Montessori
“Whoever touches the life of the child touches the most sensitive point of a whole which has roots in the most distant past and climbs toward the infinite future.” —Maria Montessori
What is Montessori?
Montessori is a brain-based developmental education method that allows children to make creative choices in how they discover the people, places and knowledge of the world. It emphasizes hands-on learning, self-expression and collaborative work in a beautifully crafted environment of respect, peace and joy. -Dr. Steven J. Hughes, Professor of Pediatrics and Neurology at the University of Minnesota Medical School, and Chair of AMI’s Global Research Committee
Montessori education follows the child. It answers the native curiosity of children by connecting them with lessons and manipulative learning materials. This happens in a scientifically designed classroom scaled to the child’s physical size. In this prepared environment, any interest or intellectual curiosity can be steered into productive educational inquiry. Instead of delivering information, adults make continual assessments of each child’s developmental readiness. From the earliest age children learn to concentrate on meaningful real-life tasks. Under the watchful eye of a trained teacher, this purposeful work leads to inner discipline and responsible choice-making. Owning their environment, children become helpful citizens of a classroom community, respecting others, caring for materials, and maintaining an atmosphere of peaceful living. – Dr. Larry Quade, BGMS Pedagogy Advisor and an AMI Auxiliary Teacher Trainer at the Primary level
Scientific observation has established that education is not what the teacher gives; education is a natural process spontaneously carried out by the human individual, and is acquired not by listening to words but by experiences upon the environment. The task of the teacher becomes that of preparing a series of motives of cultural activity, spread over a specially prepared environment, and then refraining from obtrusive interference. Human teachers can only help the great work that is being done, as servants help the master. Doing so, they will be witnesses to the unfolding of the human soul and to the rising of a New Man who will not be a victim of events, but will have the clarity of vision to direct and shape the future of human society. – Maria Montessori, Education for a New World
Helpful Montessori Resources
For additional information regarding Montessori Education look through the websites below.
- American Montessori Society
- Association Montessori Internationale (AMI)
- North American Montessori Teachers’ Association (NAMTA)
- http://www.forsmallhands.com
- http://www.montessoriservices.com
- http://www.kidadvance.com
- http://www.nienhuis.com
- http://www.montessorioutlet.com
- http://www.montessori-n-such.com
Biography of Maria Montessori
Maria Montessori was born in Italy in 1870. She was a math prodigy, a physicist, and an anthropologist. At 24, she was the first woman to graduate from the medical school in Rome.
She was a pragmatist, a visionary, and a humanitarian; a friend of Gandhi and Thomas Edison; a three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee. Her face is on Italy’s 1,000 lire bill. Today, we know Maria Montessori best for the educational method that bears her name.
Her approach to education was developed based on her observations in conjunction with her background in psychology and her belief that the education of children was the means to create a better society.
She observed children around the world and found that the laws of development she had recognized in Italy were universal and inherent in children of all races and cultures. The Montessori approach to education continues to be respected and practiced internationally today.