"We must help children from the very beginning. We must give them the right environment because they have to adapt themselves to a strange new world."
Dr. Maria Montessori
Who was Dr. Maria Montessori?
Maria Tecla Artemisia Montessori was born in 1870, in the small Italian town Chiaravalle.
Motivated by her parents, she pursued an education beyond the norms for women of that era. She attended a technical high school, typically reserved for boys, where she thrived in mathematics and science. Her aspirations led her to further her education at the Regio Istituto Tecnico Leonardo da Vinci, driven by her dream to become an engineer—a profession then considered inconceivable for a woman.
Upon her graduation in 1890, she chose to pursue a career in medicine. She became one of the first female doctors in Italy, receiving her medical degree in 1896.
However, her true passion was education. She devoted her life to understanding children's needs and abilities.
Her initial work was with cognitively delayed and disabled children at the Orthophrenic School in Rome. There, she established the foundations of what would become known as the Montessori Method.
On January 6, 1907, she opened her first school, Casa dei Bambini ("The Children's House") in the San Lorenzo district of Rome. It was there, in a one-classroom school in an impoverished neighborhood that the Early Childhood Program was extended.
The Montessori Method then began to spread worldwide.
Maria Montessori travelled around the world, opening schools, holding lectures and training teachers. This didn't stop her from focusing on children, though. It was during this period, that she laid the foundations of the Erdkinder Program (focusing on adolescents) and the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Program (a unique approach to religious formation for children).
During World War II, Dr. Montessori found herself in India. As a citizen of Italy, which was at war with England, she was confined to Madras and Kodaikanal until the war's end. During this time, she further developed her educational method, focusing on Cosmic Education, the cornerstone of the elementary curriculum.
Montessori wrote many books and articles on education throughout her life, sharing her insights with educators everywhere.
Dr. Maria Montessori passed away in 1952, but her legacy continued through her son, grandchildren, and the numerous followers of her methodology around the globe.
A more detailed biography can be found (among others) on the website of Association Montessori Internationale (AMI), the organization she created to safeguard and spread her method.
The Montessori Method...
Drawing from five decades of observation, Dr. Montessori revolutionized education.
The Montessori Method offers a holistic approach to learning, focusing on "the whole child". It is based on the belief that children are naturally curious and have an inherent desire to learn. It emphasizes independence, freedom within limits, and hands-on learning, taking into account the special developmental needs of children in various ages (Dr. Montessori called those the "Four Stages of Development", roughly falling between 0-6, 6-12, 12-18, 18-24).
At the heart of the method is the principle, "respect for the child", as "the child is both a hope and a promise for mankind". Everything done in the classroom (or at home) is done with the aim to allow the individual child to meet her potential.
Another important principle is "hands-on learning". Science has proved long ago what Dr. Montessori concluded from her observations: "the hand is the instrument of intelligence". The child needs to move around and to manipulate objects and gain experience by touching and handling.
"Hands-on learning" is complemented by another principle, "from concrete to abstract": the child first learns by manipulating real, 3D objects and only gradually proceeds towards more abstraction.
According to Montessori philosophy, the teacher's role is to guide and nurture the child's growth, rather than enforcing "rote learning" via conventional teaching techniques. This is why many Montessori educators prefer to be called "guides" rather than teachers.
The Montessori classroom is not a place where "children, like butterflies mounted on pins, are fastened each to his place" (Dr. Maria Montessori). On the contrary.
A Montessori classroom is a space for the children (hence the first name given to a Montessori classroom, "Casa dei Bambini" - the Children's House): in there everything is designed to support the child's independence and to encourage her to move around and explore.
The low, open shelves allow children to access and choose their work on their own, without the help of an adult. The didactic material on the shelves is unique, as well. The scientifically designed, beautifully made and self-correcting Montessori Materials stimulate the child's senses and promote cognitive, emotional and social growth beyond "mere" learning.
Because children in different developmental stages have different needs, the classroom (the Prepared Environment) and the things found on the shelves (the Montessori Materials) are also different.
For example, Dr. Montessori developed five curriculum areas for the "Casa" (serving children between 3 and 6 years): Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Mathematics, and Culture. Each area features a unique set of "Montessori Materials", like the Sensorial Area the iconic Pink Tower or the Knobbed Cylinders; or the Mathematics Area the beautiful Golden Beads.
Each Material is presented in a specific time, something Dr. Montessori called a "Sensitive Period" (a window of time during which the child is particularly receptive to certain types of learning and development).
Some of those Materials are also present in the Elementary Classroom, but are used differently - along with many others, specifically developed with the 6-12 child in mind (like the Wooden Hierarchical Material or the Impressionistic Charts). It is an age, when the child is entering a crucial stage of development. It is characterized by an intense search for her place in the world and the urge to do "big work".
This is, of course, a very short description of the Montessori Method, barely scratching the surface.
Consider taking the courses offered for adults in The Montessori Nook if you wish to gain more insight!
It's difficult to imagine that there was once a time without child-sized furniture or cutlery. When children were expected "to be seen, but not heard". When six-year-old children were taught using the same methods as adults.
Indeed, for centuries, that was precisely the case.
It was Dr. Maria Montessori who changed it all.
