The Adolescent Philosophy

“Adolescence is a transition from the child who has to live in a family, to the adult who has to live in society.”

--Maria Montessori

The Oak Farm Montessori Middle School Program provides an innovative land-based educational program in which adolescents can excel as individuals, engage in meaningful work, acquire leadership skills, and learn to care for themselves, their peers, the environment, and their community.

Montessori philosophy views adolescence as a period of great transformation and extraordinary potential. The primary mission of the adolescent program is to serve the vital needs of adolescents through work that challenges both the mind and the body. This is carried out through a supportive teaching staff that creates a prepared learning environment that empowers adolescents to set and exceed their own goals, to engage in real community experience and meaningful, noble work; all of these contributing to their sense of purpose and worth.

Oak Farm Montessori Adolescent Program provides:

• Individualized instruction- small classes

• Logically integrated, challenging and rich curriculum

• Development of life and learning skills: self-direction, critical thinking, timemanagement, collaboration, and personal responsibility

• Development of community: respect, responsibility, democratic problemsolving and interdependence.

• Development of critical/ divergent thinking and creativity

• Integration of technology

• A learning environment that helps adolescents to discover their capabilities through meaningful work and real-life problem solving

The Tendencies of the Adolescent

While elementary children are engaged in an exploration of the world using their extraordinary imaginative powers, adolescents tend to view the world through a much more personal lens. They still have a tendency for exploration, but now they need to look inside to see who they are, what they can do, and how they fit into society. Because adolescents need to begin to find their way into adult society, they have a strong need to gather experiences and to communicate. All of these tendencies must be understood and allowed to take place for adolescents to continue their self-exploration.

Importance of Place

Margaret Stephenson, Dr. Montessori’s representative to the United States, wrote:

“For the adolescent, the exploration is . . wider, encompassing the land and the community of the rural area. It echoes what the children explored at younger ages -- civilization and how it came about -- but now the exploration takes place in real time because the adolescents are actually doing it. Cooperation with the land . . . affords the adolescent the opportunity to see his or her place in society.”

A sense of “place” takes on critical meaning to the adolescent. This meaning allows the adolescent to belong. It evokes history. The adolescent is yearning to know where he came from, how society formed, what it means to be a societal being. Our challenge, therefore, is to prepare an environment that allows for this exploration that will lead to engagement and meaningful work. Here the adolescent will feel a sense of belonging and experience the opportunity to contribute. The middle school work is made up of “key experiences” that adhere to the following characteristics:

1. They are real.

2. They are meaningful to the student.

3. They satisfy the needs and characteristics of the age.

4. They are rich in possibility.

5. They are correlated and cumulative.

6. They encourage reflection.

7. They are rigorous. Adolescents are seeking a connection to the adult world. Opportunity must be given for adolescents to feel a part of their community. Oak Farm will give them a place to which they can belong and for which they are responsible, in which they can be safe to express themselves, to try and possibly fail and learn and try again, in which they can use all of their intellectual capabilities for the good of themselves and the good of their larger community.

Valorization

Dr. Montessori defined valorization as “making [the adolescent] feel himself capable of succeeding in life by his own efforts and on his own merits” (From Childhood to Adolescence 64).

Normalization – ages 0-12

Love of order

Love of work

Profound spontaneous concentration

Attachment to reality

Love of silence and working alone

Sublimation of the possessive instinct

Power to work by choice, not just curiosity

Valorization – ages 12-24

Joy

Selflessness

Optimism

Confidence

Dignity

Self-Discipline

Initiative

Obedience Independence

Spontaneous self-discipline

Joy

The Middle School Day

Helpfulness

Good judgment

Ability to work with others

Arrival Procedures

The official arrival time is between 8:15 and 8:30. Students should arrive in time to promptly begin our Erdkinder work. The mudroom door is equipped with a coded keypad. Students will be given the code so that this door can be used for entry.

Dismissal Procedures

The school day ends at 3:30. Students should be picked up no later than 3:45. Parents should pull up in front of the building and wait in their cars for their children to be dismissed. All students will sign-out with a staff member before departing.

Attendance, Tardiness, and Appointments

Regular attendance is critical to your young adult’s success. If a student is absent, they miss the necessary interaction among peers as well as with the teachers that is imperative to building relationships and advancing academically. Parents will be notified in writing when a student has missed six days. After eight absences, a conference will be requested. If absences interfere with a student’s progress, a repeat of that year may be recommended. When you are absent, you have the number of days you were absent to make up your work, this includes farm pull-out. For example, if you were absent for 3 days, you have 3 days to complete your missing work. For farm pull-out, your work is due the following school day. Late arrivals and early departures are disruptive to our learning community and should be avoided when possible.

Necessary appointments should be communicated via email to attendance@ oakfarmschool.com and msteam@ oakfarmms.com or in the form of a written note, a phone call, or an e-maDismissal Proceduresil at the earliest possible time. If you are arriving late, picking up your young adult for an appointment, or picking up your young adult early from school, you should report to the Victorian Farmhouse to sign your student in and out. Expectation on field experiences is students will be dropped off and picked up from the school.

