Near North Montessori:Upper School
Second Plane of Development: 6-12 Years
"The longer a material can claim and hold a child's attention, the greater the promise it gives."
The passage to the second level of education is the passage from the sensorial, material level to the Age of Reason.
No longer satisfied with facts, children at this level are compelled to find out how and why things function as they do. A new ability to think coupled with a flourishing imagination enables the child to explore the invisible, to understand what cannot be seen.
This is the age of a profound sense of justice. The classroom becomes a microcosm of society where the new dimension of self is manifested in the social context of what is fair and what is moral; of one's responsibilities and obligations to others; of individual rights; the exercise of choice; and the consequences of one's actions.
The children learn what is expected of them, what needs to be accomplished and how to achieve that end. The freedom to choose work independently is contingent upon the acceptance of the responsibility of completing assignments and meeting deadlines.
Teachers serve as resources and guides channeling children's energy, interests and activities. Their role is to prepare the environment to include only those materials which have value and purpose without duplication or redundancy - and to provide the key to open the door.
Here, as through all levels, it is seen as essential that the child carry out the activity in order to preserve a balance between acting and thinking. It is her own effort that gives her independence. His own experience bring him exact answers. The activity itself is that through which they will subsequently discover reality.