Life And Works Of Maria Montessori

Life And Works Of Maria Montessori

Dr.Maria Montessori was born in Italy in 1870 on 31^st August. She belonged to an educated middle class in Ancona. She was the only child of her parents. She got educated in various cities of Italy and her mother  supported her educational pursuits. The conservative Europe had a peculiar attitude towards women but despite that she choose medicine as her course of studies. Despite the opposition of the teachers, her father and male peers, she graduated from the highest honors from the Medical School of the University of Rome, and become the First Woman Physician in Italy in 1896.

She worked with middle class and poor people and saw a huge potential in them. She was an un selfish person and she travelled Italy far and wide for the rights of women and child labour reforms. Not too long after graduating. She was chosen for representation of two women’s conferences they were in Berlin in 1896 and also in London in 1900.Maria was appointed a professor of anthropology at the University of Rome in 1904.Maria’s desire to help children drove her to give up her university chair and medical practice in 1906 to work with a group of sixty young children that they had parents who worked.

She founded a “Children’s House” in Lorenzo,a district of Rome. Which is now known as the Montessori method of education developed there. Everything Maria developed was based upon her observations of the children and how they do things naturally without help from adults. Maria made two trips of U.S.A. Where she had supports from Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison and Hellen Keller. She was renowned worldwide for her “Glass House” schoolroom exhibit at the Panama Pacific International Exhibition in San Francisco. Maria opened many research facilities and training centers and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times in 1949,1950 and 1951.

Maria was inspired by the theory that “Children teach themselves”. She believed in the “self creating process of children”. Montessori education is based on a flow experience. It is built on the constant self-construction of the children as time goes by. Montessori schools have prepared environments for children where they can achieve an uninterrupted education, a curriculum designed to enhance their faculties. She was in many ways much ahead of her time. Through her medical practice, she became interested in how children learn  and ultimately left medicine to become an educationist. She searched the works of two French doctors of 18^th and 19^th centuries: Lean Mare-Graspard Itard(1775-1838) and Edward Seiguin(1872-1880).

From both these scientists she took a real idea of a scientific approach to education, based on observation. She belongs to the child study school of thought. She carefully practiced and with an objective of a biologist. She observed like is being observed in his natural environment. Her work created a blue print for educating children, from the learning disabled to the gifted and for the help of children to become self motivated, independent and lifelong learners. As her work with educating the disabled children got fame and recognition. She thought why were the normal children failing in exams? She suggested that a newborn child has immense potential which is hardly ever explored by schools. She challenged that if disabled children can be producing such results than schools for normal children can do far better than them.

Her ideas supported her cause for humanity and she was highly respected for that. She actively participated in various movements for reforms. She was not welcomed by the Ministry of Education Italy. But in 1907 she started working in a day care as a medical director for young children who were not old enough for public schools. In Rome, the first day care named, “Casa Dei Bambini(House of Children)” was inaugurated in 1907.She worked in horrible conditions but her experiments turned out like miracles.

Many of the concepts that she invented are now common place in early childhood education. Her most miraculous ideas were:

1)The most important period of life is from birth to the age of six as this is the time when intelligence was being formed.

2)Early stimulation is very important for success in later learning.

3)Children learn from an active, hands-on approach that draws on all five senses.

4)The learning material should be interested, reality oriented and designed to facilitate self-correcting and the reinforcement of sensory perceptions.

5)The real learning revolves the ability to do things for oneself, not the passive reception of knowledge.

6)That imposing immobility and silence hampers a child ability to learn.

7)The children take a natural pleasure in learning and that the sense of accomplishment that comes from learning is the basis of self-confidence necessary for independence.

8)Montessori’s philosophy, materials and practices have spread around the globe.

During her prime production period 1907 to 1930s she continued her studies about children and developed a highly expanded methodology and curriculum .She gave up her medicine profession and devoted herself to her mission of “Regenerating Mankind”.

Every modern classroom reflects her ideology today. Multiple-intelligence, importance of mental health, emotional literacy, the activeness of modern education, materials used, co-operative learning, authentic assessments are few examples generally attributed to her.Now with the advancement in science of child development, many educators around the world have appreciated her work and fore-sight. The educationists who studied her work agree that Montessori education is the best available system for child education in all cultures and parts of the world.

In 1952 she died in Netherlands but she will be always remembered for her immortal work that would help the children for all times to come. She lived in 18^th century but she was a lady much ahead for her times.

Today her philosophy materials and practices are spread around the world. There are thousands of Montessori schools today.