Montessori the Person

Dr. Maria Montessori (1870-1953)

In June of 1896, one female graduated from the faculty of medicine in Rome. It is believed that when the university first accepted enrollment, it was with the understanding that a “Mario” Montessori had applied. Imagine the surprise when a young woman showed up for her first day of class! Maria Montessori was not only to become the first female physician in Italy, she graduated cum laude and gave the valedictorian address.

Although Dr. Montessori had specialized in gynecology and pediatrics, there were few positions available to women. She accepted a position in general medicine at the San Giovanni Hospital and conducted additional research in psychiatrics. In her clinical practice and through simple yet profound observation, Montessori realized that children build themselves from what they find in their environment. Inspired by these findings, she went back to university to study psychology and philosophy, held special classes for disabled children and began to create her own educational materials.

Montessori became a public advocate for children and founded Casa dei Bambini, or “Children’s House,” in essence a daycare for slum children. Though these children presented with the classic signs of abuse and neglect, Montessori believed that their energies were simply misdirected. She proceeded to prove that children absorb information effortlessly, that the child will manipulate and discover his environment without the interference of an adult. Humbly she would state that she was not the teacher but the student. Montessori would challenge traditional educational theories by stating that children could in fact teach themselves.

Her work at Casa dei Bambini created the foundation for the Montessori method we know today. Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize on three separate occasions, this internationally proven method of education is chosen by more academics and professionals for their own children than any other alternative method of education in the world.