Planes of Development
At each plane of development, a particular level of independence is attained.
In the first plane,
the child strives for functional independence. Dr.Montessori told the story of a young child who actually said to his teacher,“Help me to do it by myself.” (Montessori,“Four Planes of Education,”)
In the second plane,
this changes to: “Help me to think for myself,” as the child works towards intellectual independence.
In the third plane,
the adolescent moves toward social/emotional independence; “Help me find myself.”
In the fourth plane,
early adulthood, the young adult strives for economic independence; “Help me to support myself.”
Sub-phases of Development
In addition, each plane contains two sub-phases, each lasting about three years. These sub-phases also parallel the movement of creation and development. In general, the first three years of each plane are for creation, and the last three years for development, or “crystallization.”
During the last three years of the 6 – 12 plane, what has been created is developed and solidified. Think of the process of “crystallization,” what solidifies must already be there.
Second Plane of Development
The second plane child is so driven to learn, he is delighted by “big work.”Sometimes “big work” means a long division problem that stretches to 15 pieces of graph paper (the children laugh when they say “loooooong division”); sometimes “big work” might be a report on animals - all the animals in the world, or all of the micro-organisms that live in a single drop of water; and sometimes “big work” means, “big mess”- a huge paper-mache model of a volcano that really erupts! The children’s organization is internal, so while there may seem to be gross disorder in their workspace, they know exactly where everything is and who is doing what.
Another equally important aspect to the child’s work is social and moral development. The child is intensely interested in the concepts of justice, fairness and has a keen awareness of injustice.
The second plane child wants to create his own value systems and understand things on his own terms. He wants to work and play with others in a group but the group wants to create their own structure and rules. Primary Montessori teachers often remark that the children are more interested in arguing and debating over the rules of the game than actually playing the game.
As they mature, the children learn that becoming a member of a group requires a commitment from each individual to the group, and in order to be part of the group,each member must freely choose to obey the rules or principles. This is readily observed in the 9 to 12 age group.
It is difficult to practice social relations if we are only working from the imagination and the abstract, and so the child’s intellectual work is always within a social context. Remember that the hand is the instrument of the mind, and work of the hand fixes the child’s attention on the task, so didactic materials are given as an aid to the imagination and the abstract mind.
When social, moral, and intellectual work is united through the exploration of the universe, there arises in the child a profound sense of wonder and admiration for the interconnectedness of all life. This leads to the development of a sense of responsibility, as the child begins to wonder, “Who am I?” and,“What will be my contribution to this shared life?” This is the developmental task of the second plane.
Further Information
Children between the ages of 6 and 12 are developing their moral compass - this is the age when the social personality develops. Find out more in this article.