Montessori Secondary Schools Across the Asia-Pacific Region

From Elementary to Erdkinder — Starting and Sustaining a Montessori School

After undergoing elementary education, adolescents begin the journey to transition emotionally and physically to adulthood. To help prepare young people to engage in the realities of life in society, Dr. Maria Montessori proposed living and working on a residential farm school as the best possible educational setting for adolescents to develop a deep connection to the land and learn the value of work. Montessori believed that living and learning in a rural community allows young people to understand nature and civilizations, history and technology. Through microeconomy work on the farm, adolescents will begin to appreciate the operation of economy – all the while learning the practical skills needed in today’s society. Through cooperating in the farm’s related activities and participation in the commerce of rural life, students experience real-life roles that integrate academic studies and build a greater connection to society and the world.

Taiwan Montessori Education Center (TMEC) and Y2 Foundation for Future Education (Y2) cohosted an international forum, From Elementary to Erdkinder – Starting and Sustaining a Montessori School, on September 28-29, 2019. Experienced educators from Montessori secondary schools in Australia, Hong Kong, and the Philippines joined their Taiwanese counterparts to share their experiences and challenges, allowing us a glimpse into how the Italianbased Montessori method and farm-based education system can be implemented in different cultural backdrops and geographical locations throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

▲ Montessori adolescent education focuses on forging connections with the land, guiding children to find their own values and roles in society by tapping into their intrinsic powers.（Photo credit: The Hill Montessori）

● The Hills Montessori (Australia): Solving real-life

are community, place, and work. Learning activities

problems by applying coursework to life

integrate three main subject categories: core research/

The Hills Montessori School (HMS) founded its Preschool and Elementary School programs 40 years ago. In 2011, the Middle School was established on a suitable learning environment for students between the ages of 12-16. The core principles of the curriculum the Wairoa Campus in Southern Australia, providing development (languages and math), culture (humanities and sciences), and self-expression (creative and physical expression).

At HMS, students learn by applying subject matter to real-world experience, thereby shaping their very own

learning environment. They work together with their peers to form organizations and manage their own campus, including tasks such as paving roads, building structures (for example, a patio, shed, or chicken coop), farm chores, outdoor camping, and the production of the farm’ s organic goods. Each of these tasks incorporates subjects such as math (measurement, geometry, area, ratio), natural sciences (material science, topography, landscaping), humanities (man-made architecture’s impact on the environment), and art (design, drawing, ornamentation). Throughout the process, students try out different roles based on their own specialization and interests in order to solve various real-life problems.

By participating in work activities at HMS and the surrounding community, middle school students not only forge a deep connection with the land but attain a sense of achievement upon realizing they can “give back” by doing something different in their lives. The Hills Montessori Middle School gives students a chance to participate in their society, build a sense of responsibility, and learn some universal truths about life and humanity. More importantly, students are empowered and feel that they are capable of making a real change and contribution to society.

▲ The Hills Montessori accompanies adolescents, as they learn about universal truths about life through school and community activities.（Photo credit: The Hill Montessori）

● Elonera Montessori School (Australia): Be a vital part of the community

Established in 1987, Elonera Montessori School (EMS) is located in Wollongong, home to the indigenous Wodi Wodi people in New South Wales. The school has deep roots in the local community, with many of its faculty born and raised in the region. Although Wollongong has undergone many industrial changes over the last 30 years, EMS has been steadfast in its commitment to the children of the community and is now a vital part of the Wollongong community.

Elonera’s Adolescent Program was founded in 1999, with a focus on the students’ journey into adulthood. EMS recognizes that adolescence is a time where students tend to test and challenge the world around them. The Adolescent Program utilizes the prepared environment to help students overcome interpersonal tensions and to grow through meaningful work. This means that the faculty members must also be prepared, as students look to adults to see how they deal with frustration, mistakes, or conflicts, as well as how they build strong bonds of friendship and community.

The well-prepared faculty and close-knit community at EMS provide an environment that allows children to better focus on exploration and learning. The continued tradition of deepening relations with the city of Wollongong affords students more opportunities for localized learning that are relevant to their lives.

● The Abba’s Orchard (Philippines): Infinite opportunities for learning through the land

Dr. Montessori used the term “Erdkinder” to describe adolescents, because they need to learn about society and civilization through their work on the land. These “children of the earth” establish social connections among themselves and the world, in which they discover their own role in society.

The Abba’ s Orchard, located in the Philippines, also draws its curriculum from working on the land. The students participate in projects and classes that illustrate the interdependency between the individual, humanity, and the environment. One such project led them to witness the human destruction brought upon the natural ecology of Philippine forests, motivating them to study in depth the concepts of natural farming and putting them in practice. They traveled to discuss water quality issues with students the world over at the Montessori Summit in Washington, and put their experiences into action on a draft for a reforestation plan upon returning to the Philippines.

Students attain an intense appreciation for everything through their deep connection with the earth. This learning process adds a layer of relevance and practicality to their academic lessons, and allows the students to see their own value and contribution to a larger group, thereby nurturing their dignity and self-confidence.

▲ Students participate in projects, learning, and presentations that are closely related to themselves, the community, and surrounding environment. Farm projects engage students with hands-on experience, demonstrate the workings of a microeconomy, and connect students to the environment. （Photo credit: The Abba's Orchard）

● Maria Montessori Children’s School Foundation Inc. (Philippines): Critical thinking from different perspectives

Another Montessori secondary school in the Philippines is the Maria Montessori Children’ s School Foundation Inc. (MMCSFI ). With 45 years of experience in the elementary school program, MMCSFI established the Adolescent Program (AP) in 2013 to provide an extension of the familiar and engaging learning environment for its elementary school graduates. Emergent from the elementary program, the AP aims to secure in the child fundamental knowledge, ability to learn, confidence in their self-identity, and social adaptability appropriate for an adolescent, or emerging adult. By exploring their country and culture, the adolescents have a good sense of their identity of who he/she is, where he/ she belongs, what his/her place and role is in the family, and develops a vision of the contributions he/she can make to the greater community.

