Anastasia in Ohio!

A Diary of My Experience at the NAMTA Adolescent Orientation

Those Montessori Children...

On Monday, January 5, the Upper Elementary classroom at Woodland Montessori School walked to Woodside Park for lunch.  On our arrival we could see that vandals had defaced a great deal of the playground equipment.  It is not rare for there to be some minor graffiti at Woodside but it is not generally this widespread nor is it generally this vulgar.  The kids expressed their thoughts ranging from disappointment to sadness to discomfort.  They ate their lunches and then headed to the play structure.  After some time chasing each other around the structure and zooming down the slides, I started to hear more comments about how sad it was that someone had been so disrespectful and unkind.  One of the children said, “I think we could clean it up.”  Another child, standing very close, agreed.


That sentence changed the pace, direction and lessons for the rest of the day.  They gathered others who would help.  This ended up being everyone. Some of us went back to school to get sponges and Soft Soap.  All the students found a spot and started to clean.  They were elated!  For 40 minutes those kids scrubbed, rinsed, scraped and slid (plastic is slippery with water and soap on it!) until they had removed about 90% of the graffiti.  They found that the paint on the porous surfaces didn’t come off as easily.  While there were many vulgar and inappropriate things, the two that disturbed them the most were a racial slur and a rude reference to “Fat Kids”.  It was interesting to me that the words that they thought would hurt a specific human or group of humans were more offensive to them than simply the “bad” words. 


As they started to gather up their supplies and give a final rinse,  I noticed a large truck pulling up to the curb with a large trailer-like attachment with the letters "GRS" on the side.  As realization set in of what GRS stood for, I began to wonder if we had done the right thing.  Were we about to get in trouble?  Had someone reported our graffiti-cleaning jag?  Why in the world was the Graffiti Removal Service there?  Two men got out of the truck approached while looking over my shoulder for the atrocious, copious graffiti that I am sure had been reported to them.  They saw next to nothing.


Brothers Paul and Brent, of Graffiti Removal Services, were very surprised as I told them our story.  They were grateful that we had taken before and after pictures.  (We thought the police might want to see what was written so we took before pictures.  We thought you might want to see so we took after pictures.)  They explained to the children how they are paid by the City of Woodland to come out two days a week and remove graffiti.  They also explained how they remove graffiti.  It took a quick swipe of a paintbrush in solution for the experts to remove the paint from the porous surfaces.


While it would have been easy for the kids to be disappointed in the fact that they worked hard for 40 minutes when someone was on their way to do the same work easily, they were very excited to hear what Paul had to say.   One student thanked Paul and Brent for cleaning things up when we didn’t even know they came.  Another raised his hand and told them how much he appreciated them.  Another complimented them on how quickly they worked since we didn’t often see graffiti.  I imagine that Paul and Brent were surprised that these kids would not only compliment and appreciate them but also that they expressed it express it aloud and with no prompting.


So, when you wonder why you pay to have your child in our school, or when you wonder what they are up to all day, rest assured that they are being given the freedom and support to become the special human beings they were intended to be.  They are seeing wrongs in the world, and rather than notice the problems and complain or ignore, they are becoming citizens who notice a wrong and do something about it.  They did not stand around and wonder if they should do anything, or how they might do it or whether or not they had time or if it would be worth it.. They noticed a wrong and they did something about it.  They did this from an internal sense of justice.  They did not do it because they were guilted into it or because social norms or an adult told them that they should.  They did it because they cared and because they have power in their environment and world. 


Wendy Tye
Oak Classroom Teacher

www.WoodlandMontessoriSchool.com


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Those Montessori Children

We had a moment in the Oak Room that is for the (non-existent!) Montessori textbooks and I thought I’d share. 

On Monday we were at the park, as usual, for lunch.  On our arrival we could see that vandals had defaced a great deal of the playground equipment.  It is not rare for there to be some minor graffiti at Woodside but it is not generally this widespread nor is it generally this vulgar.  The kids expressed their thoughts ranging from disappointment to sadness to discomfort.  They ate their lunches and then headed to the play structure.  After some time chasing each other around the structure and zooming down the slides, I started to hear more comments about how sad it was that someone had been so disrespectful and unkind.  One of the children said, “I think we could clean it up.”  Another child, standing very close, agreed. 

That sentence changed the pace, direction and lessons for the rest of the day.  They gathered others who would help.  This ended up being everyone. Some of us went back to school to get sponges, BarKeeper’s Friend (Comet) and Soft Soap.  All 18 students (2 were absent) found a spot and started to clean.  They were elated!  For 40 minutes those kids scrubbed, rinsed, scraped and slid (plastic is slippery with water and soap on it!) until they had removed about 90% of the graffiti.  They found that the paint on the porous surfaces didn’t come off as easily. 

