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Dr. Maria Montessori
Born in Italy in 1870, Maria Montessori was a woman far ahead of her time. In the society where the two career choices for women were a housewife and a school teacher, Maria defied the norm, and dreamt of becoming an engineer and a physician. She became the first female physician to graduate and practice in Italy. Her experience and success in educating challenged children in psychiatric clinics to pass the examinations for normal children created a desire in her to unlock the potential of ordinary children.
She got an opportunity to start the first "Children House" with young recruits from the poorest families in Rome. She developed the Montessori method of education, based on her scientific observation of the children's ability to absorb knowledge from their surroundings. Shortly thereafter, the Children House received a worldwide attention. Her strong desire to understand children's learning led her to give up her medical practice to work with children.
For the rest of her life, Maria Montessori dedicated herself to children’s education. She developed educational methods for children from birth to maturity. In 1939, she opened the Montessori Training Center in the Netherlands and founded a series of teacher training courses in India. She believed that only through an education could peace be established in the world. She was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times in 1940, 1950, and 1952. She died in Holland in 1952. Her work lives on through the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI), the organization she founded in the Netherlands.
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What Makes Montessori Education Difference |
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Education for Life
A goal of Montessori Education is to aid life. The importance of Montessori Education is not to pass students to the next grade, but to give children a solid basis as they grow to maturity. Freedom given to children in the prepared environment helps children take charge of their own education and other responsibilities later on in their lives. |
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Child Centered Learning
In Montessori class, each child is free to choose their activities under guidance of a trained teacher, and advance at their own pace. The materials used in the class are manipulative, and are attractive to the child. Dr. Montessori designed these materials to be self-corrected, so that the child can achieve the maximum independence in the learning process. |
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Non-competitive Environment
In a multi-age class, younger children learn from the older ones in term of social expectation and also intelligence by watching the older children. Older children master their skills from helping younger ones. Respect for each other and leadership are developed through the years. The social coherence in a Montessori class is the key to a better and peaceful world. |
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Whole Personality Development
Montessori education not only focuses on the child’s intellectual ability, but also on creativity, social skills, independence, self-esteem, problem solving, and self-discipline. These qualities are developed in children starting at a very young age in a Montessori classroom through a love of “work”. A daily opportunity to execute the real ‘work’ satisfies the inner developmental needs of a child to form a wholesome human. |
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