Taking a look at the origins of Maria Montessori's revolutionary educational method and what happened along the way. Children are built from what they find in their environment. Maria Montessori, who in 1896 became the first female doctor in Italy, discovered this fact through research on children with disabilities. Her discoveries about how children learn inspired her to return to the University of Rome to study psychology and philosophy, and later teach anthropology.
Montessori founded his first Casa dei Bambini, (Children's House) to teach sixty disadvantaged children. Through scientific observation of these children, Dr. Montessori recognized that “they responded to the materials with deep concentration, which resulted in a fundamental change in their way of being, moving from ordinary fantasy behavior, inattention and disorder, to a state of profound peace, calm and order within their environment. The National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector reports that of the 5,000 Montessori schools in the U.
As mentioned at the beginning of the article, the Montessori method defines a philosophy, a look at childhood and, therefore, can cover all aspects of a child's life. Free seminars and playgroups that teach Montessori basics that parents can implement in their homes would be another way to make Montessori more accessible to everyone. It is so precise and detailed at the same time that anyone can understand a lot about the Montessori method. Among them, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, one of the richest men in the world, later created the philanthropic operation Bezos Academya to found kindergartens and nurseries using the Montessori method in the United States.
So what exactly happened along the way and what could be some possible solutions to make Montessori methods more democratic and available to parents and educators? The Montessori method in primary school states that freedom, autonomy and responsibility are guaranteed for children at all stages of the day. I find it so disappointing that the Montessori method seems reserved for a privileged few and that the early childhood teacher training departments of colleges and universities are so determined not to include it in their offers. Montessori believed that children learn better when they choose what they want to learn, and that philosophy is present today in Montessori classrooms. From that moment on, Montessori stopped teaching at the University of Rome, where he had started teaching courses a few years earlier, to focus on its method and its dissemination.
If these pros and cons of Montessori education are really interesting to you, you might want to consider becoming a Montessori teacher. I developed my own interest in Montessori before becoming a mother to my two young children when I was working in education and social work and, for my part, I think the Montessori philosophy is applicable to many families. There are now more than 500 public Montessoris nationwide, many of them charter, and that is how most low-income children access Montessori education.
