Maria Montessori was born in Italy on
August 31, 1870 to upper middle class parents. Her father was an accountant and
her mother, a housewife, was a well-educated, avid reader. Montessori showed her
independent spirit early. Following, elementary school, she insisted on
attending a technical school to learn to be an engineer, a profession usually
designated for men. In 1892, Maria
became the first female student of medicine
at the University of Rome and on July 10, 1896, she became the first female
doctor in Italy. Maria was hired as a "children's" doctor at the University and
later as a professor. In addition, she was invited to represent the women of
Italy to speak at an International Women's Congress held in Berlin. This was the
first of many international lectures given by Montessori: speaking about women's
rights, social and political concerns, child development and about educational
philosophy. In addition to lecturing, she wrote many magazine articles and
numerous books that have now been read throughout the world.
As an assistant doctor at the university's psychiatric clinic,
she visited Rome's hospitals for mentally ill and disabled children to see if
the university clinic might be able to help some of them. She researched the
works of two French doctors, Itard and Seguin who had devoted their lives to the
education of mentally disabled children. When the state decided to open an
Orthophrenic School in 1898, Dr. Montessori was appointed the director. Here she
developed her method of education. Montessori instinctively knew that this
method, which enabled these children to learn much faster and easier, would also
benefit "normal" children. In 1901, she left the Orthophrenic School to enroll
once again at the University of Rome. This time, she would study psychology and
philosophy.
In 1907 Dr. Montessori was given an opportunity that would
launch her Method to International acclaim. She was asked to run a "Children's
House" for young children who lived in the slum district of San Lorenzo. She was
put in charge of caring for, and educating 50, two to six year old children. The
first "Casa Dei Bambini" opened in San Lorenzo on January 6, 1907. She used
materials that had previously been designed to test the children's abilities and
showed the children how the material should be used and allowed them to
"work/play" with them. She then observed the children to see how they learned.
She considered the teacher a guide who helps children explore their environment
rather than one who imparts knowledge. Through this observation, she came to
conclusions about child development. Her conclusions continue to be supported by
today's brain research. She developed extensive materials for the children to
utilize. In today's terms, a "complete" Montessori Primary classroom probably
has in excess of $25,000.00 worth of materials for the children to work with.
In the United States, articles about Dr. Montessori and her new
ideas about education appeared in McClure's Magazine in 1911 and 1912. Issues
were also reprinted in England. Alexander Graham Bell told Sam McClure that he
considered the articles about the Montessori Method the "most important work
that the magazine had ever done". Dr. Montessori was invited to come to the
United States by Bell and McClure and she arrived in December of 1913. She spoke
twice in Carnegie Hall and in many cities between New York and Chicago. The
first Montessori school to open in the United States was in Tarrytown, NY.
Because Dr. Montessori wanted to keep close control on how her method was
applied, the development of Montessori schools in the U.S. was slower than
elsewhere in the world. In 1916, while war raged across Europe, Dr. Montessori
gave her first international training course for teachers in Barcelona, Spain;
185 students enrolled from Spain, Portugal, Great Britain, and the United
States. The training courses brought the Montessori Method to most of the
countries in Europe and South America. In 1929, the Association Montessori
Internationale (AMI) was founded in Amsterdam with Dr. Montessori as president.
Every continent, except Antarctica had Montessori schools. In 1931, Benito
Mussolini ordered all teachers to take an oath of loyalty to Fascism. When the
Montessori teachers refused, he closed all of their schools. Montessori returned
to Spain where conditions were not much better. General Francisco Franco had
gained dictatorship. In Germany, Adolf Hitler ordered her books to be burnt.
Maria established her new home in Holland. Mahatma Gandhi had visited the Casa
Dei Bambini in Rome and he and other Indian leaders invited Dr. Montessori to
hold teacher training courses in their country. Maria, and her son Mario, stayed
in India for seven years and trained more than a thousand teachers.
In later years Montessori spoke often about Global Peace. When a
reporter asked Maria what nationality she was now, Maria answered, "I live in
Heaven, my country is a star which turns around the sun and it is called Earth".
Dr. Montessori died on May 6, 1952 at the age of 81. She was buried near her
last home in Noordwijk, Holland. She requested the message on her tomb to read,
"I beg the dear all-powerful children to unite with me for the building of peace
in Man and the World". At the family gravesite in Rome, the tablet reads:
"Famous scientist and pedagogue who dedicated her entire life to the spiritual
renewal and to the progress of humanity through the child."
became the first female student of medicine
at the University of Rome and on July 10, 1896, she became the first female
doctor in Italy. Maria was hired as a "children's" doctor at the University and
later as a professor. In addition, she was invited to represent the women of
Italy to speak at an International Women's Congress held in Berlin. This was the
first of many international lectures given by Montessori: speaking about women's
rights, social and political concerns, child development and about educational
philosophy. In addition to lecturing, she wrote many magazine articles and
numerous books that have now been read throughout the world. 
International acclaim. She was asked to run a "Children's
House" for young children who lived in the slum district of San Lorenzo. She was
put in charge of caring for, and educating 50, two to six year old children. The
first "Casa Dei Bambini" opened in San Lorenzo on January 6, 1907. She used
materials that had previously been designed to test the children's abilities and
showed the children how the material should be used and allowed them to
"work/play" with them. She then observed the children to see how they learned.
She considered the teacher a guide who helps children explore their environment
rather than one who imparts knowledge. Through this observation, she came to
conclusions about child development. Her conclusions continue to be supported by
today's brain research. She developed extensive materials for the children to
utilize. In today's terms, a "complete" Montessori Primary classroom probably
has in excess of $25,000.00 worth of materials for the children to work with.
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