If there is one compelling need during young adolescence, it is to belong to a community. In the Middle School Program, this community takes many forms.
• It is an academic community with a great deal of support for both individual and collaborative learning.
• It is a social community that honors the personalities, talents, and strengths of each student and the bonds that exist between members of the class.
• Finally, it is a community of diversity that honors the differences between all people and empowers adolescents to begin their journeys towards that adult role they will soon play in the world community.
In each of these forms, we strive to engage students in purposeful, meaningful studies and work. Dr. Maria Montessori postulated that real achievement builds character and leads to an appreciation of our interdependent reliance on others. Our Middle School Program is a community where the young adolescent can safely learn to find their place in a social world. Through experiences with a micro-economy they come to earn a place in the adult world. The Middle School Program at Geist Montessori Academy emphasizes a preparation for life through both academic and practical applications.
Farm Program
There are a few major tenets of the Montessori Middle School philosophy, including students being prepared for adulthood, learning how to run a business, learning how to be a global citizen, and learning how to work with the land. At the GMA Middle School, we use the Farm Education Program to touch on all of those aspects in a hands-on way. We have teamed up with Fermenti Artisan, a local urban farm, to see how farming affects our lives and the community we live in.
The students travel to Fermenti Artisan every six weeks as part of their learning cycles, each visit encompassing a different aspect of farming. In our first year teaming with Joshua Henson and Mark Cox, the students are focusing on growing crops to sell at their own fund raising event, as well as local farmers markets. In this process, they are learning about botany, biology, economics, and the importance of locally grown, organic food. The students also gain coordination, physical endurance, and leadership skills through real farm experience.
In the future, we hope to be a model for this type of experience for other local farms and schools. We know that this experience is something the students will take on with them into high school, college, and adulthood, no matter what career path they choose to take. We also know that our work at Fermenti Artisan will be an inspiration to others in our community to think about how students learn, as well as how schools and communities can work together for a common goal.