The North
American Montessori Teachers' Association (NAMTA).

Alcillia J. Clifford-Williams is administrator of the Marotta

Montessori Schools of Cleveland (OH) and a member of the
AMI-USA Board.

Linda Davis is administrator of Two Rivers Montessori

School in Portland, OR. She founded and previously directed
the adolescent program at Alcuin Montessori School, River
Forest, IL.

Laurie Ewert-Krocker directs the adolescent program at

Hershey Montessori School, Painesville, OH.

Bob Fleischhacker is administrator of Ruffing Montessori

School, Cleveland Heights, OH.

Peter Gebhardt-Seele is AMI Elementary Trainer at the

Washington (DC) Montessori Institute.

The Adolescent Colloquium 65

72
 Camillo Grazzini is AMI Elementary Director of Training at
Fondazione "Centro Internazionale Studi Montessoriani,"
Bergamo, Italy.

Debra Hershey-Guren is President of the Hershey Founda-

tion, Kirtland Hills, OH, and of Hershey Montessori School,
Painesville, OH.

Jenny Marie Hoglund directs an adolescent class in Satila,

Sweden.

David Kahn is Executive Director of NAMTA and Adminis-

trative Director of MTEC.

Monte Kenison is AMI Supervising Director of Training at

the Foundation for Montessori Education, Toronto, Canada, and
an employee of Nienhuis Montessori USA, Mountain View, CA.

Paula Polk Lillard is administrator of Forest Bluff Montes-

sori School, Lake Bluff, IL, and author of Montessori Today (Ran-
dom House, 1996).

John Long is administrator of Post Oak School, Bellaire, TX,

and former director of the adolescent program at Ruffing Mont-
essori School, Cleveland Heights, OH.

Patricia Ludick is director of the adolescent program at

Ruffing Montessori School, Cleveland Heights, OH.

Virginia McHugh is Executive Director of AMI-USA.

John McNamara is administrator and adolescent program

director of Ruffing Montessori School, Rocky River, OH.

3
66 Montessori Teacher Education Collaborative
 Renilde Montessori, granddaughter of Maria Montessori, is
General Secretary of AMI.

Orcillia Oppenheimer is founder of The Montessori Centre,

Inanda, South Africa, and a member of the Advisory Committee
of AMI.

Patricia Pantano is on sabbatical from her position as direc-

tor of the adolescent program at St. Alcuin Montessori School,
Dallas, TX.

Tom Postlewaite directs the adolescent program at the

Santa Cruz Montessori School, CA.

Larry Schaefer is co-founder of Lake Country School, Min-

neapolis, MN, and recently retired as director of its adolescent
program.

Patricia Schaefer is co-founder of Lake Country School,

Minneapolis, MN, and recently retired as co-head of school.

Margaret Stephenson is AMI Elementary Director of Train-

ing, Emeritas, at the Montessori Institute of Milwaukee (WI).

Mike Strong is director of the Center for Socratic Practice at

the Judson Montessori School, San Antonio, TX.

Allyn Travis is AMI Elementary Director of Training at the

Montessori Institute of Milwaukee (WI).

The Adolescent Colloquium 67

741
 NAMTA CLASSIFIEDS
as well as primary and elementary
Arizona staff. Interested candidates call Irma
Letson today at (602)966-7606, fax
Phoenix and Prescott Valley (602)966-6805, or send your resume to
Elementary teachers needed for 1997- 410 South El Dorado Rd., Mesa, AZ
98 school year in public Montessori 85202.
charter school with campuses in Phoe-
nix and Prescott Valley. Montessori California
credentials in elementary education
required. Full-time positions available Director/Administrator. The Santa
with full benefits. For more informa- Cruz Montessori School is seeking an
tion call (602) 978-0011 or send re- experienced Director/Administrator.
sumes to Arizona Montessori Charter Founded in 1964, SCMS has over 270
Schools, 10626 N. 43rd Ave., Glen- children from ages 18 months to 14
dale, AZ 85304. years. The mission of SCMS is to pro-
vide a developmentally based learn-
AMI primary (3-6) and elementary (6-
ing environment foiinded upon
Montessori principles which guide
9) openings Sept. '97. Scenic Papago and nurture the natural unfolding of
Park & Camelback Mountain area of
the whole individual. With one tod-
Phoenix. Excellent pay & benefits. dler program, four primary, two lower
Apply to: N. Corea, Director, Marina elementary, one upper elementary and
Montessori School, P.O. Box 15914, one middle school program, we are
Phoenix, AZ 85060-5914. 602/840- nestled between redwood-forested
4440.
mountains and the Monterey Bayan
ideal location with a moderate Medi-
AMI elementary teaching positions terranean climate.
available. Please send resume and cre- Our future director should have ex-
dentials to: Montessori International cellent interpersonal and communi-
School, Inc., 1230 N. Gilbert Road, cation skills, AMI training (preferred),
Mesa, AZ 85203. a Bachelor's degree, an ability to ar-
ticulate the Montessori philosophy
with a commitment to supporting and
Tempe Montessori School is an AMI preserving its fundamental principles,
certified school established in 1978 by
college or graduate level courses in
an AMI primary and elementary administration, experience in admin-
trained administrator. We are now istering a private school, experience
accepting applications for a perma- in budgeting and financial manage-
nent AMI lower elementary teacher
ment, and willingness to preserve and
whose position will commence on promote harmony among the school
August 11, 1997. We offer a competi- community of board, staff and par-
tive salary of $3500 per month for 9.5 ents.
months, plus benefits. The school has
2 campuses of 130+ students located Compensation package will be based
in a beautiful quaint setting in sunny on experience with salary ranging
Arizona. Supportive administration from 45K to 65K in addition to excel-

