The Life and Work of Maria Montessori

Maria Tecla Artemesia Montessori was born August 31, 1870 in Chiaravalle, Italy. She was born into a well-educated, middle class family (1). Her father, Alessandro Montessori worked for the Italian Ministry of Finance as an official in the state-run tobacco industry. The family moved in 1875 when her Father’s work took their family to Rome (2). This gave her the advantages of education in the larger cities of Italy and Maria Montessori used those opportunities. In her earlier years, Montessori showed a particular proclivity in mathematics (3). At the age of 13 she, with the help of her mother, entered an all-boys technical school. Her father was a conservative gentleman and disapproved of this path, but even so she intended on a career in engineering (4).

As it came time for university studies Montessori became a student of Mathematics, physics, and science at the University of Rome. Here she found that biology interested her and decided to become a doctor. Again, her father disapproved of her choice, but walked her to and from classes daily. She applied to the University of Rome’s medical program, then considered a man’s field. When Montessori was rejected, she refused to be defeated and took additional courses to prepare herself. She was admitted, but found continued obstacles in her path. She frequently worked apart from the rest of the class as propriety of the day dictated that she could not dissect cadavers alongside her male peers. Montessori’s inclination in the field of medicine was pediatrics. She ranked among the highest in her class and became the first woman to graduate from the University of Rome’s school of medicine (5). She was one of Italy’s first female physicians; blazing a trail that others would follow (6)

After her graduation from University, Dr. Montessori worked for, and later volunteered in the psychiatric clinic of the University of Rome doing research work. In 1900 she was appointed the co-director of a training institute established by the National League for Retarded Children. She now had her chance to put into practice and experiment with the theories and modified materials of Itard and Seguin. The legacy of these two doctors, and others, greatly impacted Maria Montessori in her work. These 22 children who had previously thrown their food onto the floor to play with it showed the ability to care for themselves. These “unfortunate” children were successful in passing exams on the same level as their “normal'' counterparts. With such unexpected gains in the children, Montessori began to question the effectiveness and quality of the education system for “normal” children (7).

Dr. Montessori was interested in an opportunity to test and improve upon her newfound methods and convictions with other children. Her chance came in 1907 when she took the charge of 50 dirty, poor children from the San Lorenzo slum on the outskirts of Rome. Here she opened her Casa Dei Bambini, or “House of Children” (8). Montessori’s curriculum for these disadvantaged children included practical, sensory and formal skills and studies. The environment was a scientifically prepared one where she employed an assistant, being untrained in the traditional educational practices of the day. She followed Maria’s directions for daily interaction with the children (9). Her assistant served as a director of activity rather than as a teacher in the front of the class. The materials used with the special needs children were employed in the classroom and others were added and removed according to the usage of the children. Any work that was consistently unused was removed and another placed in its stead in order to observe and study the interest and work of the children (10).

Maria Montessori in her Casa Dei Bambini

Maria was most exceedingly astonished at the ability for sustained work and concentration displayed by these very young students as well as the almost effortless ability to absorb knowledge from their surroundings. These neglected and uneducated children were rowdy at first, but soon they became independent and took pride in taking care of themselves and their environment. They showed tireless interest in manipulating materials, an intense drive to educate themselves, and a self-creating process. Every method Montessori developed was based on her own and her assistant's observations on what children did naturally given a specially prepared environment that freed the child’s inner teacher (11).

Soon the news of this school’s success spread and people from all over the world came to watch and wonder at these children who worked tirelessly and taught themselves. By 1910 Montessori schools were acclaimed worldwide. From this time until her death in 1952 Maria dedicated herself wholly to teaching, training and developing teachers and schools. She lived through difficult times and pursued her ideas and methods during wars and political turbulence. This caused her to develop a peace education curriculum. She also continued to scientifically test and develop an educational model for children as they grew past the early childhood years and before they entered the primary class. She died on May 6, 1952 in Noordwijk, Netherlands, and as she saw herself as a citizen of the earth, was buried in the Noordwijk Cemetery as a symbol of the universality of her methods and ideas (12).

The Prepared Environment

The importance of the prepared environment in a Montessori classroom must never be underestimated. When the environment is carefully prepared It becomes one of the teachers of the children. The adult is responsible for the preparation, repair of and, with the children, the beautification and careful maintenance of the environment. The space is calm, orderly, warm and inviting. Everything in the environment should be designed to be enticing, non-distracting and child-sized. Even the walls and its adornments should be minimal and beautiful in order that the child not be overwhelmed or distracted from the work available.

In the prepared environment there are a variety of interesting and enticing things for a child to do. There are specialized and scientifically tested activities and materials that bear in mind the age and developmental needs of the varied ages of children. Many activities promote movement, while others encourage stillness and recognition of self. The children are free to move about the room and choose the activities that they would like to do (13).

In speaking about the prepared environment Maria Montessori said, "Only those things are allowed to be present which will assist development. Out of it must be kept anything that would act as an obstacle, not least a too interfering adult. Even such things as neutral or irrelevant should be rigorously excluded. The constructive psychic energy granted by nature to the child for building up his personality is limited; therefore we must do everything we can to see that it is not scattered in activities of the wrong kind” (14).

