Maria Montessori

Maria Montessori

Biographical Detail=

Maria Montessori was born August 31, 1870 in Chiaravalle (Ancona) Italy. Montessori was a devout Cathol= ic. She was the first Italian woman to graduate from medical school. She attended Rome’s La Sapienza University. Montessori was a psychiatrist, and in this capacity she worked with children with mental disabilities.&nbs= p; Her interests shifted to education when she developed an interest finding methods to teach these children. Montessori was nominated for t= he Nobel Peace Prize in 1949, 1950, and 1951. She died May 6, 1952 at age = 81 in Noodwijk, Net= herlands.

Important Ideas as they pertain to Religi= ous Education

Although the Montessori program has no religious affiliation, Dr. Montessori her= self was a devout Catholic. He= r work focused on helping children who were ignored by the mainstream education systems to realize their potential.&nb= sp; She developed methodologies, strategies, and equipment to enable= the “least of our brothers” in Christ to learn. The following are the Montesso= ri principles and through these principles is evident the value placed on = all children as equal as we are in God’s eyes.

·         Children are individuals profoundly affected by society and the immediate environment. Ev= ery child is born with creative potential, the drive to learn and the right= to be treated as an individual.

·         Specially prepared environments, in schools and at home, help = to develop the child’s natural potential. Children must be given freedom= to work and move around within suitable guidelines that enable them to act= as part of a social group.

·         Children should be provided with specifically designed materia= ls which help them to explore their world and enable them to develop essential cognitive skills.

Dr. Montessori’s first school “Casa dei Bambini” was star= ted in a Rome slum. She wanted to teach the childr= en of this impoverished area so that they could learn about the world and gain control of their own lives.

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Websites<= span style=3D'font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Balloon'>:

http://www.ibe.unesco.org/fileadmin/user_up= load/archive/publications/ThinkersPdf/montesse.pdf

This website is a text that was originally published in PROSPEC= TS: the quarterly review of comparative

education<= /span> (Paris, UNESCO: International Bureau of Education), vol. XXIV,= no. 1/2, 1994, (89/90),

http://www.mariamontessori.org= /

This is the website for the Association Montessori International that is the organization founded by Maria Montessori. It provides background on the programs, principles, training contacts, etc. It also offers a complete biographical background on Maria Montessori.

http://www.montessori.edu/=

This is a good website for brief background on various components of the Montessori Program

Insightful Quotes

“The greatest sign of success f= or a teacher is to be able to say, "The children are now working as if I did not exist."”

“If help and salvation are to c= ome, they can only come from the children, for the children are the makers of men.”=