What is Montessori?

People sometimes mistakenly believe Montessori schools are based on some kind of strange religion. Montessori is not a religion nor is it affiliated with a religion. It is named after Maria Montessori, who championed a teaching philosophy of a child centered classroom at a time when classrooms were all about the teacher. Children sat at desks and were lectured to on a daily basis. Maria recognized that children were little scientists who, with the right environment and learning tools, could teach themselves and develop a love for learning in the process. She created many wonderful lessons for children that are still used in Montessori classrooms today. Other curriculums have adopted aspects of Montessori such as mixed age classrooms and learning centers instead of desks. However, a Montessori trained teacher brings a calm, loving atmosphere to a classroom with the emphasis on respect for classmates, the classroom, and our world that is the hallmark of this 100 year old teaching philosophy.

Who was Maria Montessori?

Content courtesy of the North American Montessori Teachers' Association. © NAMTA. All rights reserved www.montessori-namta.org

Maria Montessori was, in many ways, ahead of her time. Born in the town of Chiaravalle, in the province of Ancona, Italy, in 1870, she became the first female physician in Italy upon her graduation from medical school in 1896. Shortly afterwards, she was chosen to represent Italy at two different women`s conferences, in Berlin in 1896 and in London in 1900. In her medical practice, her clinical observations led her to analyze how children learn, and she concluded that they build themselves from what they find in their environment. Shifting her focus from the body to the mind, she returned to the university in 1901, this time to study psychology and philosophy. In 1904, she was made a professor of anthropology at the University of Rome. Her desire to help children was so strong, however, that in 1906 she gave up both her university chair and her medical practice to work with a group of sixty young children of working parents in the San Lorenzo district of Rome. It was there that she founded the first Casa dei Bambini, or "Children`s House." What ultimately became the Montessori method of education developed there, based upon Montessori`s scientific observations of these children`s almost effortless ability to absorb knowledge from their surroundings, as well as their tireless interest in manipulating materials. Every piece of equipment, every exercise, every method Montessori developed was based on what she observed children to do "naturally," by themselves, unassisted by adults.

Montessori is...