Discusses emerging characteristics of early adolescents from a Montessorian perspective. Considers adolescents' revelations related to cosmic education, their need to serve, their need to think and to feel, and their need to know the cosmos through finding one's place in it. Discusses samples from students' cosmic autobiographies. (KB)

Describes components of Lake Country School's junior high school Montessori program in relation to the developmental characteristics of adolescents, their needs, and their noble aspirations. Maintains that healthy environments where young adults are challenged to act constructively and creatively will help develop youth who are integrated,…

Asserts that adolescents within Montessori environments continue to use creative imagination to develop the self and still need concrete materials and manipulative tasks. Maintains that a degree of independence must be allowed for adolescents to form the foundation for self- discipline. Discusses the importance of mastering a few areas in depth…

Presents the underlying assumptions for the Erdkinder concept of educating adolescents. Discusses the importance of independence and social life beyond the family, the necessary environmental awareness for youth in the context of civilization, the meaning behind social values of civilization, and the importance of social morals, social…

Maintains that moral education should be at the foundation of educational reform and that education should prepare adolescents to find their place in society. Asserts that secondary level instruction, provided in a rural neutral environment and with opportunities for adolescents to work with their hands and their minds, will help to create a more…

Delineates the mismatch between adolescent needs and school contexts, pointing out necessity for more hand-and- head work for better integration of abstract and concrete processes, sensory richness, and a variety of engagement opportunities. Suggests that schools move beyond the usual precollegiate over-emphasis on higher reasoning skills,…