“This is the universe. What do you want to do with it?”
Hudson Country Montessori Middle School student Charlotte recounts the first sentences she ever heard from a Hudson teacher. “I couldn’t read, I couldn’t write. I felt stupid. But my teacher offered me the universe. And believed in me. Now I get top scores on standardized tests. The other Middle School students are my family. Together we meet goals. We finish. We push each other to work to our best ability”.
Small School, Big Perspective
Collaborative small group work, individualized course of study, and multi-level age-groupings lend Middle School a college-like environment. When asked how she would answer parental concern that Montessori Middle School might not prepare students for “real life”; Charlotte responds, “Actually, the way we interact in the classroom teaches us how to manipulate University-like atmospheres as well as the work industry. We are already learning cooperative, think-tank type behaviors. I think we are more ready for the ‘real world’ than our public school friends”.
Root to Flower
“An incorrect answer is our best teacher”. Maria Montessori valued mistakes so highly, she lent mishaps an air of distinction, addressing them as Mr. Mistake. Charlotte “loves that when I get something wrong, we go back over it to discover the root of the problem. From root to flower. I don’t memorize facts that are meaningless. The root learning I do leads to all types of different flowers. I used to want to teach. But now I’m studying Science so I can discover something to help the world, maybe cure a disease”.
