Interview with Y2 Montessori School – Adolescent Community (Y2MAC)
This is a story about love and growth, exploration and trust, waiting and understanding.
The story takes place in a school surrounded by greenery in Hsinchu, Taiwan. The protagonists of the story are nine adolescents, three guides (teachers), and the administrative staff who support them from behind. This is the story of the birth of Taiwan's first Montessori boarding middle school. Everything is still taking shape, constantly evolving, and being created...
Every step is a new attempt
Arriving at Y2MAC from Hsinchu High-Speed Rail station takes only about 15 minutes, and it is only about a three-minute drive from Baoshan Reservoir. What catches the eye is a vast residential community surrounded by peaceful and soothing greenery, including cherry blossoms, maple leaves, olive trees, and coconut palms.
As soon as it's time for school, the students proactively head towards the spacious community center classroom from their four-story residence. Some prefer to walk, some like to ride their bicycles, and some adolescents are asking the principal, Jan, to borrow her electric skateboard. "Why do you need it?" The principal leans against the stairs, casually yet seriously asking for the reason for borrowing. The adolescent scratches his head and tries to explain the reason with basic English vocabularies, hoping to get Jan’s approval. After two or three minutes of conversation, he finally receives Jan’s nod and "OK." The adolescent excitedly rushes out of the residence and slides towards the classroom, looking cool.
Such small stories are common in Montessori middle schools. “What do you want to do? What interests you? What don't you want?” All of these can be freely expressed. This group of seventh graders are expected to learn to how express and discuss in English; of course, this wasn't the case in the first term when the Montessori middle school first opened.
For those students accustomed to traditional directive teaching, it is not easy to learn without textbooks and to think about what they want to learn. When the teachers ask, "What topics are you interested in?”, the response they get is often a pair of confused and puzzled eyes. Those adolescents have never thought that they can customize their learning topics, so the teachers at the Montessori middle school have to guide them patiently and indirectly, using various methods to encourage them to explore and think about the topics they want to delve into.
After two terms, some students have gradually entered a better state, knowing what topics they are interested in, while others are still exploring. However, the teachers are not in a hurry because, for Montessori middle school, every student is unique and at a different pace. Even if they observe certain characteristics in a student, the teachers will not openly reveal them, but will, instead, quietly observe and carefully make a record, waiting for the adolescents to grow and change gradually.
Waiting for adolescents to discover their inner beauty
"Waiting" is a deeply rooted belief for Y2MAC teachers, who always wait for adolescents to discover their own inner beauty. Jan, the principal with over 30 years of Montessori education experience, says that waiting is key. Adults must wait for children to be ready, to "discover their inner beauty, and then be willing to share and show that beautiful self to the world."
Therefore, in a Montessori middle school, you won't hear reminders like "Wake up! It's time for class! It's time to eat! It's time to take a shower! Bring out your dirty clothes to wash!" Instead, teenagers complete their daily tasks at their own pace and speed. All of these daily tasks are part of Montessori education, because developing independence is the most important task for teenagers aged 12-18.
One of the guides, Fankan Hsu, echoes the importance of waiting by explaining: “Because adolescents at this stage are going through a transformation, their body and mind are in turmoil, as they are practicing and preparing to grow into adults."
"So, if an adolescent doesn't want to wear dirty clothes, they must learn to wash them because there are no adults here to help with laundry," Jan winked and said with a smile. When a student takes too long to shower, others will complain. Fairness and justice are the values they prioritize most at this developmental stage. Naturally, with the influence of peers, adolescents learn to be responsible and respectful of others' needs. This is why boarding is emphasized in Montessori middle schools. Here, adolescents are seen as independent individuals; at home, they are seen as children who need to be taken care of by their parents.
What makes Jan most pleased and satisfied is that the students are more willing to try now. Adolescents become more independent and take care of each other. “From knowing nothing, they naturally become capable of doing everything!”, explains Jan.
Changes in adolescents convince parents to trust the school more
The adolescents usually go home once a week, and parents can see the transformation from their once-pampered children who were used to having everything served to them, to mature and considerate young people who are willing to help out with chores in the kitchen and to openly share their school experiences with their parents. These changes are evident to parents, who feel more at ease knowing that their children have grown and matured. "The changes in their children are the best proof that they can trust the school," says Jan.
Before enrollment, the parents already knew that a Montessori middle school did not follow the traditional exam system, but instead focused on various learning projects. All the parents agreed that it was not about getting high grades, but rather what the students learned. As the math guide, Fankan sees his role as that of a "tour guide," leading the students to turn math concepts learned from elementary to middle school into a map of math. The students can then choose which areas they want to explore. Because every student has a different starting point for math, there are no unified learning goals here. Instead, learning is based on the students' interests and areas of exploration, with the guide helping them assess if they have reached their own learning goals. Both teachers and students need time to adapt and prepare for this learning style. The guide provides the direction, allowing students to follow the path and discover the beauty of the journey for themselves.
In addition, as English is the instructional language of the school, and as each student has a different language level, it is a challenge for English Language Arts (ELA) guide Susan Chen. "I guide students based on their interests. If they like to write poetry, we start learning English from poetry.” She thinks the biggest challenge is encouraging students to speak English to each other. However, because the principal and house parents are foreigners, students automatically switch to English when they see them. After two terms, Susan plans to adjust the ELA curriculum to include an English supplementary class in the morning. "We want to try to activate the English mode early in the morning and see if students will be more willing to speak English throughout the day," she shared.
It Is the guides’ whole-hearted care for each student that allows for such meticulous observations and adjustments. "The guides work extremely hard and have exceeded my expectations, which makes me proud,” says Jan.
>> Knock-Knock, Open the Mysterious Door of A Montessori Middle School (2-2)
Written by Yu-Hsiu Su
Translators: Robert Fox, Jen Hsu／Graduate Institute of Translation and Interpretation, NTNU