7
lent benefits. Send current resume with CA 94608, 510/601-1500, fax 510/601-
a statement of educational philoso- 6278.
phy to: Search Committee, SCMS, 6230
Soquel Dr., Aptos, CA, 95003;
(408)476-1646. Northern California: Montessori
School of Fremont (South East San
Francisco Bay Area) seeks elementary
Teach in beautiful southern Califor- teacher for 6-9 environment.
nia! Salary negotiable. Small gem of a The Montessori School of Fremont is a
school. Wonderful staff. Scenic. Need four campus school with 260 primary
teachers for elem. grades 1-4. Fabu- children enrolled. We launched our
lous job! Come and see! 619-345-1888. elementary program in 1994. Today,
58 elementary students are enrolled in
Pacific Rim International School our two classroom environments
(PRINTS) is seeking experienced na- which are abundantly equipped with
tive English, Mandarin, and Japanese new predominantly Nienhuis materi-
speaking AMI trained adults. Oppor- als. The children you guide have two
tunities are available in the summer or or more years of Montessori primary
late August, 1997. We are expanding background. Your students are well
to two sites and we need experienced prepared for the elementary experi-
Assistants to Infancy, Children's ence. Your environment awaits your
House guides and Elementary teach- enthusiasm, personal touch and readi-
ers. PRINTS is a unique bilingual ness to meet the challenge.
school which offers two tracks: a Chi- Our Elementary Program is set in a
nese-English program and a Japanese- Spanish mission-style building, archi-
English program. Each environment tecturally scaled to the needs of chil-
has two trained adults working to- dren, complete with garden courtyard,
gether, each speaking and teaching in library, grass playing fields and fruit
their mother tongue. The students trees. We draw our staff from all over
come from a diverse cultural back- the world. It is a lovely place to spend
ground which makes the school truly the day. We invite you to join our
international. The premises, with international community. We realize
beautiful landscaping, are architec- the importance of working as a sup-
turally designed to meet the needs of portive team, while respecting your
Montessori programs. We are located individuality.
in the small city of Emeryville, which Within walking distance: original
is on the east side of San Francisco Spanish mission, olive, palm and eu-
Bay, north of Oakland and south of calyptus groves, community college,
Berkeley. We are presently remodel- performing arts theater, art galley, lo-
ing buildings for our second campus cal history museum; Within 15 miles:
in San Mateo, on the west side of San Nienhuis USA, Stanford University,
Francisco Bay, south of San Francisco. AMI Training Center; Within 40 min-
Contact Christina Cheung or Patricia utes by rapid rail: Downtown San
Gwin by telephone and/or send re- Francisco, UC Berkeley; Within 1-2
sume to: Pacific Rim International hours: Monterey, Big Sur Coast, Napa
School, 5521 Doyle Street, Emeryville, Valley wine country, Russian River;

