Biography

 of  Dr.  Maria  Montessori  

Dr.   Maria   Montessori   was   born   August   31,   1870  
in  Chiaravalle,  Italy,  however,  her  family  soon  moved  to  
Rome   where   Maria   was   first   enrolled   in   school   by   1871.  
She  was  a  very  successful  student  who  started  with  high  
aspirations   of   becoming   an   engineer   but   in   1890   was  
granted   admission   to   the   University   of   Rome   and  
became   the   first   woman   to   attend   medical   school   in  
Italy.   By   1896,   Dr.   Montessori   graduated   as   a   qualified  
doctor.   One   year   after   graduating,   she   volunteered   in   a  
research   program   with   the   University   of   Rome   and  
eventually   was   appointed   as   co-­‐director   of   a   new   school  
for  special  education  called  the  Orthophrenic  School.  At  the  age  of  31,  Dr.  Montessori  began  
her   own   study   of   teaching   and   educational   philosophy,   and   six   years   later   in   1907,   she  
opened   her   first   Casa   dei   Bambini   (Children’s   House)(Montessori   Australia,   2017).   After  
teaching   for   two   years,   she   ran   her   first   training   course   to   100   students   about   her   teaching  
approach.  Dr.  Montessori’s  notes  from  this  class  served  as  the  foundation  of  her  first  book  
“The  Montessori  Method:  Scientific  Pedagogy  as  Applied  to  Child  Education  in  the  Children's  
Houses”   which   was   published   in   1909,   translated   to   English   in   1912,   and   was   eventually  
translated  into  20  languages  (Montessori  Australia,  2017a).    
The  Montessori  method  
  Although  her  name  is  attached  to  this  teaching  method,  Dr.  Montessori  insists  that  
she  did  not  invent  the  Montessori  method:    
“It  is  not  true  that  I  invented  what  is  called  the  Montessori  Method.  I  have  studied  
the  child,  I  have  taken  what  the  child  has  given  me  and  expressed  it,  and  that  is  what  
is  called  the  Montessori  Method”  (American  Montessori  Society,  2017).  
Dr.  Montessori’s  method  is  a  style  of  teaching  that  emphasizes  the  development  of  the  
child’s  natural  skills  during  a  formative  period  of  life,  from  three  to  seven  years  of  age  
(Montessori,  1914,  p.8),  which  is  divided  into  three  categories:  motor  education,  sensory  
education  and  language.    
   Rather  learning  in  a  typical  classroom,  Montessori  education  is  facilitated  in  what  is  
referred  to  as  the  “Children’s  House”  (Montessori,  1914,  p.9).  This  is  an  environment  that  is  
taken  care  of  by  the  children  and  uses  equipment  that  has  been  adapted  for  children  not  
adults.  Dr.  Montessori  stresses  that  nature  has  a  place  in  every  children’s  house;  including  
individual  plants  that  the  children  will  care  for  and  watch  grow.  By  interacting  with  their  
environment;  caring  for  plants,  organizing  furniture,  and  ensuring  the  area  is  clean,  the  
children  can  effectively  develop  the  principal  means  of  motor  education  (Montessori,  1914,  
p.18).  
  Didactic  materials  in  the  Children’s  House  are  the  children’s  learning  tools  that  
provide  sensory  education  and  develop  language  skills  (Montessori,  1914,  p.18)  Helen  
Keller  served  as  an  influential  figure  of  sensory  teaching  and  
learning  as  Dr.  Montessori  stated  that,  “Helen  Keller  is  a  
marvelous  example  of  the  phenomenon  common  to  all  
human  beings:  the  possibility  of  the  liberation  of  the  
imprisoned  spirit  of  man  by  the  education  of  the  senses.”  
Children  use  didactic  materials  to,  “educate  the  eye  to  
distinguish  difference  in  dimension”  (Montessori,  1914,  
p.32),  such  as  these  cylinders  where  the  child  will  repeatedly  
take  the  cylinders  out,  and  place  them  back  in  their  proper  hole.  The  children  complete  
these  sorts  of  activities  with  very  little  guidance  and  feel  a  great  sense  of  accomplishment  
and  “[aroused]  intelligence”  (Montessori,  1914,  p.33),  which  prompts  the  child  to  repeat  
the  activity  again  from  the  beginning.  Being  able  to  distinguish  between  thick  and  thin,  tall  
and  short,  etc,  and  discussing  difference  and  similarities  with  the  children  will  enhance  
their  descriptive  vocabulary  and  “[the  child]  differs  from  the  uneducated  man  in  that  he  has  
special  qualities  for  observation”  (Montessori,  1914,  p.  75).    
 
Although  she  is  greatly  recognized  for  her  work  with  children,  Dr.  Monessori  is  an  
influential  humanitarian  as  well.  While  lecturing  in  India  with  her  son  in  1939,  an  outbreak  
of  war  saw  her  son  intern  for  the  war  and  placed  Dr.  Montessori  on  house  arrest,  stretching  
their  three-­‐month  visit  into  a  seven-­‐year  venture.  While  under  house  arrest,  Dr.  Montessori  
trained  thousands  of  Indian  teachers.  In  1947  Dr.  Montessori  addressed  UNESCO  with  the  
theme  of  education  and  peace,  which  lead  to  her  Nobel  peace  prize  nomination  in  1949  
(Montessori  Australia,  2017a).  Not  only  was  Dr.  Montessori  a  great  teacher,  but  also,  an  
outstanding  human  who  dedicated  her  life  to  ameliorate  human  development  through  
education.  
 
References  
American  Montessori  Society.  (2017).  Maria  Montessori  Quotes.  Retrieved  from  
https://amshq.org/Montessori-­‐Education/History-­‐of-­‐Montessori-­‐
Education/Biography-­‐of-­‐Maria-­‐Montessori/Quotes-­‐by-­‐Maria-­‐Montessori  
Montessori  Australia.  (2017).  The  First  Casa  dei  Bambini.  Retrieved  from  
https://montessori.org.au/first-­‐casa-­‐dei-­‐bambini  
Montessori  Australia.  (2017a).  Biography  of  Dr.  Maria  Montessori.  Retrieved  from  
https://montessori.org.au/biography-­‐dr-­‐maria-­‐montessori    
Montessori,  M.  (1914).  Dr.  Montessori's  own  handbook.  Cambridge,  MA:  Robert  Bently.