While there were many vulgar and inappropriate things, the two that disturbed them the most were a racial slur and a rude reference to “Fat Kids”.  It was interesting to me that the words that they thought would hurt a specific human or group of humans were more offensive to them than simply the “bad” words.  

Once they had cleaned as much as was possible, they started to gather up their supplies and give a final rinse. Now, if you’ve worked with me at all, you know that I tend to watch who else is at the park and who is driving by so that I know who’s around.  I noticed the large truck pulling up to the curb immediately.  The truck was pulling a large trailer-like attachment and had a commercial advertisement on the side.  I began to walk toward the truck to see what it was.  Upon closer inspection the acronym GRS became clearer to my aging eyes.  As realization set in of what GRS stood for, I began to wonder if we had done the right thing.  Were we about to get in trouble?  Had someone reported our graffiti-cleaning jag?  Why in the world was the Graffiti Removal Service there?  Two men got out of the truck and approached me.  They looked over my shoulder for the atrocious, copious graffiti that I am sure had been reported to them.  They saw next to nothing. 

Brothers Paul and Brent, of Graffiti Removal Services, were very surprised as I told them our story.  They were especially thrilled that we had taken before and after pictures.  (We thought the police might want to see what was written so we took before pictures.  We thought you might want to see so we took after pictures.)  They explained to the Oak Room how they are paid by the City of Woodland to come out two days a week and remove graffiti.  They also explained how they remove graffiti.  It took a quick swipe of a paintbrush in solution for the experts to remove the paint from the porous surfaces. 

While it would have been easy for the kids to be disappointed in the fact that they worked hard for 40 minutes when someone was on their way to do the same work easily, they were very excited to hear what Paul had to say.  Our students asked a few questions and then, they once again exhibited their incredible beauty.  One student thanked Paul and Brent for cleaning things up when we didn’t even know they came.  Another raised his hand and told them how much he appreciated them.  Another complimented them on how quickly they worked since we didn’t often see graffiti.  I know that Paul and Brent were shocked that these kids would not only compliment and appreciate them but also that they expressed it express it aloud and with no prompting. 

So, when you wonder why you pay to have your child in our school, or when you wonder what they are up to all day, rest assured that they are being given the freedom and support to become the special human beings they were intended to be.  They are seeing wrongs in the world, and rather than notice the problems and complain or ignore, they are becoming humans who notice a wrong and do something about it.  They did not stand around and wonder if they should do anything, or how they might do it or whether or not they had time or if it would be worth it. They noticed a wrong and they did something about it.  They did this from an internal sense of justice.  They did not do it because they were guilted into it or because social norms or an adult told them that they should.  They did it because they cared and because they have power in their environment and world. 

You have spectacular children.  Enjoy the photographs. 

Wendy

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A Final Note

Hello everyone!  The end of my summer orientation has arrived.  My coursework is complete and I have had my exit interview.  Now I can rest and gear up for my return home and begin this great work ahead of me.  This has been an amazing group of people to work with, and I look forward to seeing all of them again in November when we return for the fall conference.  We are all just as sad to be leaving as we are happy to all be returning home.  Every bit of hard work and time away from home has been worth it, more than even words can describe.  Thank you, everyone for your constant support through this great learning adventure!

Good-bye Cleveland!

Going Out

When the child goes out, it is the world itself that offers itself to him.  Let us take the child out to show him real things instead of making objects which represent ideas and closing them in cupboards.  –Maria Montessori.  From Childhood to Adolescence.  p. 34.  Schocken.

I had to begin with this quote, as it is the essence of my learning this week.  Pedagogy of place is key in this.  “Know thy site,” as David Kahn puts it is knowing your property, neighborhood, county, state, region, nation, world, and universe.  The area around you is your extended classroom, and “going out” is the means of the 3 Period Lesson for the Adolescent.  And with imagination, as students go out, they can travel further across time and place in their search for knowing more about who they are, how they fit in this world, and what their role will ultimately be as well as the kind of meaningful and purposeful work they will do in it.