2 NAMTA Classifieds Summer 1997

76
Within 3-4 hours: Yosemite National $1000 finder's fee is paid in November
Park, Lake Tahoe ski resorts, Redwood 1997 after the hired teacher starts in
Coast; PLUS: mild winters, September. Contact: Cynthia Leahy,
multicultural population. Live and 155 Washington Blvd., Fremont, CA
teach in the most diverse natural, cul- 94539, FAX (510) 490-0827, e-mail
tural and economic environments on [email protected].
earth. Contact: Cynthia Leahy, 155
Washington Blvd., Fremont, CA 94539
or FAX (510) 490-0827. Marin Montessori School in Corte
Madera, is seeking one AMI primary
guide for September, 1997. One of our
$1000 Finder's Fee founding members, Margy Sheehy,
...paid for your referral of the elemen- has decided after thirty years of teach-
tary teacher who joins our school in ing, that is time to explore wider hori-
the San Francisco Bay area. The ideal zons. We welcome applicants who
candidate will have an AMI elemen- would like to join a team of experi-
tary credential and experience teach- enced, committed, professional staff.
ing in the Montessori elementary Well established, the school is cur-
environment. We're seeking a team rently in its 33rd year. We strive to
player who will win the confidence of offer the best in AMI Montessori edu-
parents. cation for 200 children ages 2 through
12. Our facilities are fully equipped
and beautifully located directly on the

The Montessori Institute of San Diego

offers
AMI Primary Teacher Training Program
accredited by Association Montessori Internationale
September to June
English and Spanish

Director of Training: Silvia C. Dubovoy, PhD

AMI trainer, lecturer, examiner and consultant
For a student application or information, please write or call:
7467 Draper Avenue, La Jolla, CA 92037
Tel/FAX: 619/454-3748
e-mail: [email protected]

NAMTA Classifieds 3
San Francisco Bay, just north of the 281 Santa Clara Ave., Oakland, CA
Golden Gate Bridge. Competitive sal- 94610, fax (510) 836-7445.
ary dependent upon experience, ex-
cellent benefits. Please send resume
and a hand written letter to: Jules Montessori Learning Center is accept-
Layman, Administrator, Marin Mon- ing applications for primary and el-
tessori School, P.O. Box 736, Corte ementary guides. Our school has
Madera, CA 94976. Phone 415 /924- provided an excellent Montessori pro-
5388. gram in the Salinas Valley area for
over twenty years. Opportunities for
summer employment are also avail-
Da Vinci Montessori seeks visionary, able. Located in the heart of Steinbeck
certified teacher for lower elementary Country, the school is a short distance
program; 20 children; energetic, dedi- from the beautiful Monterey Penin-
cated parents; full classroom of mate- sula and the quaint town of Carmel.
rial; administrative and financial Please send resumes to P.O. Box 2051,
supports; California central valley, Salinas, CA 93902 or call 408 /455-
family-friendly town, easy drive to 1546. Fax # 408/455-9628.
coast, mountains, San Francisco; gen-
erous salary, benefits. Send resume to
Da Vinci Montessori School, 3144 AMI Primary tchr SEPT '97. ST. HEL-
North G Street, #125-333, Merced CA ENA MONTESSORI SCHOOL, small,
95340, (209) 384-1144 or (209) 725- Catholic, Montess. sch., serving ages
0409. 3-12 in Napa Vly wine country nr. San
Francisco, Berkeley, mountains & sea-
shore; founded 1981, well-established,
Montessori Casa dei Bambini is seek- stable enrollment, supportive parents,
ing 1 f/t Elementary teacher 6-12 start AMI-trnd. admin & staff, competitive
fall/winter 97 to teach an estab. 6-9 salary/benefits. Pls. send resume &
class. Founded in 1978, the School has refs: 1328 Spring St., St. Helena, CA
a diversified staff and student body 94574; FAX 707-963-1574.
with 16 exp. staff and 90 students 18
mo-12 yrs. We are a non-profit, ind. Colorado
school located in a church and con-
verted house with large playground Primary Directress for 1997/1998
and garden areas in a residential area
school year. AMI or AMS trained
of Oakland, within walking distance Directress is needed for a full-time
of Lake Merritt, 15 min. from Berke- position in a relaxed and supportive
ley, and 25 min. from San Francisco. environment. We desire someone with
We welcome teachers to apply who a firm understanding of Montessori
have independent initiative but are theory and practice, someone who is
open to co-teaching and joining classes
focused, dedicated, plans well, and
for a strong school community. AMI
can successfully direct the children
and AMS trained admin. and staff, through the Montessori curriculum.
competitive salary/benefits. Send re- We are a small school, one primary
sume or fax to: Helen Sears, Head of classroom with 22-23 children. Our
School, Montessori Casa dei Bambini,

