Education
Montessori Farm School ‘Folwark Białka’ is a unique place.
The core aims of its academic program, and the prepared environment, are to introduce and prepare its students for the next stages of education, while equipping them with the right tools and competencies that will enable them to become independent adults.
Age 12-18 is a unique period in our lives, which Montessorians refer to as the new birth. It is a time of accelerated physical, psychological and social growth.
It is during this sensitive period in which young people stop seeing themselves as children and start on a journey towards the discovery of their identity, capacities, and potential in society. It is a time that heralds the inevitable transition into adulthood.
We believe it is during these 12-18 years of age that young people will greatly benefit from the program offered by our Montessori Farm School with its group diversity, strong emphasis on community and inclusive values. The students will not only gain academic knowledge but will also be able to apply these skills in everyday life practices.
Our school is a place where they can discover their talents, strengths, manage failures, recognize their potential and discover what they are good and effective at.
Educational Program
Montessori Farm School is an educational project where academic subjects can be expanded upon and put into real life practice. It is a school that nurtures a connection with nature through the keeping of farm animals, preparing and cultivating land for farming, maintaining an orchard, a garden, an apiary as well as two ponds. All of these are some of the most important sources for learning both as a means and as an object. Together with a carpentry shop and a workshop our unique school is well equipped to ensure our students will acquire the practical abilities and competencies essential to go on to be independent and confident adults.
Students live at the farm throughout their years of education. They become fully fledged citizens of the school while building a community based on strong values and inclusion, of which they create together with their teachers and mentors who also live and work at the school.
Our qualified educators/specialists offer the highest standard of academic and pastoral care. Under their watchful eye and in this safe environment, they ensure that the students may continue to walk on the path towards self-discovery, as well as find their own place in society.
Community / Study / Work
Experiencing real life presents us with everyday challenges that young people must learn to overcome: beginning with getting up on time, feeding the animals, cleaning up, doing the shopping, preparing meals along with academic work and the work to be done on the farm.
The jobs and tasks assigned to the children have clear aims: sawing and reaping, cultivating productive animals, gathering and using all the goods and resources of the farm, and at the very end earning their own money to capitalize on all the effort put towards the realization of those aims.
The students learn how to market and sell their homegrown vegetables, honey from the apiary, preserves, and handicrafts. Working together and the ability to earn money have a great influence on the students’ self-esteem, efficiency and allow them to see how much they contribute to society. It is indeed wonderful to be able to start something from scratch, sell it, earn money and feel a deep satisfaction accompanied by this empowering thought: “I can do it”. Being able to share this experience with others strengthens our feeling of belonging and allows us to understand teamwork and equal distribution of responsibility. It is precisely this form of education that helps instill, in the characters of young people, qualities such as reciprocity, respect, hard work, responsibility for yourself and others, the ability to make decisions and deal with the consequences of the outcomes.
The students of Montessori Farm School live and grow under the care, and in the presence of us. We are experienced and dedicated adults, and they learn by watching us at work, and in our relationships. As specialists and teachers, we acknowledge that being a trustworthy role model is a great responsibility. We also appreciate that working with adolescents offers an inexhaustible source of inspiration. It is also a remarkable privilege and as mentors and companions we are proud to be part of their journey to adulthood.
We cordially invite you to join our school and be part of this unique educational project in Poland.
See you at Białka!