Maria Montessori didn’t begin her career in the classroom. In 1896, she became the first woman to practice medicine in Italy. These empirical days would prove invaluable years later when Maria’s interests turned to education. She approached it with scientific zest, observing how children interacted with various tools; how they socialized with each other; and how they responded to their surroundings.
In doing so, Maria uncovered two universal truths – every child is unique and all children shape themselves as a reaction to the environment.
In 1907, Maria opened her first school, Children’s House, in the poorest section of Rome. Rough, shy, and regressed, these children where living, breathing products of their surroundings. However, in Maria’s school an amazing transformation occurred. Learning in an environment that encouraged hands-on problem solving, social interaction, self-awareness, and individual acceptance, these forgotten kids thrived!
Word quickly spread of Maria’s “miracle children” and the rest is history. Generations later, The Montessori Method is hailed as one of the greatest achievements in education.