Montessori Philosophy & History
Philosophy & History Paper
Maria Montessori was born in 1870 and in 1896 became the first female doctor in Italy, graduating from the University of Rome's medical school. In 1899 she was in charge of director of an Orthographic School, a school for children who were regarded as 'hopelessly deficient'. For 2 years, she worked with these children and under her direction, the children developed to such an extent that a number of them were able to read & write well enough to be successful at a public examination taken together with normal children. Soon after this, she gave up her position to work with 50-60 underprivileged normal children in San Lorenzo whose parents were working and they had no means to pay for their education. These are the children that helped formed the basis of Maria Montessori’s surprising discoveries of the “new children”. Maria Montessori’s discoveries in San Lorenzo soon became a worldwide phenomenon, spreading to the US and other parts of the world. In 1913, on Maria’s first visit to US, the American Montessori Society was formed under the presidency of Alexander Graham Bell.
The first of the discoveries was the amazing mental concentration that these children possessed along with a love for repetition. The children often showed an extraordinary amount of concentration on a particular piece of work to the point that they were mentally isolated from the rest of their environment. The concentration did not end when the work was finished; rather the child performed multiple repetitions of the same action until they stopped quite suddenly, having given in to their inner psychological need. The third important characteristic that Montessori discovered was an innate love for order. The children reveled in putting back their work in the same place it had been taken from and in general keeping their environment in order. This love for order extended itself to a strong sense for personal dignity. The fifth surprising discovery was freedom of
Maria Montessori was born in 1870 and in 1896 became the first female doctor in Italy, graduating from the University of Rome's medical school. In 1899 she was in charge of director of an Orthographic School, a school for children who were regarded as 'hopelessly deficient'. For 2 years, she worked with these children and under her direction, the children developed to such an extent that a number of them were able to read & write well enough to be successful at a public examination taken together with normal children. Soon after this, she gave up her position to work with 50-60 underprivileged normal children in San Lorenzo whose parents were working and they had no means to pay for their education. These are the children that helped formed the basis of Maria Montessori’s surprising discoveries of the “new children”. Maria Montessori’s discoveries in San Lorenzo soon became a worldwide phenomenon, spreading to the US and other parts of the world. In 1913, on Maria’s first visit to US, the American Montessori Society was formed under the presidency of Alexander Graham Bell.
The first of the discoveries was the amazing mental concentration that these children possessed along with a love for repetition. The children often showed an extraordinary amount of concentration on a particular piece of work to the point that they were mentally isolated from the rest of their environment. The concentration did not end when the work was finished; rather the child performed multiple repetitions of the same action until they stopped quite suddenly, having given in to their inner psychological need. The third important characteristic that Montessori discovered was an innate love for order. The children reveled in putting back their work in the same place it had been taken from and in general keeping their environment in order. This love for order extended itself to a strong sense for personal dignity. The fifth surprising discovery was freedom of