Dr. Maria Montessori

Montessori education was founded in 1907 by Dr. Maria Montessori who was, in many ways, ahead of her time. Born in the town of Chiaravalle, in the province of Ancona, Italy, in 1870, she became the first female physician in Italy upon her graduation from medical school in 1896. She worked in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology and education and based her educational methods on scientific observation of children's learning processes. She saw a great need for reform in the educational system of her day, just as we see a need for reform in our educational system today.

     Maria Montessori's goal was to develop the whole personality of the child which lies dormant within, waiting to be brought forth. This is the original intended meaning of the word 'education' from its Latin root word 'educare' (pronounced 'e-doo-kah-ray'), which means 'to lead forth'. Dr. Montessori believed that children learn best by doing, not by passively accepting other people's ideas and pre-existing knowledge. She also believed that each child is born with a unique potential that is waiting to be revealed with guidance, rather than as a "blank slate" waiting to be written upon. "A child's work," she wrote, "is to create the man he will become. An adult works to perfect the environment, but a child works to perfect himself."

     At the age of twenty-eight, Dr. Montessori became the director of a school for mentally disabled children. She spent eleven hours a day at the school and worked late into the night at home also on this project. After two years under her guidance, these mentally disabled children, who formerly had been considered ineducable, took a school examination along with normal children and passed successfully. Educators called Dr. Montessori a miracle worker. Her response was that if mentally disabled children could be brought to the level of normal children, what was the potential of "normal" children?

     In 1906 she was given the responsibility of starting a school for the children of working parents in the San Lorenzo slum district of Rome. With a minimal budget, she contracted a carpenter to make child-sized furniture and equipment of her own design. She began this school with 60 unruly children under the age of six and it became known as the Casa dei Bambini, or "Children's House." What ultimately became the Montessori method of education developed there, based upon Montessori's scientific observations of these children's almost effortless ability to absorb knowledge from their surroundings, as well as their tireless interest in manipulating the materials she provided. Every piece of equipment, every exercise, every method Montessori developed was based on what she observed children to do "naturally," by themselves, unassisted by adults.

     The news of her amazing success soon spread around the world and people came from far and wide to see the children for themselves. Gradually, her work became known and practiced world-wide. She refused to patent her name or work because she wanted to see this approach to life grow freely, and it has. Sometimes the name "Montessori" has been used in schools where the method is not fully practiced. However, careful evaluation of a school and its staff to see if they are affiliated with one of the two major Montessori organizations (AMS, American Montessori Society, or AMI, Association Montessori Internationale) can help parents know whether a school they are considering is "true" Montessori or not.

     Maria Montessori made her first visit to the United States in 1913, the same year that Alexander Graham Bell and his wife Mabel founded the Montessori Educational Association at their Washington, DC, home. Among her other strong American supporters were Thomas Edison and Helen Keller. In 1915, She was invited to appear at Carnegie Hall in New York. She was then invited to set up a classroom at the Panama-Pacific International Exhibition in San Francisco so that more interested people could observe her methods. A room was built with a glass wall behind which spectators sat and watched the children. Twenty-one children, all completely new to a Montessori environment, attended for four months. The observation seats were filled every day and the two gold medals awarded for education at the Panama-Pacific International Exhibition both went to the Montessori class.

     In 1922, she was appointed a government inspector of schools in her native Italy, but because of her opposition to Mussolini's fascism, she was forced to leave Italy in 1934. In 1938, she founded a series of teacher training courses in India in 1939 and in 1940, when India entered World War II, she and her son, Mario Montessori, were interned as enemy aliens, although she was still permitted to conduct training courses. After World War II, Dr. Montessori's concern with education for peace intensified and she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times: in 1949, 1950, and 1951. Her motto was: "Averting war is the work of politicians; establishing peace is the work of education".

     Maria Montessori died in 1952 in Noordwijk, Holland, after training directors in many countries and having devoted her life to the interrelated work of peace and education. Now, nearly a century after the first "Casa dei Bambini", Montessori education is found all over the world, spanning ages from birth to adolescence. It is estimated that there are about 4,000 Montessori schools in the United States and about 7,000 worldwide.

     Maria Montessori, a wonderfully gifted individual, revealed many of the mysteries, not only of childhood, but also of human nature. Her books are read all over the world, in many languages. The significance of her discoveries is yet to be fully understood as much of her work is still being translated and compiled, although the principles of her teaching and their various practical expressions are gradually being recognized by other theorists and practitioners in the larger educational system. Modern kindergarten classrooms use the child-sized furniture and many didactic materials first introduced by Maria Montessori or inspired by her. Such current concepts as individualized learning, manipulative/hands-on learning, combined age groups, team teaching and open classrooms reflect many of her early insights.