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Maria Montessori
Dr. Maria Montessori
The Montessori philosophy and method was designed by an extraordinary woman named Dr. Maria Montessori, the first female Scientist of Italy. She constituted a unique and powerful form of education that impacted the world. Her work was influenced by change. Maria did not want to be a teacher, rather she wanted to be different and stand out as a human being that cared more about learning from others rather than teaching them. She wanted to give to, empower, and respect the human being and with those aspects, Maria became a great supporter of the future, and all humanity.
Her Childhood
Her Childhood
Maria was born on August 31st, 1870 in Chiravalle (Ancona), Italy. Maria’s father, Alessandro Montessori, served in the military, and her mother, Renilde Stoppani, was an advent reader. Maria was their only child. During the time of Maria’s upbringing, about 75% of adults could not read, but her mother taught her how to read. As she grew older, she began to see the ways of society change such as religion and education, and this became a theme in her life to deal with reform and change.
While in grade school, she was the best in the area of Math and Science, and she was awarded for her domestic duties. Her parents tried to persuade her to become a teacher, but with much boisterous personality, she boldly stated, “Anything, but a teacher!” Maria had a very strong yet, quick-witted personality. She was very outspoken, and was already a young leader which was very odd in her time, and her studies and academic skills excelled.
Her Education
Her Education
At the age of 18, Maria furthered her education and decided to attend a technical school to become an engineer. But she had a change of heart, and she chose to go to medical school instead. Her father was not a big supporter of her choice. Because of her strong personality, she was the first female to be accepted into an all-boy medical school. The men in her class ridiculed her so much because she was a female. She was harassed by these male professors and students which led her to work in the laboratory at night time. Maria’s attendance of classes with men in the presence of a naked body was deemed inappropriate, and she was required to perform her dissections of cadavers alone. However, Maria didn’t let them get the best of her. She superseded the men in her class. She was the first woman of Italy to become a doctor and she graduated from medical school with honors from the University of Rome in 1896.
In 1898, after Maria graduated she began her practice as a Pediatrician. She attended an Orthophrenic clinic and studied under John-Marc Gaspard Itard (French Physician) and Edward Segun, French Physician, educationist, and Psychiatrist. She was greatly inspired by them both, and was highly impressed by Itard’s study of the “wild boy” named Victor, a little boy who was found living in the wild all alone. This child could not speak and had no self-care. Maria was so amazed with how Itard rehabilitated this child back into society. He focused on training his senses dealing with sight, sound, and touch.
Maria gained so much knowledge through his work. Seguin also continued along with the work of Itard focusing on the boy’s mental abnormalities. He also opened a mental school in Paris, and while Maria continued to study Seguin’s work, she copied his entire book by hand. Seguin also created materials for children based on Itard’s work, and Maria adapted those materials to work with abnormal children at the Orthrophrenic clinic. During the State examinations, the children who were castaways and labeled as dumb performed better than the normal averaged child. That is when Maria understood that schools were not developing the children's human potential.
Her Work
Her Work
In 1898, Maria worked in the clinic in the nervous and mental disease ward. She came into contact with “mentally deficient” children, and she observed that the children had nothing to play with or manipulate. Maria discovered that education was the better way to help children with special needs rather than medicine. In 1900, Maria spoke at the Congress in London on women's rights and child labor.
In 1907, Maria later moved her practice to San Lorenzo, Rome where she discovered some apartments in a rural area that was being rehabilitated. These apartments were supported by parents that worked daily, but had no child care for their children. These parents could not afford to pay for their children to attend school.
Maria visited these apartments only to discover that the place was left in ruins by the children who apparently had no teachings on caring for their environment. The owner of the apartments heard of Maria’s work and asked her if she would take on the care of these children. There were a total of 50 children between the ages of 2 - 6 years old. The children were socially secluded, scared, dirty, and they didn’t like being told what to do. The children's cleanliness was the first need observed by Maria.
She brought in practical life lessons and showed them how to clean themselves and after themselves, and it was a successful lesson! Maria felt that it was very important to clean and take care of themselves, and to have a sense of belonging. She believed the children needed to learn how to take ownership of their environment.
Toys were donated to the school, but the children did not want to use them. Maria used sensorial materials that were used in the Orthrophrenic clinic. They were more interested in the materials that helped develop their senses. Maria could not afford to buy special letters to teach the children how to read or write. So she began working with the children with cursive letters that she made herself out of cardboard and sandpaper. She one day wrote on the board, “If you can read this come and give me a kiss.” To her surprise there was a child who walked up to her and kissed her on the cheek.
Maria believed and discovered when children are set in the right environment that supports their needs, the child can be normalized and deviated behaviors will go away. It was the children who taught her this concept. She followed the children. These children were called “Miracle Children” and this began to spread throughout Italy. Maria's method for these children became a great success! She named the environment "Casa dei Bamini". Italian for "The Children's House".
