Thoughts on Montessori

I must confess, while I have seen schools that bear her name, I knew very little about Maria Montessori. Montessori was quite an innovator early in her life when she attended a technical school because she wanted to be an engineer. The school was all male. She later graduated from the University of Rome La Sapienza Medical School to become one of Italy's first female doctors. It was then that she became interested in how to educate those that were considered uneducable or what would be considered today, those with learning disabilities. After several of her 8 year old students passed the state examinations for reading and writing with above average scores, she focused her attention on the potential of "normal" (Olaf) children. It was through these observations that Montessori understood that the teacher was not the central focus of education, but rather the individual and the environment in which they learn. This type of individualized learning is what we now call The Montessori Method and there are nearly 20,000 Montessori schools worldwide.  Upon reading through the English translation of Montessori's text, I was particularly interested in Chapter 6- How The Lessons Should Be Given. Of focus is that the lessons are individual, simple, and objective, perhaps much like our own online coursework. 

For further reading, I found the Montessori Website of interest. Basically, this is a blog containing posts from those involved in the Montessori program.