The Junior program is an educational environment appropriate to the 12-15 year old
student. These three years of development require a special and specific attention
that is, in many ways, similar and equivalent to that needed from birth to 3 years.
Dr. Montessori determined that there are three planes of learning:
The First Plane is the years from birth through 6 when the child is seeking factual knowledge of his world; What is this? What is the name of that? During these years the child is constructing the individual. Presenting the world as fact is the function of the primary classroom.
The Second Plane is the years from 6 through 12 when the child is seeking explanation: Why is this true? How does this work? The child is constructing the social being, the moral sense, the sense of responsibility. The elementary classroom presents the universe to the child and it is grasped through reason and sensible imagination.
The Third Plane is the years 12 through 18 and Dr. Montessori proposed that the education syllabus be divided into three parts:
- The opening up of ways to expression.
- The fulfillment of those fundamental needs that are formative forces in the development of the soul of man.
- Theoretical knowledge and practical experience to make the individual a part of civilization of the day.
She proposed free choice of all kinds of artistic occupations, including music, language, art. Some activities would be for individuals, some for groups.
She recommended moral education, mathematics, languages, and general education classified into three groups:
- The study of the earth and living things.
- The study of human progress and the building of civilization.
- The study of the history of mankind.