4 NAMTA Classifieds pirmer 1997

school is located 70 miles west of Den- beaches, lots of sunshine and is very
ver in the beautiful Rocky Mountains clean. Housing is reasonable and avail-
of Colorado. We enjoy a variety of able. You'll get lots of support in our
both summer and winter recreation small community. Clearwater, Tampa,
such as world class skiing at Key- St. Petersburg and Tarpon Springs are
stone, Breckenridge, and Vail, cross- very close by. There is a variety of
country skiing, hiking, biking, activities to choose from, i.e. the
camping, sailing, fishing, and much, sponge docks, beaches, museums, arts
much more. Ours is a growing com- and cultural centers.
munity with many opportunities for Please send your resume to Catherine
families and singles alike. Salary: Varkas, Principal, at the Palm Harbor
$18,000/yr.. If you desire a high qual- Montessori Academy, 2313 Nebraska
ity of life and a rewarding position Avenue, Palm Harbor, FL 34683.
please contact: Mary dePerrot, (970) Phone 813/786-1854.
468-9164, (970) 468-7507, e-mail:
[email protected].
Georgia
Delaware PRESTON RIDGE MONTESSORI
SCHOOL LOCATED IN
6-9 or 6-12 Montessori-trained teacher ALPHARETTA, GA. JUST OUTSIDE
needed for expanding school in OF ATLANTA IS SEEKING AMI/
Wilmington, DE. Competitive salary, AMS TRAINED TEACHERS TO FILL
health insurance, ideal location near OPENINGS FOR OUR 6-9 AND 9-12
beach/city life. Contact Elinore Barney PROGRAMS FOR UPCOMING 1997-
(302) 429-9244 or 478-6978. 98 SCHOOL YEAR. WE ARE EX-
PANDING INTO A NEW FACILITY
Florida FOR A DEDICATED ELEMENTARY
PROGRAM.
PALM HARBOR MONTESSORI COMPETITIVE SALARY PLUS GEN-
ACADEMY is seeking qualified indi- EROUS BENEFITS, AS WELL AS
viduals to TEACH and DIRECT in our CREATIVE OPPORTUNITIES FOR
expanding school. Join a team of seri- PERSONAL GROWTH.
ous educators. Our school, in it's 14th
year, wants dedicated teachers with a PLEASE SEND RESUME TO MRS.
strong sense of the "whole child" and DONNA CORCORAN, PRESTON
RIDGE MONTESSORI SCHOOL, 3800
the Montessori way. We are adding
classrooms for the 1997-1998 school NORTH POINT PARKWAY,
ALPHARETTA, GA 30202.
year. Positions open for the 1997-1998
school year, with a competitive salary
are: Toddler Preprimary 3-6, Elemen-
tary 6-9,9-12, Middle school, will spon- Illinois
sor training.
Our school is situated on the west Teacher Position Available: 6-12 El-
coast of Florida just one mile from the ementary Montessori Teacher, AMS
Gulf of Mexico. The area has beautiful or AMI Certified. Du Page Montessori

