When we are exploring the world of adolescence and looking through the lens of Montessori, we understand that she coins this stage as the Third Plane of Development; between the ages of twelve and eighteen.
Rewinding a little bit; the first plane of development is between the ages of zero to six and children at this age focusing on their physical and biological independence. Questions they ask internally could be… what is this? What does it do? What is it called? Working out how to operate their body and becoming familiar with the objects in their environment amongst other things.
The second plane of development lasts from around 6-12 years of age and here children focus on becoming mentally independent. The world of whys! Why does this do that? Why is the way the world is? How does this work? Why does this work the way it does? The second plane is all about consolidating the first plane by filling in the missing gaps.
So when a child reaches the age of preadolescence and adolescence; twelve to eighteen, the question becomes who am I? This is the stage at which children are seeking to understand who they are, their purpose in life and their place in society. Children at this stage have moved from exploring the sensorial and concrete world (classifying objects) to seeking to understand the abstract world (application with objects). Establishing social independence is the main focus during adolescence and what a journey it looks like for the outsider… what a journey it feels like for the adolescent.
“Successive levels of education must correspond to the successive personalities of the child.” (Childhood to Adolescence, Montessori, Page 1). What does this mean? It means that a thorough understanding of child development is essential to effectively and efficiently support the ways a child learns through education. So let’s take a look at the characteristics of the adolescent; the characteristics of the third plane of development.
The adolescent is a sentient soul who, to the outsider and often within, is attempting to balance out their relatively unstable condition of growth. They are trying to keep up emotionally with the rapid physical and biological changes that are occurring. At this stage you will usually find the adolescent wanting to sleep more than usual and this makes a lot of sense as the changes they are going through are both new and exhausting.
At this stage of development, the emotions are the centre point of most decisions as the adolescent is trying to establish their own voice; they are trying to seek agency over their own life. Whilst doing so their inner voice is often battling the unknown yet fervent quest to understand where they fit in in the world. Constantly questioning the point of their existence and at the same time demanding respect from the world, respect from family, friends, teachers – you will respect me! This despite not fully securing this knowledge themselves.
The adolescent is working his or her way from seeing things morally in black and white to understanding that greys exists and – that that’s ok! Whilst doing so they are often perceived as being angry or frustrated at the world and parents, teachers and those closest to them are often on the receiving end of being blamed for life’s inadequacies and imperfections. Not an easy position to be in yet even more uncomfortable for the adolescent.
Montessori coined the term “valorisation” to describe this stage of development. Valorisation is the journey the individual takes to establish him or herself as an independent individual; strong, confident, trustworthy and responsible. The “valorisation of the personality” (Childhood to Adolescent, page 64) is riddled with building a moral foundation of independence. It is a journey that encompasses the tricky task of self-regulation while at the same time developing a healthy interdependence with the people and things within their environment. The adolescent is developing an interior sensitivity known as a conscience and has a burning desire to explore and obsess over their intended vocation; why am I here? Although they ask such questions and are going through many changes physically, biologically and emotionally which may at times cause those who support them to be met with outbursts of rage, ignorance or even the silent treatment; the adolescent yearns ever so much to have an influence, to be seen, to be appreciated and to be valued.
So what is the best way to approach the education of the adolescent; what is the best way to support the learning journey of the adolescent? Let’s explore!
First of all, and I hate to be the one to say it … again… but now is not the time to be strapped to a desk and thrown books, tests, exams and all other mainstream educational demands and pressures at. Why? Because as outlined, the third plane of development is a test, demand and pressure in itself! Couple with the fact that test scores do not predict the quality of the individual but rather their ability to regurgitate prescribed information deemed necessary to learn by a certain age by entities who have never even met those whom they prescribe such demands on.
Interesting to note here is the quest of a school board member, Rick Roach; father, grandfather, teacher, counsellor, coach, with a bachelors in science and two masters degrees in education and educational psychology; trained over 18,000 educators in classroom management and course delivery skills in six eastern states over the last 25 years who took the public school FCAT test and managed a D grade (62%) guessing half of the questions. The math didn’t math for him at all!
Montessori suggests that the adolescent requires a nurturing environment that allows them to develop agency and explore their role in society. What would this look like? In her day Montessori suggested the Erdkinder; a place where teenagers would benefit from manual labour; farm work. Why? To exercise, get to know and be more comfortable with their ever changing bodies – in nature, whilst at the same time becoming financially literate and satisfying the need to contribute effectively to society.
So what would that translate to in 2022? I have always suggested that businesses have educational centres attached to them to make available the hands on opportunities for adolescents to get a taste of what it is they feel their intended vocation will be. Internships where the individual can then decide concretely if this is something they would like to further develop as a career or interest.
Giving the adolescent the opportunity to run their own club or event where they put their problem solving skills to the test is another way to support their learning. They may even enjoy volunteering on a regular basis at a local charity. The focus is on giving the adolescent an opportunity to find out what problems they can help to solve within their community. The onus, in this regard, should be on supporting the adolescent to find their way by themselves.
So, about the obsessive urge to argue; to challenge even the little things… how about suggesting learning how to debate or exploring different philosophies? Avoiding confrontation is tricky at times, especially when you simply do not have the energy yourself to constantly be at odds with your adolescent. Yet stigmatising by name calling, mislabelling and even apportioning the disagreeable behaviour to the child and not his or her actions can be extremely damaging; thwarting the progress and confidence of the emerging adult. It also does not model the better manner in which challenges or oppositions should be met.
Now about sleeping. “Research to date has shown that the circadian rhythms of adolescents are simply fundamentally different from those of adults and children,” said lead author Gideon Dunster, a University of Washington, doctoral student in biology back in 2018. It was extremely frustrating to see my son sleeping the day away during his adolescence but when I asked myself why – the answers most often than not had nothing to do with his emotional or social wellbeing but that which was expected from him by external demands of society. The adolescent must learn the importance of time keeping – absolutely – yet why can this not be taught at an earlier age? Why can’t school start later when the adolescent is more alert and ready to learn?
The underlying and most effective way to nurture this stage of development is to support. Support by understanding exactly what the characteristics of this stage are and why; support by observing without judgement and support by preparing the environment to suit their needs. Effective, successful and purposeful academic growth only occurs once the adolescent’s social and emotional needs are being met with respect and due care and consideration. If a newborn baby, toddler or child is approached with the utmost care and sensitivity we should afford the adolescent the same.
References
Childhood to Adolescent, Montessori-Pierson Publishing Company, Montessori Maria, 2007
Valorization of the Adolescent Personality, Maribeth Brown St. Catherine University, 2016: https://sophia.stkate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1136&context=maed
Teens get more sleep, show improved grades and attendance with later school start time, researchers find, James Urton, UW News, 2018: https://www.washington.edu/news/2018/12/12/high-school-start-times-study/
Revealed: School board member who took standardized test, 2011: