The Third Plane

If you've looked into Montessori adolescent educational experiences at all, you may have heard that she advocated "farm schools" where teens get close to the land and set up a store to sell what they produce. Along with this idea, we considered how adolescents, especially 12-to-15-year-olds, but even extending to 18-year-olds, mirror the first plane of development (the journey from infant/toddler to child). In that first plane, children respond beautifully to "real" work, such as practical life exercises like sweeping, dusting, pouring real water in real glass pitchers, etc. This work is energizing, not tiring, and often results in a peacefulness and joy that is palpable. For the Third Plane of development (12-18 years), we (teens and adults) considered that the youth is now passing through a journey from childhood to adulthood. New powers appear (along with full-sized bodies!) and these youth also need "real work" in order to develop them. To this e...