NAMTA Classifieds 5
79
School serves children 2-12 years, in a Please send letter and resume to Anne
popular suburban neighborhood, 25 T. Riley, 5004 Randonstone Lane,
miles west of Chicago. Our school is Bowie, MD 20715 (301) 262-3566.
10 years old, with an enrollment of
155 students and growing. Salary is Massachusetts
competitive with health benefits. Po-
sition available for the coming school
6-9 and 9-12 Teachers for September
year, 1997-1998, starting August 25, 1997
1997. Please fax resume (630-369-7306)
as soon as possible. We will be hiring Our well-established, Littleton, Mass.
for this position by the end of May or School is seeking AMS or AMI certi-
early June, 1997. fied teachers. We offer a rural setting
just 35 miles from Boston, paid holi-
days and vacations and medical or
Chicago. Flossmoor Montessori child's tuitions benefits. Please send
School. Toddler, Primary, Elementary resume to Amy Swenson, Oak
classes. AMI since 1966. Own build- Meadow Montessori School, 2 Old
ing. Easy rail & x-way to central Chi- Pickard Lane, Littleton, MA 01460 or
cago. Directress needed for toddler & call 508-486-9874.
for 3-6 yr. classes. Lawrence P. Lewis,
FMS, 740 Western Avenue, Flossmoor,
IL 60422. 708-798-4600 The Montessori School of
Northampton is seeking experienced,
Iowa Montessori-trained teachers for our 3-
6, 6-9 and 9-12 classes. We are expand-
ing both our Preschool and Elementary
Montessori Teacher levels in the fall of 1997.
Montessori credentials and Iowa We are looking for candidates with
Teacher's Certification required. Let- experience in the classroom, strong
ter of interest and resume to: Linda interpersonal skills and a sense of
Lane, Acting Director of Human Re- humor! We offer a supportive Head,
sources, Des Moines Public Schools, Board & Staff, competitive salaries and
1800 Grand Avenue, Des Moines, IA good benefits.
50309-3382. Equal Opportunity Em-
ployer. The Montessori School of
Northampton is located in the heart of
Western Mass. Close access to the Berk-
Maryland shires, Boston and New York City, as
well as the beautiful Vermont hills,
Bowie Montessori Children's House, makes us an ideal location.
established in 1966 is accepting appli-
cations for an AMI elementary teacher Please address your resume to: Susan
interested in advancing to junior high Swift, The Montessori School of
teaching. We are located on 22 acres Northampton, 51 Bates Street,
of specially developed outdoor class- Northampton, MA 01060, 413 /586-
4538.
room for exploration and discovery
ideal for development of Erdkinder.
80
6 NAMTA Classifieds Summer 1997
The Summit Montessori School in Melrose Montessori School is accept-
Framingham, MA seeks full and part- ing applications for an AMI trained
time Montessori teachers for levels 6- Primary Directress. We have two class-
9 and 9-12 for the school year rooms with excellent opportunity for
1997-1998. a newly trained directress to begin in
Operating as an independent, non- a normalized class. Located in Melrose,
profit Montessori elementary school, MA, a family community, the school
the mission of the School is to invest in is just minutes from historic Boston.
effective and committed Montessori In the heart of New England, we are
teachers in order to ensure academic only an hour from the ocean, moun-
excellence, continuity of long term tains, lakes, camping, etc. Please send
relationships, and institutional stabil- resume or call: Melrose Montessori
ity. School, 70 West Emerson Street,
Melrose, MA 02176 (617) 665-0621,
The Summit Montessori School is 9AM-2PM.
listed on the National Registry of His-
toric Places and was designed by the
renowned architect Alexander Rice Central Massachusetts-rural area with
Esty. The building is reminiscent of easy access to university and cultural
the early Montessori "children houses" centers. Newly reorganized pre-school
in Europe. Only minutes away from seeks qualified, creative directress/
the Mass Pike and Route 9 and only 15 director. Supportive parent run board.
miles West of Boston, the School is Growth potential. Please contact:
centrally located. Petersham Montessori School, (508)
Contact Mary B. Zocchi, Principal, The 724-0246 or Laura Phinney, (508) 724-
Summit Montessori School, 283 Pleas- 6643.
ant Street, Framingham, MA 01701
(Fax: 508/872-3314). Michigan
Primary & Elementary Teachers
Munch-Kin Montessori (Est. 1972), needed in September '97 for an Ex-
Duxbury, MA. (35 minutes from Bos- tended Day and 6-9 classroom. Class-
ton/Cape Cod) is seeking an experi- rooms are established and have an
enced, credentialed 3-6 teacher to lead
assistant. Excellent pay, full medical
an established classroom beginning & dental benefits with opportunities
August 1997. Salary plus benefits, for responsibilities/advancement.
based on education and experience. Mail handwritten cover letter, resume
Openings also available for part time with references to: Maria Montessori
assistants or interns for the fall. Send Ctr., 32450 W. 13 Mile, Farmington
resume with reference and creden- Hills, MI 48334 and call collect after
tials to: MKM, 145 Loring Rd., 7PM EST at 810/362-2442.
Duxbury, MA, 02332. Fax to 617 -934-
7102 or call 617-934-7101 or E-mail
to:[email protected]. Nevada
AMI primary teaching position avail-
able. Please send resume and creden-