When I was first introduced to Montessori education it was the prepared environment that first drew me in. My new friend had invited our family to study science with them. She asked me to bring over to her house everything I would use to teach a unit about birds. These were some books, drawings, worksheets and little else. The woman who had invited me to her basement Montessori school invited me into the classroom and I was aghast at the shelves, the works, the beauty and simplicity of the surroundings. She opened her closet and pulled out item after item that she would use in order to teach about birds. I immediately asked her to teach me everything she knew because I recognized that what her children had was as it should be.

The Child in the Montessori Environment

When you enter a successful Montessori environment you will see and hear a quiet buzz of concentrated activity. One child may be washing the leaves of a small plant, two children may be preparing a snack to share with each other, another child may be absorbed in the beads and number cards of the ten boards, and another still could be working with a friend on creating their own timelines of life. Each child is developing at an individual pace, and the Montessori environment assists each child according to their current interests and needs.

When properly assisted, the child reveals the attributes of one who is no longer frustrated in the obstacles to their growth. The inner life of the child is set free and assisted in its development of concentration and independence. Because the child is the center of the classroom, the teacher’s will takes a back seat in order to “follow the child.” (15)

During the 1949 lectures in San Remo Maria Montessori expounded that, "It is through appropriate work and activities that the character of the child is transformed. Work influences his development in the same way that food revives the vigor of a starving man. We observe that a child occupied with matters that awaken his interest seems to blossom, to expand, evincing undreamed of character traits; his abilities give him great satisfaction, and he smiles with a sweet and joyous smile." (16)

As my understanding of the Montessori method has grown, and as I have had the opportunity to work with children as a guide instead of as the maitre d', my life has been enriched beyond words. It is an incredibly precious thing to witness a child reveal themselves. To be involved just enough, and no more, to facilitate an explosion of learning, or awakening of concentration in a child. These experiences create in me great emotion. I feel that I am witnessing a sacred thing, and often will get goosebumps as I stand back, sometimes halfway across the room so as not to disturb the moment, and watch with rapture.

The Role of the Adult in the Montessori Classroom

In opposition to the traditional model; the role of the teacher in a Montessori classroom is one of guide, director, and assistant to learning. There is no image of a teacher in control and at the front of the class dispensing information en masse to rows of individuals. Instead the trained adult becomes a facilitator to the child’s journey in his own education. They must become an expert in engaging the interest of the child in the work available to be used, and in knowing when the appropriate time to present each opportunity. When the child takes up a work or interest it is the responsibility of the adult to become a help and not an obstacle to the child. The guide observes the children, stepping back to allow the working child to learn unimpeded, and to draw their own lessons and discoveries from their work. They must also know, importantly, when it is appropriate to lend a helping hand. The adult makes careful evaluations and keeps meticulous records about each child’s progress. The adult must understand how to interpret the development, behaviors, patterns of growth and progress of each student in order to present them with an enticing environment every day.

A Montessori guide has a great deal of responsibility in the classroom. They first must become trained in the natural process of learning and sensitive periods for the children in their care. They observe the classroom and children and watch for needed changes and next steps; such as creating or replacing work in order to fill the present needs. The adult facilitates the child’s learning from their environment and from other children, rather from themselves. They are the model of desirable behavior in the classroom and become the consistent guide to courteous behaviors and peaceful conflict resolution (17).

In the Montessori classroom the adult is the architect of the environment. It is her responsibility to prepare a beautiful, clean and attractive place of learning. She is part of the classroom, but it is not her classroom, it is the children’s. Maria Montessori has said, “The teacher becomes the keeper and custodian of the environment. She attends to this instead of being distracted by the children’s restlessness . . . All the apparatus is to be kept meticulously in order, beautiful and shining, in perfect condition . . . This means that the teacher also must be . . . tidy and clean, calm and dignified . . . The teacher’s first duty therefore is to watch over the environment, and this takes precedence over all the rest. Its influence is indirect, but unless it is well done there will be no effective and permanent results of any kind, physical, intellectual or spiritual.” (18)

At the beginning of my journey into the education of our children, I couldn’t have been more wrong about their needs and how to support them. I gave them workbooks and more workbooks because it was all I had known. Things were on according to my timeline, and not their needs. After my introduction to Montessori principles and philosophy it required a major shift in thinking and application. It has required a great deal of personal study, observation in schools and discussing proper boundaries of both children and adults to have a better understanding in this part of my responsibility. It has been through my own transformation that I have begun to better understand how to nurture the child’s spirit, and what it really means to follow the child with respect and dignity.

Loves,

Cath

References:

Maria Montessori: A Biography, Rita Krammer p. 21
Ibid p. 23
Ibid p. 28
Ibid p. 31
http://montessori.org.au/montessori/biography.htm
http://amshq.org/Montessori-Education/History-of-Montessori-Education/Biography-of-Maria-Montessori
Maria Montessori: Her Life and Work pp. 9-10
Maria Montessori: A Biography, Rita Krammer pp. 110-111
Maria Montessori: Her Life and Work p. 16
Maria Montessori: A Biography, Rita Krammer p. 113
Ibid pp. 115 - 122
http://montessori.org.au/montessori/biography.htm
http://amshq.org/Montessori-Education/Introduction-to-Montessori/Montessori-Classrooms
Maria Montessori: Her Life and Work p. 267
http://www.montessori-namta.org/The-Prepared-Environment
San Remo Lectures p. 28
http://montessoriguide.org/every-adult-in-the-environment-a-unifying-approach-to-safety
The Absorbent Mind p. 277