"Preventing conflicts is the work of politics;
establishing peace is the work of education."

To begin to construct a vision we must understand the characteristics of early adolescence. We must understand the developmental needs of this age. Montessori spoke of five major characteristics of early adolescence, and six commanding needs.

First, it is a social age. In this context the Latin root of social best define it as a derivative from the word socius which means comrade. The adolescent is in an age of comraderie, fellowship, companions, team-mates which lie at the center of the adolescent experience. Peer relationships are crucial; the peer group is their first priority. It is a time for clubs, teams, and gangs. They need to identify. They are dramatically influenced by what their peers think and say. At this age it is a terrible experience to lose a close friend; it is even worse not to have a friend. It is to their friends that teen-agers confide their problems, tell their secrets, and share their dreams.

A Classroom Study of Socrates.

Second, it is a thinking and critical age. Teen-agers are terribly critical of themselves, and each other, but especially of adults. It is a time to object, to argue, and to analyze. It is a time when adolescents see the persuasiveness of opposing reasons. The child of 10 and 11 has a powerful mind, but it is turned toward the universe; the adolescent has the same powerful mind, but it is turned toward himself, his group. They need to know how they feel, what they want. The need to reach their own conclusions. The need to listen to each other.

The young child demands, "Help me to do it myself.'' The adolescent demands, "Help me to think for myself." This is a key phrase.

In early adolescence, this thinking is not detached; it is thinking connected with feelings. They are capable of very mature thought if it is framed within a personal context. They need adults to listen to their reasons. They will not co-operate well unless they agree; they will not listen well to authority with sharp edges. They need to be empowered to discuss, to find solutions.

The purpose of this critical nature is that it is a time for examining, developing, and/or finding values. Adolescence is a moral and ethical age, at least in the sense that it is a time for developing one's own morals.

Third, it is an age of boundless energy. Teen-agers are constantly going, talking, moving, acting, talking, working, playing, talking, planning, etc. This energy flows from life's vital force, Montessori referred to, the elan vital. The symbol for this is a flame. Like early adolescence this flame has a special intensity. It can burn out of control, but if channeled, it can move mountains. It is an age where one has an astonishing capacity to work.

What is the purpose of all this energy?

One purpose is to sustain the spirit of adventure. An odyssey is the proper metaphor for this period of human development. Each adolescent is a young Odysseus; each is on a personal odyssey. Adventure brings challenge. The purpose of adventure is self-discovery.

Fourth, it is a period of sexual maturation. It is the age of puberty. It is a time of sexual discovery; what it means/feels like to be a man, what it means/feels like to be a woman. Clearly, boy/girl relationships are critical. Their challenge is a difficult one - to understand profoundly what is expected of them as adult men and women.

Hiking in Virginia During the Odyssey Trip.

Fifth, early adolescence is an intensely humanistic age. Teen-agers must confront and deal with human nature in a way unique in terms of development. They must for the first time deal with the powerful dilemmas, mysterious forces, and contradictions of life.

It is an age that is I - centered, not just the individual, personal I, but the I as a human being. The dramatic physical changes of early adolescence create a heightened self awareness. In this context Chaucer Canterbury Tales might be considered a metaphor of adolescence. The adolescent is on an extended journey (an odyssey, a pilgrimage), and there is the intense sharing of their very human stories (tales). As a result of this sharing there is the possibility for a remarkable growth in understanding and empathy for their companions.

Because early adolescence is such a special humanistic time, the adolescent mediates human nature. In the adolescent the dreams, possibilities, and potentials of life clash with the present and the past, with the real, with the might-have-beens, with compromises and with weakness.

Along with these major characteristics there are several powerful needs. There is, of necessity, a dramatic interplay between these needs and characteristics. Montessori's six commanding needs of early adolescence follows:

1. Early adolescents need to do meaningful work They need to work with their hands; they need to build and create. The hand and the mind have a special connection in early adolescence. They must come to know how ennobling work is.
2. They need to be empowered. They need the chance to make decisions, plan activities, be leaders. They need to make mistakes. ( Interesting to note that Montessori in the early nineteen hundreds used the descriptive word of "empowerment".)
3. The need to build community. They need to learn how to live with each other; those that they like and those that they dislike. They need to learn to live with adults.
4. They need to be challenged. They need challenges because they come to know themselves. They must try many things; they must sample all of life.
5. They need the land, they need the earth. They need to camp and hike, they need to climb mountains. They need to learn orienteering, they need scouting. They need Outward Bound programs because the land is their sensorial and practical life environment. They need, as Montessori suggests, to work the land. They need to learn conservation. They must learn to be stewards of the land as the land is their reality base. Experience with the land places one in their natural environment.
6. They need to develop a personal vision. This need is the commanding need of adolescence as a whole. We need this vision to sustain us, to nourish us throughout our life. It is this vision that defines our great tasks in life. The development of a personal vision is the logical next step in cosmic education.