PORTRAIT OF A CLASSROOM

A delicate drawing of fall gourds inches into view across a rectangle of white paper; a short poem or prose piece read aloud holds a circle of listeners in its spell; a cardboard model or clay pot takes shape under patient hands. There is a flurry of activity in one corner of the School Commons as overhead projectors flash on and many hands pitch in to render the sleek musculature of a human form, or the complex networks within a patch of skin tissue; math circles spontaneously gather at round tables, then as mysteriously disperse; a recumbent figure sprawls across a couch, deeply absorbed in a science fiction saga, while across the room a voluble cluster of experimenters creates homemade litmus paper strips from a stinky but gorgeously purple vial of cabbage juice; a raucous melée of wigglers and gigglers attempts to respond to the command en français, “DANSEZ!”

Just a sample, in the form of a word collage, of what you might observe as our Junior High students engage in their three-day week together. They are mostly busy, except when they are not, and they seem to be enjoying each other a great deal, even though there are times when they are not enjoying some of the challenges of research, note-taking, and report-writing, or the physical challenges our crowded, noisy space imposes.

You may visit the classroom to take your own core sample of student activities, but we ask that you call or email beforehand and make an appointment to do so. We have a set of guidelines for your visit that we ask you to follow—the same guidelines set by the lower and upper elementary classrooms. (See guidelines below.)

We two guides are continuing to establish the academic program as we observe and at times referee the social program. Our community meetings are often labored, but we are encouraged and inspired by flashes of insight and maturity. Adolescence, to borrow from the title of one of my favorite books on this developmental stage, is a Lost and Found time. A “season of mists" suddenly dispersed by sunbursts of elation, enthusiasm, focus, and clarity. We are taking it on faith and experience that this time in your children’s education is a time for us as adult guides to raise the bar a little, to begin to challenge them to engage their gifts and curiosities in deeper, project-oriented work. It is also a time for stepping back, in awe at the energy produced, expended, well-directed, misdirected, or out of respect for the fragility of forming personalities. We know how much further we still need to travel towards each individual student, building trust and providing just the right kind of support.

So, our fall trimester is coming to its completion, and with it, the core curriculum Study of Nature report on human organ systems. By the end of November, students will also have collected and written up three short narratives—in their own words—about some aspect of ancient civilizations, for our core study of the History of Humanity. In three weeks, on Wednesday, November 28th, from 3-4 PM, we hope to have all our families gather for an hour of presentations of students’ organ system report work, in the classroom and in the Computer Lab. Afterwards there will be a shortened parent meeting in the classroom.

PARENT / STUDENT CONFERENCES:

We have many families signed up for parent/student conferences during workshop week. There will be a regular full day of classes on Monday, November 19th, but then a schedule of conferences lasting a half-hour each on Tuesday and Wednesday, the 20th and 21st. These conferences will be an opportunity for students to share their work with parents and to set goals for themselves in the second trimester (December 3rd to March 12th). Some of you have not yet signed up, but we have free slots available on those two days, as follows:

TUESDAY, 20TH:

1. 11:30 AM - 12 NOON
2. 2:30 PM - 3 PM

WEDNESDAY, 21ST:

1. 9 AM - 9:30 AM
2. 2 PM - 2:30 PM
3. 2:30 PM - 3 PM

CLASSROOM VISIT GUIDELINES:
You are welcome to visit us! By following the four guidelines below you will be able to observe the students undisturbed as they pursue their normal daily activities.

1. Please remain in the visitor's chair.
2. Please refrain from initiating interaction with the students.
3. If the students approach and introduce themselves, please tell them your name. Use a quiet voice. Refrain from lengthy conversations.
4. At the close of your visit, please exit the room quietly.

If you are a parent of a student in the classroom you may or may not observe a normal day of activity for your student. It is difficult for some students to manage their emotional attachment to you and sustain their independence in the classroom simultaneously. Adolescents can be particularly self-conscious when parents and peers are in proximity.

Here are some aspects of the Montessori environment you may wish to watch for:

• Observe students' response to the total classroom: people, materials, etc.
• Notice how they initiate activities (independence).
• Note how the ability to concentrate and to be absorbed varies from student to student, and from material to material.
• Note how certain activities can serve to focus a student's attention on an isolated stimulus.
• Notice how some children, even when distracted, can return easily to their work.
• Look for spontaneous gatherings in small groups around new activities, discoveries, stimuli, etc.
• Observe the variety of small group work vs. individual work.
• Watch the interaction between students. Is there courtesy, teamwork, dialog, negotiation, etc.?
• Observe how the guides present lessons, and how students may react differently to a given subject matter.

If you would like to talk with one of the guides about your observations, questions, and discoveries, please call or email us and set up a time outside of class hours to do so.