Unlike other schools with bigger campuses, the Manilabased MMCSFI explores education in an urban setting, designing its core curriculum around the students’ life planning and financial planning skills. In addition to academic lessons, MMCSFI encourages students to independently participate in extracurricular activities. The school finds that freedom and autonomy allow students to learn self-discipline and responsibility.

MMCSFI places special emphasis on liberal arts education, especially the humanities. Incorporating Dr. Montessori’ s method of Peace Education, the school seeks to inspire students to consider things from different perspectives, share their observations, and learn how to communicate harmoniously so as to promote peace and goodwill in society.

● International Montessori School (Hong Kong): Montessori school planning to fit local needs

The International Montessori School in Hong Kong was established in 2002 in the hopes of nurturing children with the ability to seek independence and joy of learning. However, traditional secondary school systems in Hong Kong evaluate students solely on their test scores. In response to this situation, IMS began making plans to open a secondary school in order to provide an alternative method of education in the highly competitive city. Although the ideal environment for Montessori’ s Erdkinder adolescents program is the countryside, finding a farm in the denselypacked, astronomically-priced city is no easy task. Therefore, the first and foremost mission during the school planning phase is to formulate what a Montessori secondary school in Hong Kong would look like.

Through interviews, consultation, and focus groups, IMS seeks to create a miniature yet innovative learning group that assists students to grow into individuals that are independent, self-directed, and passionate about contributing to the environment and society as a whole. The school hopes to empower children to become lifelong learners, develop independent analytical thought processes, and blossom into knowledgeable, self-reliant, and confident human beings.

Taking into account Hong Kong’ s unique education environment, IMS offers advanced placement courses and international baccalaureate programs. In addition, IMS acknowledges that parents play a crucial role in education, and that successful planning of the secondary school in large part would be a result of the parents’ recognition and trust in the school. Thus, IMS has laid a lot of groundwork in communicating with families. Chatting over coffee or

conversationally, it is important that parents are not simply passive receivers of the school’ s information, but feel that they contribute equally to the school’ s success through their open and honest feedback. Only with families and the school working as one can a consistent and comprehensive learning environment be created for children.

● Green Shepherd Montessori School (Taiwan): Building an experiential learning environment with local and international resources

One of Taiwan’ s very own Montessori secondary schools is Green Shepherd Montessori Experimental Education Group. Originally an elementary program, it expanded and established its Erdkinder Program in the historical Zhaixing Villa in Taichong, in 2017. The villa is an example of early traditional residences, complete with a backyard for raising livestock. Following the site’ s historic context, the school decided that the rural activity of raising chickens could provide the children several learning opportunities with possible extensions. As a result, several Montessori middle schools in Taiwan co-invited an experienced Montessori consultant from the United States for idea exchange and guidance on the project. For example, students must first learn the necessary components and functions of a chicken coop, apply mathematics and other academic knowledge to the manual labor of building the coop by hand, and work collaboratively with their classmates to achieve a common goal. The principle of intrinsically motivated learning is clearly woven into each of these steps, where students learn by doing, apply classroom-taught concepts in real life, and gain a sense of accomplishment from the process. This cultivates the passion for learning and bolsters the children’ s confidence in facing unforeseeable challenges.

▲ By incorporates classroom learning with Zhaixing Villa’ s rich history, students learn about their own culture and preservation of historic sites at Green Shepherd. In addition to providing academic learning at Zhaixing Villa, Green Shepherd incorporates the villa’ s history to offer place-based learning, in which students come to understand their own culture, increase awareness of the preservation of historic sites, gain experiences as youth volunteers to guide visitors on tours, and interact more fully with guests and society. The villa also includes farm space so that students can build and operate their ecological farm. The villa’ s storefronts offer students a place to learn, work, and experience entrepreneurship and business management. In fact, with the villa at the heart of the school, students are encouraged to extend outwards and learn about the community’ s cultural resources, fully interact with individuals around them, contribute to the improvement of their surrounding environment, and explore the possibilities of community empowerment.

Written by: Yi-Yun Li

Adolescence– Preparation for the journey ahead

One cornerstone of Montessori adolescent education is building a connection with the land. The exchange of experiences with schools from the Asia-Pacific region highlights that the Montessori method gives students the trust and guidance they need during this time of immense physical and emotional transformation. Schools lead them to fully understand who they are and who they can be in society by tapping into their innate capabilities. In turn, the students may find their own place and value in society. This ultimately allows them to not lose sight of themselves on their individual journeys in life.

Montessori education is neither an extreme nor alternative form of education. It is an ideal attitude toward life, and schools across Asia are striving to make this ideal a reality.

Montessori Adolescent Programs

Although Dr. Maria Montessori was not able to establish a secondary school in her lifetime, she proposed ideas for the reform of secondary education in 1920 based on her observations and studies of adolescents’ developmental needs.

Montessori adolescent programs are founded on the concept of “Erdkinder”, meaning “children of the earth.” She believed that the ideal learning environment for adolescents aged 12-15 is a boarding school in the countryside, where the students leave their families for an independent farm community. There, they build a “mini society” in which they produce crops and goods, consume products, and participate in commercial exchange. As students work the land, they also study the history of technology and civilization, gradually coming to understand the bigger picture of humanity and learning the values and skills needed to become a part of society. (Tim Seldin, Paul Epstein 2003)