Maria Montessori viewed adolescence as a profound transition, a "second birth" from a family-bound child to a social adult. It is a period marked by intense self-discovery. As parents, we hope that our children will come out of this transition feeling confident—confident in their ability to solve problems independently, to contribute meaningfully to a group, and to relate well to others without losing their own identity. The school where they spend these years can help or hin

Guest post by Sam Vuong of Second Nature When most people think of Montessori, they picture young children in a prepared environment with wooden materials and child-sized furniture. But what about middle schoolers navigating the complexities of adolescence, from social dynamics to developing personal identities? Can the Montessori method be equally effective in these formative adolescent years, and what does this look like in practice? I recently toured Guidepost Academy, a M

Many thanks to Beach Metro for their school profile of Guidepost Academy: At the west end of Queen Street East, just steps from Woodbine Park, Guidepost Academy is offering something many families may not realize is missing: an approach to middle school that keeps adolescents’ love of learning alive and growing. For families who have embraced Montessori in the early years, the transition into traditional schooling can feel abrupt. Independence becomes replaced with rigidity,

"A Pattern Language" by Christopher Alexander and his collaborators is one of the most influential architecture and design books of the late 20th century. It might seem an odd place to find a kindred Montessori spirit. But in the chapter called "Teen-Age Society," it mirrors Maria Montessori's philosophy of adolescent education to an uncanny degree. Maria Montessori believed that adolescence is a distinct stage of development in which young people need greater independence, m

In From Childhood to Adolescence, Maria Montessori described the importance of helping young people to take their first steps towards participation in the workforce: “[the adolescent would]…derive great personal benefit from being initiated in economic independence. For this would result... in making him feel himself capable of succeeding in life by his own efforts and on his own merits, and at the same time it would put him in direct contact with the supreme reality of socia

"My vision of the future is of people… passing from one stage of independence to a higher, by means of their own activity and effort of will.” — Maria Montessori, From Childhood to Adolescence Adolescence is a critical window for developing executive functioning skills — the habits that allow young people to successfully manage themselves and their work. These include skills such as planning, organization, task initiation, persistence, self-monitoring, and emotional regulati