In this brief overview of  Dr. Montessori’s life, one begins to understand how she developed such a thorough, complete, and therefore successful method of education for children based on the intellectual powers and psychological characteristics of the child in each stage of his/her development.

Maria Montessori was, in many ways, ahead of her time. Born in the town of Chiaravalle, Italy, in 1870, her studies began in engineering, but later led her to psychology, medicine, and education. She became the first female physician in Italy when she graduated from medical school in 1896. Shortly after, she was chosen to represent Italy at a women’s conferences in Berlin and London.

She partook in world peace conferences as well. In her medical practice, her detailed clinical observations led her to analyze with great precision how children learn. She concluded that they build themselves from interactions with their environment. Shifting her focus from the body to the mind, she returned to the university to study philosophy and psychology in 1901. She was made a professor of anthropology in 1904 at the University of Rome.

Dr. Montessori’s desire to help children was so strong, that in 1906 she gave up her university chair and medical practice to work with young children of working parents in a housing project in San Lorenzo, a poor section of Rome. It was there she founded her first Children’s House and the Montessori Method of education.

This revolutionary method was based on her scientific observations of the childrens’ almost effortless ability to absorb knowledge from their surroundings, and their tireless interest in manipulating materials. Every piece of material, every exercise, every method she developed was based on her detailed, accurate observations of what children do naturally and unassisted by adults. This approach renewed their joy of learning. Her powers of observation were so keen, that today’s sophisticated diagnostic tools repeatedly validate her research and work.

Maria Montessori made her first visit to the United States in 1913, the same year Alexander Graham Bell and his wife founded the Montessori Educational Foundation at their Washington, D.C. home. Among her other strong American supporters were Thomas Edison and Helen Keller. Today there are more than a four thousand Montessori schools in the United States. 

Recent brain research supports many of the unique qualities that have been a part of Montessori education for over 100 years, including multi-age groupings, peer teaching, individualized curriculum, the use of hands-on materials, and educating for whole child development.