ADOLESCENT
Ages 12 – 14
In Montessori’s view, the third plane of development begins at the age of twelve and ends at eighteen. This is the period of development is called the time of the “humanistic mind”, a time when these emerging adults seek to understand their place in society and to come to know how they will contribute to the Kingdom of God. These adolescents need exposure to different adults so they have different models of how to function in the greater society. This plane is marked by a sensitive period for personal dignity and justice, these young people have a huge capacity for creative expression, and have need to learn through experience in real-life contexts. It is the time when they need the adult to “help them make a contribution to the Kingdom”.
“The chief symptom of adolescence is a state of expectation, a tendency towards creative work and a need for the strengthening of self-confidence.”
~ Maria Montessori
ERDKINDER
It was Montessori’s vision to have special youth centers, die Erdkinder, “the earth children” for the adolescent. She thought it best if they could participate in an agrarian society. The prepared environment for the third plane would be a boarding school in the country which offered a societal experience to share tasks, to get along, to build and repair, to cook and clean, to talk, listen to music, and plan social events. “We might call it a ‘school of experience in the elements of social life.’” (Montessori, From Childhood to Adolescence, p. 64).
In the Erdkinder, self-expression is important both for the individual and the group. The adolescent investigates language through debate, acting, and speeches. He investigates art through drawing, painting, and sculpting. Through math, the adolescent experiments with exactness and application and has an understanding of ideas that are based in math. Language also provides the basis for character and the realization that the individual must take responsibility for the tone and words used in communication. The child of this plane studies earth and life on earth connecting with the various civilizations and the progress of humanity. In the Erdkinder, human inventions are made available in the form of machines which the adolescent can take apart to study and reassemble. Through the study of migration of people, the adolescent can begin to see how human beings have impacted the earth.
Fleener, Andrea. (2018, July 24). Third Plane of Development [Lecture]. Montessori Training Center of St. Louis, Satellite Course, Evanston/Chicago.
BECOMING A CITIZEN OF THE KINGDOM of God
“But, above all it is the education of adolescents that is important, because adolescence is the time when the child enters on the state of adulthood and becomes a member of society.”
~ Maria Montessori