Her Love Life
Her Love Life
Maria became a co-director at the clinic where she trained children as well as adults. She fell in love with Dr. Giuseppe Montesano, who was the head doctor of the Orthrophrenic clinic, and she became pregnant by him. They had to keep their relationship a secret, because during that time in Italy, it was ruinous to society to have a child out of wedlock. And if they married each other, Maria would be forced to give up her career. Guiseppe’s mother was adamant about the two not marrying each other, and Maria and Guiseppe were devastated. As they tried to console each other, they believed that they were the only two for each other, and decided to make a vow that they would never marry anyone else.
A year later, Guiseppe broke his promise and married another woman. Maria’s heart was broken, and therefore she left the Orthophrenic clinic. Because of this devastating crisis, she left the clinic and university, and was led to place her son into foster care with a family living in the countryside. Tragically, she opted to miss her son’s formative years, and because of this great devastation, many believed this catapulted Maria's success in changing humanity for life.
Maria later was reunited with her son in his teenage years. And he became her interpreter and he proved to be a great assistant in her research. She would tour the world with her son, and she would introduce him to others as her nephew or adopted son. It wasn’t until her death bed when Maria publicly acknowledged Mario Montesano as her birth son.
The Montessori Movement
The Montessori Movement
In 1909, The news spread in Italy about Maria’s first Casa dei Bambini, her school was such a success that she began her first teacher training in Rome. In 1913, She began traveling across the U.S. and conducting trainings. Maria opened a classroom that was designed with big large glass windows for parents and visitors to see how the children were working in the classroom. She called it the “Glass Classroom”.
According to the McClure Magazine, during her travels within the United States, she held seminars and spoke before educational enthusiasts, educators, journalists, and parents. She spoke at the Masonic Temple in Washington D.C., and at Carnegie Hall. She also spoke with educators in Philadelphia where she met Hellen Keller. Famous inventor Alexander Graham Bell and his wife Mabel Hubbard Bell were smitten by Dr. Montessori’s educational method. The Bells became a huge financial support of Montessori and they helped to organize and pay for the international training held in Rome, Italy. Maria taught her course in cooperation with the Montessori American Committee which included the Bells. Maria was the only trainer of her great method, and Anne George was the first and only trained teacher by Maria in the United States. Anne supported and worked on behalf of Maria’s work for several years.
The Graham Bells became very endowed by Maria’s work, they decided to form their own Montessori Educational Association without the approval or consent of Dr. Montessori. This troubled Maria because she was convinced that the information given to the public would not be accurate. “...the fact the method has not yet attained its full development, ...it would be premature to establish training schools which were not under my direct supervision.” - Maria Montessori
Dr. Montessori visited the United States to review the situation of the movement. The Bells planned for 400 people to attend and celebrate Maria’s arrival. She gave lectures in Washington D.C. New York, Pittsburg, and Chicago. In 1914 the Montessori movement spread throughout the U.S. McClure Magazine began publishing Dr. Montessori’s ideas since the beginning of American interest, began promoting her, and showing her movies without Maria’s consent and without paying her for their uses. Maria was dependent on patrons of her trainings which supported her living expenses. She felt betrayed and increasingly skeptical of the American interest in her program. Because of the misrepresentation of Dr. Montessori’s method, she went back to Italy never to return to the United States. -Stacey Kay Zell
"The Glass Classroom" Alexander Graham Bell, Mabel Bell, Maria Montessori, and Anne George
Her Success
Dr. Montessori’s method greatly appealed to many diverse cultures all around the world. Between 1915-1929, she began to travel back and forth to London and Spain conducting her trainings. She opened the first training center in Spain, and traveled much during World War I. After the war she went back to Italy.
In 1931, Maria began discussions with Musselini, the Prime Minister of Italy. He wanted her to sign a peace treaty and a method of educational goals. In 1936, the Civil Spanish War broke out in Spain, and Maria fled to Amsterdam with her son Mario and his 4 children. A woman named Ada Pierson took them in where Maria and her son lived until her death. Maria began the AMI (American Montessori International Association) in Holland.
Ghandi visited Dr. Montessori’s school also during the time of the Civil War. Maria traveled to India and began her teacher training there. During World War II, India was an ally country and Maria was exiled from Spain and had lived there for 7 years. She trained over 1000 teachers and her lectures were translated into her now, most famous book, The Absorbent Mind. In 1920-1930, Maria taught training courses in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy.
In 1946, Maria returned to Holland, and her son, Mario married Ada Pierson who took care of his four children. Maria continued traveling and training teachers world wide. On May 6, 1952 Maria died in Noordwijk aan Zee, Holland. Before her death, she insisted that she be buried where she died because she didn’t want to be known by a specific place of the country or region, but to be known as the Humanitarian that she had become.
Montessori Education has changed the world, and the many lives that were privileged to experience this form of education as trainers, teachers, parents, and children. You will discover that there are other forms of the “Montessori” method that were adapted by other scientists, doctors, and educators, but Dr. Maria Montessori’s method and concrete principles will always remain the same until the end of time.