At Wildwood Secondary, our mission is to provide a learner-centered middle school education grounded in real-world experiences that honors the capacity of adolescents to take ownership of their education and engage as citizens of the world. Wildwood Secondary prepares students to be successful in high-school and beyond by inspiring the joyful discovery of self and a passion for learning and independent thinking.
As I watched my children grow in so many ways at Aggieland Country School (an AMS certified Montessori School in College Station, TX), I realized that I didn’t want their hands-on, getting-outside, follow-your-interests education to end after 6th grade. My kids love that they get to explore at school on a daily basis, and it has been a joy to watch them grow.
I began teaching gardening at Aggieland Country School when my oldest was in kindergarten. I have a PhD in botany, so when I asked the teacher what I could do for her as a volunteer toting a toddler, she said, “You could take over gardening!” And took over, I did. I created lesson plans, learned a LOT about how to work with preschoolers, and most of all I learned to harness the excitement that they already have for learning about nature. My kindergartner moved up to first grade, and I was asked to teach gardening for the whole school, from 3-year-olds through 6th grade.
For the past 5 years, every child at Aggieland has come outside with me to plant seeds, take nature walks, sing silly songs about plant parts, and to otherwise explore and appreciate nature. Things don’t always go according to plan, but I always see sparks of joy and excitement on the faces of the kids of all ages. Some kids are so excited to be outside and to share what they know about plants that they can’t help but just shout about it! While that isn’t always compatible with teaching, I have learned that to come along side the child and harness that passion is far better than to demand silence and compliance and risk snuffing out the spark.
As my children moved into the lower and now the upper elementary, I have learned about Montessori principles and practices along with them. I know now that at the end of elementary they are moving away from the materials and manipulatives in order to do more thinking in the abstract, a skill they will likely continue to develop until they are about 16.
I understand from watching my children that they crave real-world skills and authentic experiences, not dumbed-down versions, and definitely not using “kid” versions of tools. They want to program actual computers, learn to use the real power tools, earn actual money, and above all, understand how the world outside home and school works so that they can start to see their place in it.
As my oldest son was starting 5th grade, I learned about the explosive amount of brain development that is happening for adolescents, and that how they use their brains reinforces brain pathways that they will take with them into adulthood. I felt some pressure to do right by my children during the middle school years, but didn't feel like any of the options available to us in our community were the right fit.
I have friends and cousins who home school their kids, and I can see the many advantages of that. However, I also have two children who LOVE to be out and about, spending time with friends. And even though their school environment has been small (their elementary school is full at 24 students TOTAL), they would get restless if we suddenly started to stay home. Me too!!
Wildwood Secondary was born from a need for something different for middle school aged kids in our community. I hope to keep that spark that my gardening students were so eager to share, because let’s face it – if kids are so excited about what they are learning that they are shouting about it, they are soaking it in, and craving more. And if that is the case, my mission is accomplished!
Dr. Jill West, president, Wildwood Secondary Board of Directors
