Q2: What is the age range of children in the school / organisation?
0-3, 3-6, 6-12, 12-15, 15-18
Q3: What is the number of children in each of the age ranges?
3-6 35
6-12 85
12-15 110
15-18 65
Q4: How is the school / organisation funded?
Fee paying, State funded
Q5: What year was the adolescent (age 12+) organisation/ school established or when it is planned to start?
2002
Q6: Are students together in mixed age groups?
Yes-12-15
If other, please provide details of division of ages:
12-16/17
Q7: What is the school / organisation policy about accepting children without previous Montessori experience to the adolescent programme?
The leading team and the teacher team is deciding individually after observing and talking to the applying student and his or hers parents.
Q8: What are the arrangements regarding boarding?
No boarding
Q9: Which of the following best describes the location of your school / organisation?
Suburban
Q10: Would you describe your school / organization as land based?
No
Q11: What qualifications are offered at 16?
National qualification
Q12: What qualifications are offered at 18?
National qualification
Q13: Which teaching approaches are used?
Lectures, Individual research, Curriculum textbooks, Experiential learning
Q14: Are the young people linked into the local community?
In few project their are involved in the local retirement home, during internship in different kind of businesses in the whole Rhein-Main-Area, the students of the upper elementary work with local beekeeper and a farmer
Q15: What is your school’s capacity for each age range?
12-15 112
15-18 66
Q16: Do you accept students without previous Montessori experience into the adolescent programme?
Yes
Q17: Does your adolescent school/organization have access to land?
There is no land component
Q18: In what ways do your adolescents interact with land? (tick all that apply)
Raising crops/fruits/vegetables,
Land preservation and restoration,
Other (please specify)
We are still looking for a bigger peace of land. At the moment there is just a garden and the wood besides the school. We got some bees but like to have more animals to care for.
Q19: Approximately what percentage of study is derived from the work on the land? (please provide examples)
It depends on the Projects the students are choosing. It is about 5-10%. Hopefully there will be more in future when we got a bigger piece of land.
Q20: If students travel to the land and board there, how often do they stay there and for how long? (please describe)
not yet.
Q21: What are the facilities that make up your adolescent environment?
Classrooms, Kitchen, Music Room, Science Lab, Library, Computers, Art Studio, Sport Facilities, Workshops, Vegetable Garden,
Other, please give details (for example barn, greenhouse, theatre, forest, pond, river) forest, ponds
Q22: Which professional institutions outside of the school structure do your students use?
Universities, Art Galleries, Museums, Botanical Gardens
Q23: How many adults work in the adolescent programme?
Full time 10
Part time 12
Q24: How many members of staff are specialists? (Please give details)
one caretaker is a carpenter
one Doctor of Biology
one Doctore of History
one Dr. of Literature
Q25: How many adults working in the adolescent programme have Montessori qualifications at the adolescent level?
22
Q26: Have any members of your staff attended the AMI/NAMTA adolescent orientation programme? (Please indicate numbers and location)
Sweden 5
Q27: How many adults have undertaken adolescent training elsewhere? (Please give details)
5 from the Namta Qualification in Sweden, all collegues 18 had training in German programmes by DMG
Q28: How many adults who have undertaken adolescent orientation also have Montessori qualifications at other levels? (Please give numbers and the level of training)
3-6 1
6-12 4
12-18 22
Q29: How many adults working in the adolescent programme have Montessori qualifications at other levels but have not had adolescent orientation?
Respondent skipped this
question
Q30: How many adults working in the adolescent programme have only traditional teaching qualifications?
Respondent skipped this question
Q31: How many adults are directly involved in the adolescent programme? (Please list their roles, e.g. House Parent, Farm Manager, Kitchen Manager)
Respondent skipped this question
Q32: Are additional external specialists contracted and for what specialties?
Construction
Q33: Of these, how many have been exposed to Montessori methods?
none
Q34: What percentage of time does the adolescent spend receiving instructional lessons and how much time is given to independent learning?
Instructional (approximate percentage per week) 40
Independent (approximate percentage per week) 60
Q35: What opportunities are provided for adolescents to experience community life?