81 NAMTA Classifieds 7
tials to S. Honest, 5566 Oxbow, Las month schedule. Must be willing to
Vegas, NV 89119. commit to staying for at least one year.
Salary scale based on degree and ex-
New Jersey perience. Send resume to: Rosedale
Preschool, 4910 Burnet Rd. Austin, TX
Elementary Guide. Come join our 78756. (512) 419-7171, Attn: Joni Ma-
dedicated supportive faculty. Spacious son.
well equipped classrooms. Lovely
country setting located 1 hour from ST. CATHERINE'S MONTESSORI is
Jersey seashore and within easy com- a private, non-profit school celebrat-
mute to Philadelphia with its fine edu- ing its 31st year. Our director is AMI-
cational, cultural and entertainment certified. We are affiliated with the
offerings. Salary commensurate with Catholic School District of the
experience. Class includes 6 to 12 years, Galveston-Houston Diocese, recog-
this position will allow us to divide nized by the Texas Education Agency,
the group 6 to 9 and 9 to 12 years. AMI and associated with AMI-USA. As our
school established in 1965. Contact: school population continues to grow
Ellen Fox, Montessori Academy of (currently 191 students), we seek teach-
New Jersey, 28 Conrow Rd., De Iran, ers at the following levels:
NJ 08075, 609/461-2121.
Elementary & Primary: Undergradu-
ate degree, AMI certification and two
New York years of teaching experience required.
Middle School: K-8 teaching certifi-
33 year established growing schools cate required, or 24 undergraduate or
seeking a trained 0-3 teacher to start a graduate semester credits in a field of
new class. In addition, we are looking study. Elementary Montessori train-
for an AMI certified primary and /or ing / AMI certification preferred.
elementary teacher and a qualified St. Catherine's Montessori is one of
administrator / teacher to take over our
Houston's most respected private
12-14 program. Immediate VISA avail-
schools. Diverse religious and cultural
able. Fully equipped Nienhuis and backgrounds are represented in the
hand made materials. Attractive sal- student body. Campus includes 22,000
ary, fringe benefits. Located on Long square foot, castle-shaped building
Island, less than 1 hour from Times and three acres of enhanced play-
Square, NYC. Contact Carolyn Larcy, ground space, with ballfields, a track
Maria Montessori School, P.O. Box and nature areas for the study of plant
276, Massapequa, NY 11758, area code and animal life. St. Catherine's is lo-
516/520-0301. cated near Hermann Park & Zoo, the
Texas Medical Center, Rice Univer-
Texas sity and the Museum District.
Interested candidates for these posi-
Loving pre-primary 3-6 teacher(s) tions are invited to send letter and
needed at new school in Austin, Texas resume, or call: St. Catherine's Mon-
for 97-98 school year. We are open tessori, P.O. Box 20728, Houston, Texas
year round, but will consider a 9 or 10

8 NAMTA Classifieds Summer 1997.,

77225-0728; Attn: Theresa Rourke, school with a strong commitment to
Administrator; Tel. 713/665-2195. the AMI Montessori principles. Join
this special Montessori community of
Washington children, teachers, and parents!
We offer competitive salaries and ben-
Starbreak Montessori School on beau- efits.
tiful Vashon Island, Washington serv- Please send your resume and refer-
ing children ages 3-5 needs a ences to:
Montessori teacher beginning Fall FELIX BEDNARSKI, HUMBERSIDE
1997. Lovely wholistic environment, SCHOOL,
MONTESSORI 411
1:6 ratio in a supportive community.
CLENDENAN AVENUE, TORONTO,
Our school is located in a very rural
ONTARIO, CANADA M6P 2X7, TELE-
area known for its creative popula-
PHONE (416) 762-8888, FAX (416) 766-
tion. Many people move here specifi-
8128.
cally for the purpose of raising children
in an ideal environment. Phone 206-
276 -6996. Czech Republic
WANTED URGENTLY: A Montessori
Graham Hill Elementary, a Seattle trained Teacher cum Administrator
Public School seeks Mont (9-12) and additional teachers for school in
teacher (must have state cert) for Fall Prague, Czech Republic for school year
'97. Program est. 1991. School has Pre/ 1997-1998. Need a year's commitment
K-Gr5 in multi-ethnic school in urban at least, preferably three. Salary local
setting. Contact: Birgit McShane (206) level + accommodation allowance +
760-4740, Sharon Turner (206) 232- travel to US once a year (negotiable).
4622, Nancy McAfee (206) 524-1432. Experience living and working abroad
a plus. Loving and caring person and
Canada a team worker. Contact Dr. Sunita
Gandhi: Phone 202.496.9780. Fax
HUMBERSIDE MONTESSORI 202.496.9781. E-mail: [email protected].
SCHOOL is looking for a dedicated,
experienced and AMI-trained 6 to 12 New Zealand
elementary teacher with experience in
6 to 9 and/or 9 to 12 for September of Montessori Teacher (ages 6-9) Posi-
1998. tionNelson, New Zealand
Humberside Montessori School was The newly established Highland Park
founded in 1987. The school is located Montessori School, set in beautiful
in the lovely High Park area of Toronto, treed surroundings, seeks an experi-
in a residential neighborhood. The enced, enthusiastic, qualified teacher,
school building, with beautiful, large keen to participate in the school's
spacious classes for children from 3 growth and development.
years to 12, has been redesigned by an
architect to accommodate Montessori Highly committed to Montessori phi-
programs. We are a privately owned losophy, the school has 2 classesa 3-
6 year-old class (taught by June Dutton,

