Assignment 1

Montessori

Module 1: Introduction to

Dr. Maria Montessori .... a Lady ahead of her time

Dr. Maria Montessori was one of the strongest women in the world of modern education.

EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION:

She was born in Ancona, Italy in 31st August 1870 to a middle class family, her father
was a civil servant and former soldier and her mother was unusually well educated, and
Maria herself proved remarkably talented. She was a confident and strong-minded lady
who excelled in school by the role of leader in different games and conversations. At the
age of thirteen she got admission in a technical school, a thing considered off-limits to
females at that time. She scored high marks that when she graduated, in 1886; she was
able to enter in the Regio Istituto Tecnico Leonardo da Vinci. Here she studied math,
natural sciences, and languages, again excelling beyond all expectations. It was here
too that she became fascinated with the biological sciences, and began to dream of
pursuing a career in medicine. Despite her gender, she was allowed to study medicine.
When she presented her thesis in 1896, her absolute brilliance so impressed the allmale board of review that they awarded her a medical degree, making her Italy's first
woman doctor. After this accomplishment she was promoted to surgical assistant at
Santo Spirito, where she had worked previously as medical assistant. As a physician,
Montessori specialized in pediatrics and the new field of psychiatry. She continued
research at the University of Rome, joining the university staff in 1897. She became
interested in psychology and human behavior, and in 1904 accepted a professorship in
anthropology at the University of Rome.
WORKED WITH DISABLED CHILDREN:
In Rome during this time, children who were considered mentally deficient were sending
in asylums. Montessoris early observations of these asylum children formed a crucial
element of her theory that would later influence many people. She observed children
who use to crawl on the floor to grab crumbs of bread after mealtime and realized that
not all children developed through phases of life in the same way." Her initial focus was
to rehabilitate mentally retarded children, with behavioral problems, orphans, and the
desperately poor. Montessori's early efforts were so surprisingly successful that she
soon had a large following, not only of parents desperate for her help, but of teachers
desperate to learn her methods.
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Assignment 1
Montessori

Module 1: Introduction to

INFLUENCED BY THE WORK OF TWO SCIENTIST:

Montessori was much influenced by the earlier work on child development and
psychology, in particular research conducted by Jean-Marc-Gaspard Itard and Edouard
Seguin. Both worked with children who had some physical or mental disability. However,
both attempted to teach basic skills, such as reading and writing, using alternative
methods from those being employed in the formal school settings. These experiments
were a source of inspiration for Montessori who believed that "mental deficiency
presented chiefly a pedagogical, rather than mainly a medical problem. Satisfied with
the fact that so-called "mentally deficient" children could learn the same things as
normal children, sometimes at a faster pace or by attaining a higher mastery level,
Montessori began to focus on working directly with normal children in the field of
education.
FIRST SCHOOL CASA DEI BAMBINI (HOUSE OF CHILDREN):
The first school that she opened was called Casa dei Bambini, or House of Children in
1907. It was set up in a ground-floor room of a low-cost apartment building in a slum
area of Rome. Its purpose was to provide a space for pre-school age children who were
damaging and destroying the houses while their parents were at work. Montessori
believed in taking the time to learn from the children, as she herself learned through her
observations of the children in the asylums. She found that children of all ages
flourished when they were given the opportunity to experience mastery of real life skills
and knowledge that was appropriate to their age and stage. Given them furniture,
equipment, and supplies that they could access and work all by themselves, they feel
self-motivated to explore, experiment, and reach new understandings. She found selfcorrecting, puzzles and other equipment to be an essential component of independent
learning in a child-friendly environment. As Montessori herself wrote, "I merely wanted
to study the childrens reactions. I asked not to interfere with them in any way as
otherwise I would not be able to observe them." Montessori surprised when she saw
childrens lack of interest in the toys or the drawing materials and their keen interest in
the educational materials. Each educational material had some carefully planned
objective that was pre-determined by Montessori. Liberty of the pupil" was fundamental
method according to her.
HER WORK FAMOUS IN WHOLE WORLD:
Dr. Maria Montessori wrote many books like The Absorbent Mind, The Discovery of
the Child and many more. Montessoris Casa dei Bambini was such a success and
soon it became famous in whole world. People, who visit this school, were surprised
and amazed that how little kids do their work on their own. Montessori started her
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Assignment 1
Montessori

Module 1: Introduction to

second, third school and this process goes on. She visited America on the request of
Alexander Graham Bell. Her model center (House of Children) was copied everywhere.
Many political leaders and educationist found that this is the right way to change old
fashioned school in Europe. Her students became hard worker, peace lover and
disciplined.
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION:
Montessori truly deserved and referred to as a lady much ahead of her time. She was a
true pioneer of a modern education system. Her methods were not derived from any
existent pedagogical wisdom. She had in fact sidestepped the more traditional
education path for women, teachers training. As a smart scientist and quick-minded
observer, she had soon discovered some important and, for the period, revolutionary
principles about children and the process of learning. She was honored by many
countries with royal, civic and academic awards and was nominated three times for the
Nobel Peace Prize in 1949, 1950 and 1951. Regarding her work and efforts in
educational sector her picture was on Italian 200 lire coin and in 1990 on the 1000 lire
bill.
MONTESSORIS DEATH:
Maria Montessori died in the Netherlands on May 6, 1952 aged 81.Her name always
lives through the method of teaching that she introduced. She lived old days but was
definitly " A WOMEN MUCH AHEAD OF HER TIME".

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