"Teaching creative writing to the students in the MASH program was an energizing and enriching experience for me. Our weekly gatherings quickly became the highlight of my working week. The students were inventive and imaginative, and willing to try things that were outside their comfort zones. And where else will you find teenagers running to greet you and show you their homework, even before you've had time to take off your coat? In my experience, the MASH program is a wonderful place for students to transition from curious children to thoughtful young adults."
Miranda Hill - Creative Writing Specialist - Winner 2011 Journey Award for Fiction
"I would also like to say that I appreciate you giving me the opportunity to be a part of your school. The kids were amazing and the atmosphere you have created for the students is excellent. I would be thrilled to continue to be a part of your school and I look forward to the future with MASH."
David Warchuck - Kinesiologist/Fitness and Health Specialist
This month's articles are from our very own DVMS Montessori parents. They are inspiring, heart wrenching, and thoughtful. They include discouraged Moms, baby birds, and even feces. Please take a minute to learn a little more about the DVMS community.
I included the quotes above because I want to tell you about the highlight of my year, which has been watching my son Giulian embrace and celebrate his best self as a result of his experience in our adolescent program.
We hear these same type of comments from everyone who works with the adolescent students enrolled here in our Montessori Adolescent School of Hamilton (MASH) program.
It is a long road to creating capable, contributing teenagers. You need a community of adolescents that work together in an 'adult' society. At MASH they cook meals, wash dishes, mop floors, and even clean toilets as a part of their contribution to their community. All the while, exceeding the academic expectations of most Middle Schoolers.
Teenagers are drawn to real life challenges, just like Casa students are drawn to practical life. At first, many adolescents struggle against these new responsibilities, but in time they take pride in their new found 'adult' capabilities and eventually look to embrace more and more challenges and responsibilities.
Here at MASH, our children now have roles like finance, garden, kitchen, and shopping managers. We even have a bee manager. But what is most impressive about these children is how they engage with the world. They imbue the opposite of that surly, cool attitude that society ascribes to teenagers. Instead, they look adults in the eye and answer questions, all the while offering their own unique characters.
My involvement in the development and growth of this program has been both more challenging and more fulfilling than any project I have ever been a part of. Thanks to the staff here at MASH and DVMS for sharing this journey with me.
My son and his classmates are leaving Friday for Mexico to "snorkel over coral reefs collecting data for vital research, swim with sea lions, kayak beneath the island cliffs of Espiritu Santo, and study ancient cultures."
Wish I was a kid!!!