NA MTA Classifieds 9
83
Palo Alto AMI 1971) and a 6-9 year- tial. Programmes cater for 3-12 year
old class. olds, 140 students, 20 staff members.
Nelson (population 80,000) enjoys an Qualifications needed for this posi-
enviable climate and boasts wonder- tion: Montessori Training with teach-
ful beaches, rivers, lakes and moun- ing experience, State Teaching
tains. Home to many artists, it also Certification required. Leadership
enjoys a reputation for its pottery, abilities, excellent communication
woodwork, fine wines and wonderful skills, flexibility and experience in
apples! school administration.
Further information and application For more information contact: Wa Ora
forms can be obtained by communi- Montessori School, 278 Waddington
cating to the Chairperson, Highland Drive, Naenae, Lower Hutt, New
Park Montessori School, 107 Wens ley Zealand, Ph: (04) 5672377 or Fax: (04)
Road, Richmond, Nelson, New 5772707.
Zealand. Phone/Fax (+64) 3 5446303
or email [email protected]. For Sale

Principal PositionNaenae, Lower Beautiful furnished and equipped

Hutt, New Zealand; Integrated Mon- Northwest Montessori School for sale.
tessori School Full enrollment, supportive parents
and income of $65,000. New building,
Wa Ora Montessori School is New 2bed/2bath, studio/dining/living
Zealand's largest Montessori School, and 3 classrooms on lush almost one
established in 1988. Wa Ora Montes- acre. All materials included Owner
sori is situated 15 miles from financing with $25,000 down. Real
Wellington, NZ's Capital City. estate available for lease or purchase.
Wa Ora has a diverse staff with teach- 206-463-6472.
ers from many countries. Wa Ora is
part of the State School System (Mag-
net School) so ability to work within a BEAUTIFUL MONTESSORI COM-
public school environment is essen- PLEX FOR SALE. Idyllic university
setting near Gulf Coast. Established

MONTESSORI INSTITUTE NORTHWEST

Six reasons to come to MINW for
your Montessori Teacher Education:
Internationally recognized programs and diploma
Job opportunities locally, nationally, and worldwide
Cooperative B.A. and Masters Level programs available
Located in the scenic Portland metropolitan area
Encouraging, creative learning environment
AMI Affiliated M. Shannon Helfrich, MS, Director of Training

P.O. Box 1777, Oregon City, OR 97045

(503) 655-5965 (503) 655-5365 FAX

10 NAMTA Classifieds Summer 1927

84
Montessori complex encompassing 1/4
of a city block including attached resi- Materials Wanted
dence. All materials & outdoor equip-
ment included. $408,900. Write for New or Used Materials Wanted. Please
information: P.O. Box 23336, Harahan, clean out those closets for a new school.
LA 70183-0336. We can pay for postage. Call collect
203/235 -4036. The Montessori
Children's House.
Go Get Your Smock! Creative and In-
dependent Art Experiences for the
Montessori 3-6 Classroom. 75+ child- Announcement
driven projects celebrating the pro-
cess of art. 140+ pages spiral bound. H.O.M.E. Are you a Montessorian
Jump start your art curriculum! Great working in a home environment? We
for Montessori families at home, too. would like to hear from you: Chris-
Send name, address, phone and check/ tine Williams, H.O.M.E., 216 W. Bos-
MO for $18 to: KMCH, 2449 W. ton, Seattle, 98119 or e-mail:
Peterson, Chicago IL 60659. [email protected]

The Montessori Training Center

of St. Louis
is still accepting applications for
Fall, 1997
call 314-822-2601
or e-mail [email protected]
for more information and an application

in affiliation with Association Montessori Internationale

85 NAMTA Classifieds 11
 AMI in affiliation with Association Montessori Internationale
Amsterdam, Netherlands

Montessori Teacher
Education Collaborative
2119 "S" Street NW
Washington DC 20008
Phone: (202) 387-8020
Fax: (202) 332-6345
Washington, DC
Elementary (Ages 6-12)
Academic Year Course
k
September 23, 1997
through
mid-June, 1998
Washington, DC
The Prerequisite Course
Primary (Ages 3-6) runs August 19 through
Academic Year Course September 17, 1997
September 9, 1997 Tuition $5,300,
through Prerequisite Course $1,500
May, 1998
Tuition $5,275
1

Cleveland, OH
Primary (Ages 3-6)
Academic Year Course
September 8, 1997
through
May, 1998
Tuition: $5,275

86

12 NAMTA Classifieds Summer 1997

 1997-1998 NAMTA
CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

From the Children's House to the

State House: Making the Network Work

October 23-25 Atlanta, Georgia

Montessori and Discipline

November I 3-15 Chicago, Illinois

Montessori Dialogue with

Educational Reform

December 4-6 Houston, Texas

Adolescent Conference: Uses of
Literature and Art (Humanities)

