The Montessori Method of Education

Good Shephard Maria Montessori Training Centre

Remembering Dr. Maria Montessori on her 149th Birth Anniversary marked on Aug. 31

One Hundred and Forty Nine Years ago a little girl was born in Chiaravalle, Italy. Her father, Allessandro Montessori, a retired army officer, was very traditional. Her mother, Renilde Stoppani Montessori, was an intelligent, modern-thinking woman from a wealthy family. Maria as a little girl was taught to be kind and compassionate to those less fortunate, she also would scrub a small portion of the tile floor in their home. An activity she used in later years as part of the “Exercises Of Practical Life” in her Montessori Method 
of Education.  

As an Elementary student Maria Montessori was considered average but performed well at her exams and showed leadership qualities when it came to games. On completion of her Elementary education Maria Montessori had a desire to continue her education. She was discouraged by her father but was able to enter a technical College at the age of fourteen to study Engineering, thanks to the support of her mother. With time Maria Montessori developed an interest in Biology which led her to pursue a career in Medicine.  

In 1894 Maria Montessori became the first woman to receive a medical degree in Italy. Her experiences during her studies made her champion and support women’s rights. In 1898 she was appointed director of the State Orthophrenic School in Rome, where she worked with the “Special children “of the city. Dr. Montessori was able to use her own unique teaching methods in this school. In 1901 she left the school to pursue further studies and research.  
In 1907 she was given the opportunity to study “normal” children, taking charge of fifty poor children of the dirty, desolate streets of the San Lorenzo slum on the outskirts of Rome, aged three to six from poverty-stricken families giving her an opportunity to use the same educational methods she had been using in the 
previous school.   

Maria Montessori’s visit to Sri Lanka

She used what she termed a “prepared environment” to provide an atmosphere for learning, which is, small chairs and tables to be used by the child without the support of an adult.  The news of the unprecedented success of her work in this Casa dei Bambini “House of Children” soon spread around the world. People came from far and wide to see the children for themselves. Dr. Montessori was as astonished as anyone at the potential of 
these children.   
As the Montessori method concentrates on the development of the child’s natural curiosity by means of individual freedom and development according to the needs of the individual child. Dr. Montessori prepared many activities to improve the sharpness and develop the five senses. In her love for the child Dr. Maria Montessori used many exercises and games to develop coordination of movements of the body and also develop the muscles of the hand in preparation for writing.   

Dr. Montessori is considered one of the greatest founders of Early Childhood education. Her theories are based on her own research where she reveals to us the “Secret Of Childhood “. There is a time in the life of a very young child when he or she goes through “ Sensitive Periods ” It is at this time that the children have the greatest desire and ability to learn. It should be utilized to the fullest and the child should be given the opportunity to experience and there by learn as many things as possible. It is this knowledge that will last for life. Dr. Montessoiri believed that work is the greatest reward for a child. Her studies show us that self discipline will emerge out of the freedom of the learning environment. Namely the carefully prepared environment in Montessori Houses of children. It is necessary to continually adapt the environment in order that the child may fulfill his greatest potential -- physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually  
Dr. Montessori’s method is used and recognised globally, since the inception of her first school in Italy the “Casa Bambini ” or “House of Children ”. Her works have been translated into at least twenty languages, and training schools for Montessori teachers have been established in several nations. 

"Montessori’s view of the nature of the child, on which the Montessori Method is based, is that children go through a series of “sensitive periods” with “creative moments,” when they show spur-of-the-moment interest in learning"

In Sri Lanka the Maria Montessori Training Centre housed at St. Bridget’s Convent, Colombo.7 celebrates 75 years of training Montessori adults to carry out the good work started by Dr. Maria Montessori. She visited our beautiful Island home and bestowed her good will on the Good Shepherd Sisters to continue her legacy and give as many children as possible to experience the Montessori method of education. The AMI Maria Montessori Training Centre is the only authorized Educational Institution which awards Diplomas affiliated to Association Montessori Internationale in the Netherlands.  

 Montessori’s view of the nature of the child, on which the Montessori Method is based, is that children go through a series of “sensitive periods” with “creative moments,” when they show spur-of-the-moment interest in learning. It is then that the children have the greatest ability to learn, and these periods should be utilized to the fullest so that the children learn as much as possible. They should not be held back by forced, rigid curricula (plans of study) or classes. Work, she believed, is its own reward to the child, and there is no necessity for other rewards. Self-discipline (controlling oneself) emerges out of the freedom of the learning environment.  

“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.”   
In the words of Dr. Maria Montessori as stated in her writings of “Education for life” we see the reality of education for life as we unravel the Secret of Childhood.   

(The writer is the Secretary at the Montessori Teachers Guild, St. Bridget’s Convent, Colombo 07 )

St Bridget’s Montessori in Colombo 7