Dress Guidelines

Students should dress in a manner that does not disrupt the learning environment. Students’ dress should show and reflect self-respect and awareness for others in the learning environment. Students should dress appropriately for outdoor work in pants similar to jeans, closed-toe shoes, t-shirts or sweatshirts, and suitable jackets. Overalls or coveralls are also suitable. Hats, gloves, and mud boots are recommended. Short pants, dresses, and/ or skirts are not ideal for farm work. It is a good idea to keep a change of clothes at school for a variety of reasons. Also, students will walk to the woods, to the prairie, and/or to the arts center on a regular basis regardless of weather. On such days, students should dress for inclement weather.

Snacks and Lunch

Snack time is available Monday through Thursday. We suggest students bring a complete snack daily, which fuels and fills up teen bodies without negative side effects (here is a great website for some complete, snack ideas:

• https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/ healthy-snacks-for-work#TOC_TITLE_ HDR_6

• https://www.eatright.org/-/media/ files/eatrightdocuments/nnm/ smartsnackingforadultsandteens.pdf

A complete snack consists of a protein, fiber, and healthy fat (SOURCE).

Occasionally, snack will be provided by the MS Microeconomy. Students need to have a water bottle at school. Research shows that the brain is the first part of our bodies to dehydrate. Water is the only drink allowed at the middle school for students.

Students may elect to participate in Oak Farm’s hot lunch program. Menus are shared one month in advance. Students are asked to select dates and then return their selections with payment. Costs will be announced at the beginning of the school year. Students may choose to bring their lunch to school. Personal lunches should be nutritious and well balanced. Oak Farm Montessori is a low-sugar school. We encourage families to turn to whole foods—organic and locally grown whenever possible—as the staples for your child’s nutritional needs. Remember that high sugared foods and beverages with labels containing more than the recommended 12 grams of added sugar are discouraged from lunches and snacks. Also candy, fast foods (with the exception of Subway), or soda can NOT be included in lunches or snacks. Refer to the school parent handbook for more details regarding a healthy diet. Water is the only drink allowed at the middle school for students.

A microwave is available for warm-ups. All food and drinks will be consumed in the designated dining spaces. No refrigeration is provided.

Dating and Relationships

Our program is built on community and inclusion, and students must work with all members of the community at different times. Dating and close relationships are a natural part of development; however, students are not permitted to exclude others while at school or on school trips. As in a workplace, public displays of affection are prohibited while at school and on school trips.

Middle School Requirements

Homework, Assignments, and Class Preparedness

Homework is a regular part of the middle school experience. Students can expect to be given nightly homework in each subject area. With proper time management, homework should not exceed 1.5 hours/night- 5 nights per week. If you find that you are frequently exceeding this time and are overwhelmed, please contact MS teachers to discuss accommodations. Students are expected to have their work completed by the assigned due dates.

Late work is unacceptable; the young adult will be asked to create a personal management plan if it happens repeatedly. A natural consequence to having late work is missing out on privileges such as free time, extra farm time, etc. Parents will be notified of late homework if it becomes common and asked to collaborate to find a solution. Both students and parents should check Google Classroom for missing/late work. Google Classroom is accessible from any computer where students can access their daily/weekly agendas, due dates, and attachments. This is especially useful in the event of an absence.

Academic Policies

At the MS we uphold honor and integrity in order to build trust in our community. This means we create original works with our own words, thoughts, and processes versus plagiarism, online apps, software or other technology that would result in misrepresentation of our true abilities.

Progress Reports

Progress reports will be sent home each trimester for all academic subjects. The reports will be a listing of subject material covered and a sampling of scores to indicate the student’s mastery out of 100%. Parents will also receive a report of scores for NWEA Reading and Math Scores.

Conferences

Conferences will be scheduled twice a year to give each student an opportunity to share his or her progress. Therefore, the expectation is that each student will attend the conference with his or her parents. If there are academic or behavioral concerns, parents may be asked to conference with teachers at other times than the fall and spring conferences.

are expected to attend. Daylong trips will also be scheduled throughout the year. Information such as dates, location, and necessary items will be supplied in advance. MS families will be invoiced $750 per year for field trip costs.

There are also short trips for a few students that are more spontaneous in nature. For example, farm students might travel with the farm manager to visit an area veterinarian. Because of their nature, parents will not always receive an advance notice of outings.

Positive Discipline

Oak Farm Montessori School follows the principles of Positive Discipline.

1. Is Kind and Firm at the same time. (Respectful and encouraging)

2. Helps adolescents feel a sense of Belonging and Significance (Connection)

Field Trips and Outings

Students will take at least one extended trip (four to seven days) during the school year. These excursions away from school will be tied to curricular projects. Since these field trips are curricular in nature, students

3. Is Effective Long-Term. (Punishment works short term, but has negative longterm results.)

4. Teaches valuable Social and Life Skills for good character. (Respect, concern for others, problem-solving, accountability, contribution, cooperation)

5. Invites adolescents to discover how Capable they are and to use their personal power in constructive ways.