Adolescent

Montessori Education Fulfills Itself In The Adolescent Years

Dr. Maria Montessori believed adolescents should be given the opportunity to experience self-worth through real and important work—a process she called valorization – providing the opportunity for adolescents to realize they are strong, worthy, and capable of effort. A Montessori Adolescent Program strives to meet the adolescent’s need to exhibit creativity, to problem solve, to take responsibility, and to claim independence. The ultimate goal of the program is to support each student as they find a place in the community and become a respectful, responsible, and ethical contributor to society.

Adolescents need to construct themselves as responsible individuals who participate as contributing members of society. The Adolescent asks: Who am I? Where do I fit in? What contribution can I make? How can I participate? Adolescence is a time of dramatic change, including profound changes in the structure of the brain. The Adolescent Program of the Montessori School of Lake Forest addresses the challenges of adolescence as opportunities. The Adolescent Program:

• Provides a supportive learning environment;
• Offers a stimulating syllabus to meet or exceed state and local school standards;
• Allows each young person to develop their unique strengths while learning about the roles and responsibilities of adult society.

The Adolescent Program is organized around Maria Montessori’s Plan of Work and Study for Adolescents. Lessons reveal the relationship between knowledge and responsibility, and emphasize human invention and discovery. The program’s curricular offerings include: