Dr Maria Montessori
Dr. Maria Montessori was a prominent thinker of her time. Nominated for three Nobel Peace Prizes, her supporters included Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Helen Keller and Mahatma Gandhi.
Physician, educator and humanitarian
Dr. Maria Montessori was the first woman to practice medicine in Italy. A scholar of biology, psychiatry, anthropology, and medicine, she graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Rome in 1896. She specialised in psychiatry and paediatrics, with a profound interest in child development, their spontaneous learning process, independent choice and interaction with their environment.
A determined young woman
Maria Montessori was born on 31st August 1870 in Chiaravalle, Italy. Her family relocated to Rome in 1875, where Maria attended the local state school. Undeterred by rejection, Maria aspired to become a doctor. With Pope Leo XIII’s endorsement, Maria eventually gained admission to the University of Rome in 1890 – becoming one of Italy’s pioneering female medical students. Despite facing many gender-based obstacles, Maria achieved her dream and qualified as a doctor in July 1896.
Early influences and career
Maria soon became involved in the Women’s Rights movement, gaining renown for her high levels of medical proficiency and her respectful treatment of patients across all social classes.
In 1897, Maria volunteered in a research program at the University of Rome’s psychiatric clinic. She developed a deep interest in the needs of children with learning disabilities, particularly in the work of two early 19th century Frenchmen, Jean-Marc Itard, known for working with the ‘wild boy of Aveyron’, and Edouard Séguin, his student.
Dr. Montessori was appointed as co-director of a new institution called the Orthophrenic School – the nation’s first training institute for special-education teachers. In 1898, Maria birthed her son Mario, who would become an ally in her work of education and social reform.
Casa dei Bambini
In 1901, Maria began her own studies of educational philosophy and anthropology, lecturing and teaching students. From 1904-1908, she was a lecturer at the Pedagogic School of the University of Rome, and had an opportunity to introduce her materials and practices to engage latchkey children in San Lorenzo,
There, in 1907, she opened the first Casa dei Bambini (Children’s House) bringing with her some of the educational materials she had developed at the Orthophrenic School.
The Montessori approach spreads
Dr. Montessori put many different activities and other materials into the children’s environment but kept only those that engaged them. She came to realise that creating environments supportive of natural development empowered children to educate themselves.
By 1909, Maria gave her first training course in her new approach to around 100 students, laying the foundation for her first book published that same year in Italy. Translated into English as ‘The Montessori Method’ in 1912 in the United States, it later reached readers in 20 languages.
A period of great expansion in the Montessori approach followed. In 1929, Maria and Mario established the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) to maintain the integrity of her work and to oversee teacher training.
The outbreak of war
The rise of fascism impacted the Montessori movement. By 1933, the Nazis closed all the Montessori schools in Germany, likewise with Mussolini in Italy.
Fleeing the Spanish Civil War in 1936, Maria and Mario travelled to England, then to the Netherlands. A three-month lecture tour of India in 1939 turned into a seven-year stay due to war outbreak.
In India, Maria began the development of her approach to support the 6-12 child through ‘Cosmic Education’. Her 70th birthday request to free Mario was granted, and together they trained over a thousand Indian teachers.
Humanitarian legacy
In 1946, they returned to the Netherlands and the following year she addressed UNESCO on the theme ‘Education and Peace’. Maria was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in three consecutive years: 1949, 1950 and 1951.
Her last public engagement was the 9th International Montessori Congress in London in 1951. She died in the Netherlands in 1952, at the age of 82, bequeathing the legacy of her work to her son Mario. She is buried in Noordwijk near Hague where the AMI headquarters resides today.
Montessori worldwide
Because Montessori education is focused on the science of human development, the approach has withstood the test of time and culture. Today the Montessori approach has been implemented in approximately 20,000 Montessori schools around the world.
With over 100 years of practice, Montessori has worldwide recognition as an educational approach that supports natural human development and helps children achieve their fullest potential.