A Quick History on Maria Montessori

Maria Montessori (pronounced MON-tuh-SORE-ee) was a woman who defied odds and improved the world for the better with her groundbreaking methods in education. She was the first woman in Italy to graduate as a doctor of medicine, the third woman to do so in Europe, and began the work that would put her on the path to great success at the University Hospital in Rome.

There, she was assigned work with children deemed to have mental deficiencies. After working with and studying the children she theorized that the children weren’t naturally having these issues, but that they weren’t properly equipped to face the challenges of their environment. It was with those children that she started to develop educational strategies that Montessori schools still use today.

In 1907 she was able to test her theory and build on those strategies with children living in an impoverished area of Rome. ‘Casa dei Bambini’ was opened in the neighborhood of San Lorenzo for children 3 to 6 years old- the age of children who couldn’t yet attend school and had to be left at home while most parents worked long hours.

The school was met with much praise and was a great success for Dr.Montessori. She reported that in order to have a truly effective educational environment for children, teachers should not only focus on the “what” but also the “how” of learning. By 1912, Montessori schools were an international success.

During her lifetime, Dr.Montessori developed a method that was lauded for helping cultivate a love of learning in children that has withstood the tests of time. Maria Montessori was nominated for three Nobel Peace Prizes, given multiple honorary doctorates, and after her death an apostolic benediction from Pope Benedictus XV.

The greatest sign of success for a teacher is to be able to say ‘The children are now working as if I didn’t exist.’ – Maria Montessori