Maria Montessori

Maria Montessori (August 31, 1870 – May 6, 1952) was an Italian educator, scientist, physician, philosopher, feminist, and humanitarian.

Life

She was born in Rome, Italy. Montessori was the first female Italian physician in the modern era. As such, she was given a "menial" task: to try to educate the "mentally retarted" and the "uneducable" in Rome. She opened her first school, in Rome, on January 6, 1907.

Related Topics:
Rome - Italy - Mentally retarted - January 6 - 1907

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The Montessori method of education that she derived from this experience has subsequently been applied successfully to children and is quite popular in many parts of the world. Despite much criticism of her method in the early 1930s-1940s, her method of education has been applied and has undergone a revival. It can now be found everywhere from Santa Cruz, California to Woodland Montessori Childrens House in Woodland, Ca.

Related Topics:
Montessori method - Education - Children - 1930s - 1940s - Santa Cruz, California - Woodland Montessori Childrens House - Woodland, Ca

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By 1907 Montessori had established the first Casa dei Bambini or Children's House, in Rome. By 1913, there was an intense interest in her method in North America, which later waned. (Nancy McCormick Rambusch revived the method in America by establishing the American Montessori Society in 1960.) Montessori was exiled by Mussolini to India for the duration of World War II, mostly because she refused to compromise her principles and make the children into soldiers. Montessori lived out the remainder of her life in the Netherlands, which is now the headquarters of the AMI, or Association Montessori Internationale. She died in Noordwijk aan Zee. Her son Mario headed the AMI until his death in 1982.

Related Topics:
1907 - 1913 - North America - Nancy McCormick Rambusch - American Montessori Society - 1960 - Mussolini - India - World War II - Netherlands - Noordwijk aan Zee - 1982

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