January 22-24 Phoenix, Arizona

Whole Child, Whole School

March 12-14 Seattle, WA

Child, The Maker of Culture

April 23-25 Baltimore, MD

Montessori Origins and
Contemporary Applications

87 NAMTA Classifieds 13
 1996-1997 membership expires August 31, 1997.
RENEW NOW!

Send check or money order payable

JOIN NAMTA NOW in U.S. currency to:
NAMTA 1997-1998 Individual Membership
NAMTA
Use this form to join or renew your membership.
11424 Bellflower Rd. NE
Cleveland, OH 44106
Name:
Last First
Membership must be in a person's name. No schools, please. Membership (U.S.) $40
Membership (outside U.S.) $48
Mailing Address:
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NAMTA Directory Purchase .... $10
(Not included with membership)
City: State/Province:
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office use only:
Current Montessori Status: em
Administrator Guide (Teacher) Montessori Parent eb

Trainee Assistant Program Coordinator date

sent
If Montessori trained, supply the following information about your training:
Return by December 15, 1997
Location: Affiliation: to have your name listed in the member
section of the directory.
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I do not wish to be listed
Please note: If you attended more than one training course, please give additional in the directory.
course information on back of card. (If this is a renewal, your information is already
in the computer.)
 ONTESSORI MATERIALS
Montessori books and materials are not chosen at random, whether for the
home, the nido (Italian for "nest", a community for children under one
year), the infant community (age one to three), the primary class (age three
to six), or the elementary class (age six to twelve) and beyond. Each piece
of furniture, each book or piece of material is carefully chosen to fulfill the
specific purpose for which it is intended. Beauty and quality, size and
color, origin, construction, materials all are carefully considered.
The following companies are owned and operated by trained and experienced AMI
(Association Montessori International) Montessori teachers with many
years of experience as parents, teachers, and administrators.
Take advantage of their careful selections to help you create
uncluttered and inspiring learning environments for children.
They consider it their responsibility to provide the very best of
beautiful, appropriate, well-researched and tested Montessori
materials for children. Look for their exhibits at Montessori
conferences around the country.

MONTESSORI MICHAEL OLAF

SERVICES Essential Montessori
836 Cleveland Avenue Box 1162, 1101 " H" Street
Santa Rosa, CA 95401 Arcata, CA 95518
(707) 579-3003 (707) 826-1557
FAX (707) 579-1604 FAX (707) 826-2243
Traditional Practical Life supplies - trays Montessori for parents, for teachers, and
& dishes, bottles, material for pouring & for children from birth on. Cultural materials
transferring, cleaning, preparing food, pol- sets - including practical life and language
ishing. Practical Life sets. Language objects, for the Montessori 3-6 class - history,
movement education, science and art. geography, biology, physics, art, and music.

KAYBEE MONTESSORI L.O.R.D.

7895 Cessna Ave. Ste K 100 Gray Street
Gaithersburg, MD 20879-4162 Elizabethtown, KY 42701
(301) 251-6319 (502) 737-7265
(800) 732-9304 FAX (502) 737-7265
FAX (301) 251-6287 Solid wood shelving, tables, chairs,
Approved didactic materials for primary specialized Montessori furniture and
and elementary classes; exclusive supplier equipment for infant/toddlers through seven
of glass bead math material; furniture. years. Land & water forms and the farm.

89
 CD

Nienhuis Montessori ...

on the cutting edge of Educational Reform.
Educational reform? No easy task! Innovative thinking must be
tempered with practicality. Visionary ideas must not lose sight of
traditional values. Accomplishing the objectives of the reform movement
will require the full cooperation of the many leaders and organizations
in the government and private sectors of education.
For over 60 years, Nienhuis Montessori has provided classroom
materials for the Montessori community worldwide. As the Montessori
method expanded, we developed new materials. As technology evolved,
we implemented new manufacturing techniques. As a founding member
of the Montessori Public School Consortium, Nienhuis continues to
support and sponsor the educational reform movement in public schools.
If you have any questions, suggestions or answers, please call us
toll free at 1-800-942-8697.
Nienhuis Montessori USA, 320 Pioneer Way, Mountain View, CA 94041-1576
Tele: (415) 964-2735 - FAX 415-964-8162

90
 tio
P.

U.S. Department of Education

Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI)
Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)

REPRODUCTION RELEASE
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Title:
The Adolescent Colloquium: Summary of the Proccedings

Author(s): Montessori Teacher Education Collaborative

.Corporate Source: Publication Date:

Montessori Teacher Education Collaborative July, 1997

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lease 0-414464.1thr
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