On August 31, 1886, Maria Montessori was born in Chiaraville Italy. Maria was an influential physician, anthropologist, and educational philosopher whose theories and ideas have made an impact on schools throughout the world. She was on a quest to change the educational world of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Maria was particularly interested in creating a new educational approach which would help disadvantaged children (Brendtro, 1999, p. 201). She graduated from technical school in 1886 and possessed a dream of becoming a physician (Webster, 2003). After being denied entrance to medical school at the University of Rome, Maria decided to study modern languages and natural science at Regio Instituto Technico Leonardo da Vinci from 1886 to 1890 (Webster, 2003). A woman entering medical school in Italy during this era was typically unheard of. It was not until Pope Leo XXIII stated to the public that medicine was a fine profession for a woman, that Maria was finally accepted to the University of Rome’s medical school (Brendtro, 1999, p. 201). After years of being discriminated against for being the only woman student admitted to medical school, Maria presented her thesis to a board of ten men and finally received her doctorate of medicine (Webster, 2003).

Maria Montessori was elected to represent Italy in an 1896 conference in Berlin, followed by a London’s women’s conference in 1900 (Webster, 2003). During this time she began her career as a young physician and volunteered work at an insane asylum (Webster, 2003). Maria’s experience with children at the asylum influenced her first theories on education. She believed that the children in the insane asylum were starving not for food, but for learning experience (Brendtro, 1999, p. 201). She had such an extraordinary compassion for these children and she felt the yearning to educate them. In 1901, Maria returned to the University of Rome with a desire to study the mind instead of the body (Webster, 2003).

Maria had experience with a variety of students, though she particularly cared for the needs of children who did poorly in school. She believed that teachers and parents were too quick to classify a child with an abnormality which would affect his or her learning, instead of actually trying to captivate the interests of low income, delinquent, and mentally challenged students (Brendtro, 1999, p. 201). With the desire to help struggling students in her heart, Maria first began observing students while working in the fields of child psychology and education. During one of her many studies, she observed and concluded that children will manipulate any novelty object which is placed in their environment (Brendtro, 1999, p. 201). She believed that in order for students to learn, adults must first stop trying to pour processed material into their heads and, instead, discover how to bring out the child’s natural instincts for curiosity, play, and discovery (Brendtro, 1999, p. 201).

Maria visited the United States for the first time in 1993 and during that year Alexander Graham Bell created the Montessori Education Association in Washington, D.C. (Webster, 2003). Maria founded many other international Montessori institutions around the world, with the backing of strong supporters such as Thomas Edison and Helen Keller (Webster, 2003). Her theories on education were so widely respected that she was nominated for the Nobel Prize in 1949, 1950, and 1951 (Webster, 2003). She spent many years spreading her theories about how and why students teaching themselves, leaving their teachers in the background. In 1952, at 81 years old, Maria died of a cerebral hemorrhage (Webster, 2003). Today, her theories continue to touch the classrooms of early learners worldwide. Maria Montessori was an enthusiast, along with an optimist, and her genuine desire to help children was indescribable. Throughout her career as an educational philosopher, Maria cautioned that she was not selling a method, but instead she was demonstrating to educators how even the most marginal students possessed untapped potentials (Brendtro, 1999, p. 201).

References

Brendtro, Larry K. (1999). Reclaiming children and youth. Bloomington, 7(4), 201.

Retrieved October 12, 2008, from PROQUEST database.

Flaherty, Tarraugh. (2003) Maria Montessori. Retrieved October, 10, 2008 from

http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/montessori.html.