Other (please describe) Going to skiing trips, biking tours, camping,
field trips, international exchange
Frequency
Residence/Boarding House Never
Guest House Never
Store Occasionally
Farm Occasionally
Social Experiences outside the school Occasionally
Q36: How often do the adolescents have the opportunity to experience production and exchange?
If regularly or occasionally, please describe how
they are producing food in the garden, preparing and
selling it, they also producing handcraft products and
selling them on special events.
Q37: Does the adolescent community run their own bussiness?
Yes,
Please give details cafeteria
Q38: Are profits returned to the group for collective use or given out to individuals?
Collective (please provide details) profits are reinvested in the firm ( new machines, gadgets) or spend on charity for the benefit of the community
Q39: What responsibilities do the adolescents have in respect of their environment?
Ground maintenance
Q40: What responsibilities do the adolescents have in respect of themselves?
Cleaning
Q41: To what extent do the adolescents have the opportunity to take responsibility for their own study and work? (Please describe)
There is a lot of choice within the schedule at the beginning of the school year and inbetween the courses. That’s major principle to set the curriculum together with the students.
Q42: Is your school able to fully implement the Montessori adolescent approach or are there state mandated requirements that prevent you from full implementation?
Full implementation prevented (Give details)
Especially in the age groupe 15-18 there are narrow statal rulesabout setting tests, subject, content and marking so that there it is hardly possible the follow a natural rhythm of learning and working
Q43: How is student progress assessed? Give details of frequency
Mandatory National/State tests At the End of Year 9 or 10 there final exams.
In the classes 11-13 there have to be 1-2 tests per term and the final Exams (Abitur).
Reflective of Montessori principles and intended outcomes
Results were mostly higher than expected.
That proves tha t the principles of freedom of choice, independence, self-discipline etc work.
Q44: Please describe how your adolescent programme supports the changing developmental characteristics of the adolescent.
Change of attitude towards academic study due to new focus on real life work (younger adolescent)
We hope that will happen when we will have more opportunities for real life work. To provide that for 112students it is not so easy.
The appearance of sensitive periods for personal dignity and social justice allowing for expression of solidarity, empathy and sense of mission, moral position some of the adolescent started project with
refugees, taking over responsibility for younger students6-12, teaching them or working in projects with them.
The need to be alone and seek solitude they have got the permission to leave the campus and go into the nearby wood
The desire to undertake vocational activity they have internship time every year for two weeks, working in firms outside school
The urge to become economically independent some of the older adolescents founded their own firms already during school time
The need to separate from family at the moment we arrange 3 field trips for one or two weeks for the younger adolescents and two study trips per year for the older ones mostly into a foreign contry
The need to create community having a “coffee house” (everybody is presenting something), organizing charity events for our partner school in Nepal
Q45: Please describe how your programme incorporates Montessori’s ideas of psychic development (formative education). Include a description of the prepared environment that supports this activity.
There is so many things going on in the contact between adults and adolescent that it is hard to focus on few things,
There are either principles in the way the adults and the students have contact. That are: side by side, setting goals, planning, creating, researching, producing, presenting is done together. Giving feedback to each other in a constructive and respectful manner. Solving conflicts peacefully, no violence, no fear on eye-level. For all “Subjects” the interests of the students are the first priority. Languages and Mathematics are provided by specialists.
Q46: Please describe how your programme incorporates Montessori’s ideas of Preparation for adult life. Include a description of the prepared environment that supports this activity
Study of the earth and living things in the school’s garden, walk in the woods,
experiments
Human progress projects in social science
History of mankind local history as the starting point, eg. The history of the houses on the campus, the town was founded by Romans etc, or biographical work, inviting witnesses, having lectures and interviews ..
Q47: Please describe how your programme incorporates Montessori’s ideas of self-expression. Include a
description of the prepared environment that supports this activity
having a “course” that is called “challenges”, rooms + music expert or art expert to experiment with music and arts
Q48: Please provide any other information that you would like to share with us
That was quiet a long survey. We know that we have weaknesses concerning the adolescent programme but we also have strength in some aspects. We try to become better every day to get closer to our vision of the right place for young people.