This week we visited Hudson and University Circle.  At the Case-Barlow house in Hudson, I sat in the place that was the northern planning and staging point for the underground railroad.  The goose bump factor was kicking in!  We heard stories, visited the town, and experienced 3 period lessons of our own.  One group mapped the town, another spoke to elders in the community, while another toured the town with the town historian.  My group interviewed shopkeepers to inquire about their buildings and businesses and the history of the town.  We spoke with some beautiful people.  We went to Hattie’s, an amazing program in a café that provides care and employment for children and adults with mental retardation and developmental disabilities.  We spoke with the owner and life-long resident of a dress shop.  We also visited The Learned Owl, a book store in town.  It was such a cozy 2 story shop with character.  They were recently successful in a vote to keep big box stores from coming to town.  Everyone was kind and generous, and spoke so highly of the Montessori students who come each year to visit them.  They have a working relationship with these business and often exchange invitations for events and benefits.

At University Circle we visited The Cleveland Museum of Art and The Cleveland Museum of Natural History.  These visits gave us inspiration in our design of a 3 period lesson with the adolescent in mind.  Both museums were amazing.  At the natural history museum we were told that it would take about 3 days to get through and see everything; however what can be seen is only 10% of what actually exists at the museum, with all of its storage and lab work that goes on there.  Incredible!  We were able to see these labs.

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Humanities

My studies in Humanities took me to Alexandria.  This incredible place was about people who came together and interacted.  It was like a world cross section of people asking where in the world are we and what do we know?  It was an unfolding of relationships in a particular time.  We listened to a reading of beautiful story of Alexandria.  The story introduced the geography of the land, the key players, the culture of the people, and from that we saw the development of an incredible curriculum. 

We looked at a timeline of the people and advancements of the time.  Each of us chose a character to research and portray.  Let me set the stage for you…While a drum was beat, someone read an introduction and each of us was emerged as from a sleep and began to wander around each other.  We began humming and stopped where we were and formed an arc.  In order of time, we each came out dressed in our sheet toga, and gave a speech that introduced ourselves and our contribution to Alexandria.  It was quite dramatic.  Because I was in this performance, I have no pictures of the event.  I do have pictures of the map of Alexandria that we spent time putting together.  Great fun, and a profound experience.

Other students had an experience with The Great Depression and Westward Expansion.

See below for further reading about the study of Humanities.

Humanities is the unfolding of the history of humanity.

The imagination peaks at 6-12, but is alive and well in adolescence.

Humanities explores and investigates an establishing eternity in all mankind.

When we ponder the mystery of history, our origins as well as where we are actually living out our own history, the adolescent is getting prepared for the future, making a dynamic contribution.  Elementary reaches level of synthesis, and takes next step into adolescence.

This study is larger than life; where the world has been and how it can project on our sensibility and our role on this planet.  We look at the foundation of needs of people, the cultural and physical aspect of culture, as well as spiritual needs.

Humanities is not history of art and lit, but actually what’s human about humans and how did we get that way…evolving forms of human life, relationship to ice ages, formation of tools, language and speech development.  How did we become and advance.  And a spiritual life emerges.  Evidence is limited, so is our knowledge.  Man constructing himself.

Humanities is a preparation for adult life.  It is a study of the earth and all living things, as well as human progress.  All aspects of living things today have same aspects of the human being straddling the natural world and the human built world.  The unfolding of the history of humanity is striking up a relationship of our destiny.

There is an historical and scientific part to all occupations.  What exists in the history of agriculture is in the history of the land today.  Division of labor for example in the settlement of cultures is studied.  There is beauty and form.

Adolescents are lost, they have a disconnect.  They need this connection.  The closer you get to the formation of your culture across the continuum the better you feel you belong.

When a student can find a powerful thread with people of the past, they find a piece of self and love self more.

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Creative and Physical Expression

This is the area of study where the students can express themselves through music, art, language, sports, or other means.  Sometimes specialists are brought in, and the students get to see the life-long passion or a profession that someone has chosen in the area of their interest.  The areas of expression are based on the appendices for what is developmentally appropriate for their age.  There is art in everything, and they can do anything.  The students need peers and adults to help them sort out their lives at this point, and look to them for feedback.  They need opportunities for channeling their emotions productively.  They need to establish and clarify, or figure out people’s perceptions of what they’re doing, and sometimes this is in the form of an imaginary audience.  They need to be heard and understood.  They need confidence-building events in their lives, as they are unsure of themselves sometimes.

Many options were available for us, as we embarked upon a day of CE/PE.  It was raining the day we had for this; however the day before, when we chose our activities, it was not raining, and frankly, working in the moment as we were (and are to this day), many of us did not think of the impact of rain on our activities.  I chose outdoor skills, earth art, guitar, and wool for my experience.  We spent 4 hours, one hour each, in the day of CE/PE.  It was an opportunity for us to experience what the students are able to experience in their weekly routines.  They choose these activities and keep with them for a period of time, and even longer if the interest is there.  There is no formal training in these areas, except for any necessary skills for the activities, as needed.  It was challenging and fun.

