Maria Montessori was born on August 31, 1870. In 1896, she received her doctorate from the University of Rome, becoming Italy's first female physician. Her research focused on the development of children with learning disabilities and how to support their development through specially designed learning materials. In 1907, she took over the management of the first Children's House (Casa dei Bambini) for the three- to six-year-old children of female factory workers. There, she translated her ideas on promoting children's development into daily educational practice and observed with increasing fascination how positively a stimulating environment influenced learning. From then on, her aim was to find learning materials that would stimulate children's holistic development and to describe the role of the adult in presenting the materials and fostering the child's development. She wrote books that were translated into many languages, making her developmental psychology and pedagogy, as well as the materials and methods based on them, known worldwide. She gave introductory courses all over Europe and the USA, leading to the founding of Montessori children's houses and Montessori schools. In 1939, she fled Italy to escape fascism and lived and taught in India. After the Second World War, she returned to Europe and undertook numerous lecture tours until her death. Maria Montessori died on May 6, 1952, in Noordwijk aan Zee, Netherlands.
Montessori Pedagogist
When children play, Montessori sees them working: absorbed in what they are doing, completely absorbed in the task and in it completely present within themselves. She sees the deep concentration (which she calls "polarization of attention") in the activity, the self-imposed effort, the repetition until completion, the joy of togetherness and success, and the exhaustion as a refreshment for new activity.
This work a child does on themselves is to be taken as seriously as the work of an adult. It is practical and intellectual, individual and collective, necessity and need, coping and creation; it is effort, joy, and dignity.
On a child's journey to self-discovery, personality, and independence, the adult can become an ally by being empathetic and reliable, always by their side, never in the way. "Help me to do it myself!" Nothing more, nothing less. Fundamental to Montessori pedagogy is the child as their own architect, following their own inner blueprint, which remains a mystery to the adult. The educator does not mold the child in their own image; they serve the child's development.
The documentary film "THE MONTESSORI PRINCIPLE" about Montessori pedagogy was made in 2018:
Maria Montessori
Montessori-Material
Montessori materials are not toys; they are learning materials that help children develop their intellectual, psychological, and motor skills. For the children's house period, the materials for practical life exercises and sensory learning are particularly important, while for primary school, the materials for mathematics and literacy are especially significant.
The Montessori materials build upon one another in their content and level of difficulty. All are designed to encourage the child to work and to allow for largely independent exploration. This is achieved through the isolation of challenges, a clear aesthetic, and the emphasis on self-control. The inherent order of the materials is reflected and continued in the external order of the designed environment. The environment is clearly structured and comprehensible for the child. This is essential for the child to make choices with a high degree of freedom, according to their own developmental needs.
The designed environment also includes ensuring that children's learning and interaction take place in an atmosphere of relaxation and appreciation. Exercises in stillness contribute to this. Crucially, however, the attitude and competence of the educator or teacher are paramount. In the words of Maria Montessori, she must be like a flame whose warmth activates, enlivens, and invites; she must be mindful in her observations, in her approaching and withdrawing, in her speaking and her silence – with calm, patience, and humility.