Interview with Rhonda Stone, Lead House Parent of Y2 Montessori School – Adolescent Community (Y2MAC)
Many people are curious—just how exactly is residential life at a Montessori middle school? Life in the Montessori boarding community is structured and independent with steady rhythm, allowing new students to adjust quickly to the environment.
Susan pays meticulous attention and records the small details of students' daily activities. "Observation is a crucial part of Montessori education, and I guide students based on their interests," she explains.
What is most impressive about Y2MAC is the level of dedication shown by the guides. They hold nothing back and invest almost all of their energy into the students, observing them with a level of detail that even the students' own parents might not match.
The guides are constantly thinking about how to help the students with their self-development and growth as well as how the curriculum plan should be adjusted accordingly.
Susan keeps a notebook that is almost the size of an A3 paper, in which she writes down her daily observation of each student. She notes every detail, whether it be related to their learning or interactions with others. "Observation is an essential part of Montessori education," she explains.
After observing the students' states, what should or should not be done is a big question. For example, Fankan noticed that some students would feel proud and superior because they finished their work first or thought they knew more than others.
He chose to observe further and understand the student's "pride." He found that the sense of pride was a learning motivation for one student. It did not lead him to look down on others, and he would help other students who did not understand.
Therefore, Fankan said, "I'll leave it alone for now," and if it does not cause trouble for other students, he will continue to observe and see how it goes. Leaving things alone for now is also a kind of wisdom.
In Y2MAC, how does the team ensure that all the adults know the status of every student? To ensure all information about student affairs can be kept timely and transparently, the team cleverly uses “Notion,” a software where records of individual students can be searched easily for further analysis and around which discussions can be centered in the curriculum meetings.
"We conduct a comprehensive assessment for each student every term, and there will be two assessments for math goals, mainly to help students set up their goals. We usually help students think about the issue by designing some questions for them to better understand themselves, which is more important than achieving any goal," said Fankan.
Apart from observing and recording from the sidelines, teachers and students spend a lot of time together in their daily life.
Since students are not allowed to bring mobile phones, everyone gathers in the living room for free activities after school, such as playing the guitar, reading, and playing board games—the enjoyment of real interaction amongst each other.
Jan shares the importance of this after-school time at the residence: "We hope that adolescents have more opportunities for face-to-face communication. Real friends are better than virtual friends. Because there are no smart phones here in our school, attention will naturally be focused on the "people" in front of them.
Adolescents need close and deep interpersonal connections, to share their feelings with friends. Whether it is joy or fear, knowing that they are not alone, even if they are comfortable and quiet together."
It is the whole-hearted care for each student that allows for such meticulous observations and adjustments. "The teachers work extremely hard and have exceeded my expectations, which makes me proud ," says Jan.
For parents, whose children are attending the first boarding Montessori middle school in Taiwan, are living in the residence away from home, and cannot be contacted by cellphone anytime, there is bound to be some concern.
Jan, Fankan, and Susan are grateful that the parents choose to trust the school. Fankan jokes that the parents are really brave. This trust comes not only from detailed parent briefing during in-depth sessions before enrollment and monthly parent-teacher meetings, but also from the administrative team who constantly handles numerous details and communications behind the scenes.
Freya, who is responsible for operations, has all the parents' contact information in her phone. If parents have any problems, they can contact the school immediately.
"At the beginning, everyone messaged me frequently. As the understanding between parents and teachers gradually grew, it has become much less now." Freya's high EQ and patience have become the guides' big assistance, allowing them to focus on the needs of the students and curriculum planning.
Freya, who is responsible for operations, has all the parents' contact information in her phone. If parents have any problems, they can contact the school immediately.
From small things like electricity and water bills, it is the work of the administrative staff to ensure the school can operate smoothly.
Fortunately, with the assistance of project manager Amy, the system can be built from scratch, allowing Freya to have time to think about the future growth of the school.
At this moment, she is also thinking about how to better support the development of every team member, how to attract more adventurous people to join the team, and how to make the workplace more female friendly and inclusive !
During the interview, it was strongly felt that the principal, guides, and administrative staff have fully dedicating themselves, putting all of their hearts and minds into the students.
Behind the seemingly relaxed classroom scenes, there are countless meticulous plans and preparations.
How can students who want to learn erhu and play guitar take music classes together? What are the meanings conveyed in drama? How can the adolescent community prepare lunches that everyone can enjoy within the budget?
For every on the team of Y2MAC, which was established just a year ago, it is a learning experience. Jan pointed out that in New Zealand, it takes adolescents about one to two years to truly adapt to Montessori education. Considering the more authoritative education system in Taiwan, she estimated that students may need two years to truly get used to asking questions and engaging in self-directed, project-based learning.
In a blink of an eye, new students are about to join the Y2MAC family for the upcoming school year. The current 7th graders will become seniors.
Their new task will be to guide visitors and new comers and to introduce the adolescent community to them. Jan has already begun planning her new project, with a focus on the recent COVID-19 pandemic, guiding students to learn about the history of plague and epidemics.
In addition, students will start new small businesses, including making organic soaps and selling them to learn business logic in the real world. Those of you reading this article may be the audience, to whom they intend to sell!
A brand new Montessori middle school landscape is unfolding in Zhudong, with each person holding a different paintbrush yet working together to create the future—a future where students can be themselves, be independent, be willing to take risks, explore the unknown, and be happy to work with others!
Written by Yu-Hsiu Su
Images provided by Y2MAC
Translators: Robert Fox, Jen Hsu／Graduate Institute of Translation and Interpretation, NTNU
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...
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" 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.
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