Outdoor skills.  We met with James in a log cabin that the students built.  We were provided with 6 pieces of string, one tarp, a piece of cardboard, and a book of matches.  We were instructed to build a shelter and start a fire.  I built the shelter while my partners gathered the driest wood and scraps of twigs and such that they could find on that very rainy day.  When they came with their contributions, I went out for more, as they began to set the stage for a fire.  We managed to build a fire AND even boiled water!

Earth art.  James instructed us to find anything in nature to express ourselves.  We first saw some of Andrew Goldsworthy’s art (I showed a DVD of his work to last summer’s camps students), and took that as inspiration.  I went to the hydrangea bushes and placed pink rose petals in concentric circles around the blossom.

Guitar.  This was a challenge for me.  I have only held a guitar a couple of times, and Zack made it manageable and fun!  I learned the A and E chords, with their minors.  Good times!

Wool:  This was my last class.  Nacho was our instructor.  His passion for spinning and the appreciation for the animal were easy to see.  The wool we worked with had been donated by a family in the community.  He also had some very soft and beautifully amber colored alpaca that we worked with.  We spun, carded, and felted.  He talked about the sweet spot, that point in spinning the wool that is just taking into the spinner and your just guide it.  Quite a satisfying and soothing task.

Next will be Humanities.  Tomorrow.  For now some homework and sleep!  J

 

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The Nitty Gritty

Ok, time for some technical stuff.  The Adolescent program consists of 4 main components:  occupations, creative and physical expression, humanities, and community work.

Occupations encompass the areas of work that students will do.  This work demands academic studies across the disciplines.  This work is called head-hand work and is real, meaningful and purposeful work.  It is as intellectual as it is physical.  Some examples of occupations include:  bees, food preservation, woodlot, machines, biology, nutrition, pigs, alternative energies, micro-economy, sugarbush, child development, small ruminants, organic gardening, water quality, archeology/structures, and poultry. 

Each of us had a choice and opportunity to work a day with a manager.  I did organic gardening.  We had a lesson on soil, discussed areas of exploration related to soil, and each took a component.  We experienced a task, and formulated a conclusion of our research to report to the group.  My task was to test the pH of the soil in the raised beds and under the blueberry bushes.  The work was so insightful into understanding the life of an Adolescent who would be faced with the same work!  I discovered the raised bed’s soil to be average -7 on the pH scale -which was perfect for the kale that was growing in it.  The blueberry bushes’ soil tested at 6, and the normal for blueberries is 4.5.  I did some research and found out that I could go to the wood shop and get some of their sawdust to dig into the soil, and that will help to lower the pH.  What an experience!

 

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Dorm Life

Well, our classes have moved from the farm to Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.  You can read about CASE here:  http://www.case.edu/

I am in Raymond Hall at CASE.  My roommate Danielle and I are on the second floor.  We have a small room with two beds, two desks, and two closets.  We sleep with our windows open and can hear the storms well when they pass through.  We had some incredible thunder/lightning storms in the past two weeks.  We share the floor with other women from the NAMTA training.  Everyone has such a different way of studying.  Some people study together, some alone in their rooms (like me), and other leave the building completely to study in one of the nearby halls.  We have a shared bathroom on the floor that is labeled “MEN.”  We wrote “WO” on an index card and added it to the door sign.  Now we feel better.  I have had to figure out how to take a public shower.  I don’t have dorm life in my background, so this is new to me.  It’s coming together! 

Check out the picture of the hand dryer!  Someone has written instructions on it.  Funny, I’ve had to explain to some of my friends that the red wavy heat lines look like strips of bacon. 

The cafeteria is open all day, with specific times for meals when we can go and get hot food.  The staff is great.  On the first night we had dinner, I went over to the freezer thinking that there would be something in it.  It was empty!  The man in charge came over and asked me about the look on my face.  He went right back to the kitchen and looked for something for us.  He came out with a box of drumsticks.  MMMMmmm so good!  And it provided a great opportunity for some interesting conversations with some of my friends from around the world about desserts.  Fun!

One late night after dinner we were having some fun around our dorm.  We discovered a room for locking up bicycles.  We thought it looked like a ballet room, so we did some ballet moves.  Silliness is key in all the seriousness of the days.

CASE is a great university setting.  There is so much nearby to see.  And we are close to the stadium!  Many of us are heading out to a ball game for the 4th of July.  I hope to take in a walk to the Cleveland Art Institute on Sunday.  A private collection of prints is on display right now.  I also want to get out to see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  We’ll see how the weekend plays out with my essay on the prepared environment for the Adolescent still to write!

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