Grace & Courtesy in Ashland

I love when I have the opportunity to see our Montessori educated students in action in the real world. I'm not talking about them spouting off Pythagorean's Theorem in causal conversation or discussing the latest development in the Russian - Ukraine conflict (although those are wonderful moments). I'm talking about seeing a group of middle school students displaying grace and courtesy while out in public...

Today started off with breakfast at the hotel as usual. We then headed out to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) for our first workshop which focused on costume designing for the play The Tempest. The students were able to create their own costumes for major characters from the play after analyzing the text for clues as to their assigned character's personality.

We then headed out to Shakespeare Books & Antiques. It was here that the students became engrossed in the "banned books" section. It was entertaining to hear the students' outcry about The Giver and Animal Farm being on the banned book list seeing as we read and studied them both this year in class.

Lunch was made and consumed back at the hotel and then we headed out once again to OSF to see The Tempest.

Now, back to that grace and courtesy piece...

During the play, there was another middle school group sitting behind our students. Throughout the entire play these students were talking incessantly, laughing loudly, and kicking the backs of the chairs. The girls in our class had politely turned around and asked the offenders to please be quiet. The responses of the students were less than Montessori.

Snickering, rude comments, and more kicking of the chairs ensued.

Our girls were frustrated, irritated, and utterly appalled, but they chose to ignore them. Why? Because as they told me, they did not want to further disrupt the performance and coming down to their level was not an option.

Throughout this trip all the students have been extremely polite and gracious with the people they have interacted with. Pleases and thank yous, appropriate tipping at restaurants, sharing with each other, respecting all adults they have encountered - these are the things our adolescents are putting out into the world.

Now, keeping their hotel rooms clean is a horse of a different color...

Your children ROCK!
Mrs. Mac

Tranquil Lithia Park

An amazing evening filled with lively conversation and delectable pasta. 

The students were excited to find this peace pole on Main Street.