Secondary Program Cornerstones
Cornerstone of CGMS Secondary Training Program
The cornerstone of the CGMS Secondary Montessori Training program is threefold: the
transformation of the Guide, evidence of that transformation as documented in the Album,
a practice that is guided by the Pillars of a successful secondary program.
PART I – The Guide
“The real preparation for education is the study of one’s self. The training of the teacher is something far more than the learning of ideas. It includes the training of character; it is a preparation of the spirit.”
— Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind
Anyone can learn to teach. It takes transformation to become a guide. We do this through:
Love
Observation
Renewal
Adaptability
Humility
Discovery
Exploration
Innovation
Collaboration
Grace
Our goal is not to fill empty vessels with content but rather to find ways to support the emerging humanitarian, entrepreneur, scientist, creator, and educator. What we present through our syllabus and provide in our prepared environments must be carefully curated. Providing content is only one part, and not necessarily the bigger part, of our purpose. English, history, science, math, and so forth are very important concentrations. But they are still mere platforms from which the souls of our learners can embark on their more important cosmic task.
We guide our learners in their holistic development through:
providing meaningful and authentic work
a developmentally appropriate learning environment
challenges that promote self-discipline and reason
opportunities for both independence and collaboration with peers
Operating from the premise that there are as many teachers as there are people in the room, we learn from observation and from what our adolescents reveal in their work. We save the space for each and every one to find their strengths, master their goals, and find their purpose and inner drive. Understanding this and finding ways to implement a strategy to accomplish this, learner-by-learner, is transformative—not just for our students but ourselves as well.
CGMS Montessori Secondary Training supports transformation but is hopefully neither the beginning nor the end of it. Transformation must be ongoing.
Of utmost importance to our effectiveness as guides is the pursuit of our own inner well-being. As important as the preparation of the environment is our continual preparation through renewal. However this is achieved in one’s life, it must precede work with young adult learners. Knowledge of and compassion for ourselves, first as individuals and then as guides, is vital to preserving freshness and continuity for our learners.
Part II The Album
“The teacher’s task is not to talk, but to prepare and arrange a series of motives for cultural activity in a special environment made for the child [adolescent].”
— Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind, p. 7
One hallmark of Montessori training is the Album – both the act of creating it and the use of it as a resource. The Secondary Album is the place to celebrate all that an Adult Learner has done and learned in the CGMS Secondary training and certification journey. It documents this journey with artifacts of growth and is a unique and ever-developing resource for ongoing support of a meaningful and transformative teaching practice. The Secondary Album will be created throughout Secondary training with the completion of each course. A type of museum, it represents the collection, care, study, and display of what will become of lasting value to its creator.
Part III : The Pillars
“But, above all it is the education of adolescents that is important, because adolescence is the time when the child enters on the state of manhood and becomes a member of society.”
— Maria Montessori, From Childhood to Adolescence
Through observation and preparation, we as guides have come to understand the unique developmental needs of the adolescent, the importance of the prepared environment, and the irreplaceable relationship of guide and learner.
What adolescents need:
Independence
Community
Adaptability
Self-expression
Self-reflection
Choice
Context
Grace and courtesy
Feedback
Respect
Love
To satisfy these needs, Montessori Secondary Prepared Environments offer learners:
An integrated approach to learning
A stake in their education
Authentic experiences
Opportunities to develop abstract thinking
The space to come to their own conclusions
Movement and a physically healthy environment
An understanding and appreciative guide
A guide who understands not only subject content but the Montessori method Close connection with fellow students and a role in community
A sense of their own worth and individual gifts
The ability to make and learn from mistakes
Respect as a young adult and not as a child
Service opportunities
A small school setting, even within a large school
Field experiences
Rigor
The expectation of continual “conscious cosmic view”
Experiences that stimulate interests and activate imagination
Personalized learning experiences
CGMS Secondary has adopted seven pillars, or standards, that we feel support a holistic approach to meeting the developmental needs of Montessori secondary learners:
- Multi-Age Classrooms (minimum of 8 students)
Grouped based on age as 12 – 15 and 15 – 18, or 12 – 14, 14 – 16, and 16–18.
- Montessori “materials” that at the secondary level include field experiences, Socratic Seminar Discussions; a study guide that supports independence, collaboration, adaptability, inquiry, coping with ambiguity; daily Community Meeting; Intercessions; and so much more.
- Evidence of Farm, Museum, Business as defined below:
Farm (Nature-Based Integration): While Dr. Montessori wrote about the farm as a desired prepared environment for adolescents, it is not practical to expect most schools to be located on a farm. At CGMS Secondary, we view “farm” both as a physical place and as a metaphor. We use what the elements of a farm offer our young adult learners: critical community roles and responsibilities, a deep understanding of nature and place, sustainability in our care for self and environment, and the many opportunities for problem solving and adaptability that a farm experience demands. In our training program, we find ways to bring the farm to our classrooms, both practically and metaphorically. “Farm” is a nature-based component that represents a connection to land, community roles, the important systems and identity of a place, and a commitment to stewardship and sustainability.
Museum: Whether a corner of a room, a dedicated room, a physical or virtual bulletin board, the museum embraces opportunities to display, dissect, curate, preserve, and present work. It is a place of evidence and celebration as well as a forum for challenge and inquiry. It can be public or personal as long as it is present, for the adolescent needs to say, “I was here. I was heard. I have value.”
Business (Microeconomy): Montessori writes on the importance of adaptability and that education must not be career-specific but broad enough to enable the learner to prepare for a future unknown. She also explicitly charges secondary educators to provide opportunities for adolescent learners to explore economic independence. A secondary program’s business entity is one place to accomplish this. Beyond fundraising, a business in a secondary program is a learning lab that inspires self-discipline, an entrepreneurial mindset, and collaborative innovation. It serves as a place to flesh out authentic experiences that impact sustainability, ethics, responsibility, community, resilience, and persistence.
- Student-centered, inquiry-based Study Guides that incorporate the three-period lesson scaffold (discovery, exploration, innovation.) and include a driving question, choice, and reflection. A Montessori secondary study guide serves as a road map for the learner and is designed to be used in conjunction with the uninterrupted open work cycles to support independence, collaboration, adaptability, and self-expression.
- Uninterrupted Open Work Cycles: In order to satisfy the developmental needs of our adolescent learners, which extend far beyond the attainment of content, we provide large blocks of time to allow not only for short lessons, but for collaboration, deep concentration, and interdisciplinary connections. Work cycles include all- or small-group mini-lessons, presentations, collaboration, and independent work. At a minimum, a secondary schedule should allow for three 90-minute work cycles per week for core curricular subjects or combined core subjects. Always within a work cycle is time for the learner to manage learning and have the time for discovery, exploration, and innovation. The role of the guide is that of leader, not lecturer. Work cycles that include all group-lessons should extend well beyond the 90 minutess to allow for those lessons to occur.
- Strategy for practicing self-reflection and self-renewal – both for learners and guides. This could include scheduled solo time for students, advisory meetings, personal meditation, etc.
- Observation: Montessori practitioners understand the value and vitality of observation in the ongoing work of preparing an effective learning environment. It is not an extraneous feature of a Montessori classroom but a central focus and the result of having a schedule that includes open work cycles and a well-constructed study guide that allows for student independence and moments of reflection for the guide.
