MARIA MONTESSORI
Maria Montessori was born in Italy, in Chiaravalle, in 1870. It was an eventful time, a time of discoveries, worldwide. She was a contemporary of Einstein, Freud and Jung. Everything but an ordinary teenager who decided to study engineering, remarkable in those days when women did study but stay at home with the children after they got married. During her studies, she switched to studying medicine and became one of the first female doctors in Italy. This is how she came to know institutions where children with mental retardation or illnesses were admitted.
Her heart was with children
It was a time when she began to observe and found that most of these children could learn with the right materials. And she developed these materials herself. Shortly afterwards, she adapted these same materials for all the children and when the opportunity arose to establish a school, she was able to use her knowledge and materials. The results she achieved did not go unnoticed and her vision began to travel around the world. In a time when travelling was not as obvious as it is now, Maria Montessori visited many countries including America, Argentina, India and also our country, the Netherlands.
With her enormous drive and passion for children, she wrote a vision that is expressed in the many books she wrote. Words from long ago but still relevant and applicable today. Perhaps especially now…
