She brought some of the material that she had developed for children in the Orthophrenic School. While people did not expect much from this project, Maria felt her vision would be realised one day: “I had a strange feeling which made me announce emphatically that here was the opening of an undertaking of which the whole world would one day speak.” This led to the establishment of her first Casa dei Bambini (‘Children’s House’), which started on the 6th of January 1907.

Maria willingly accepted the opportunity to open a childcare centre for the poor families. Hence, Maria was approached to keep the children engaged so that they do not damage the newly constructed apartments. During this period of development in Rome, parents were out for work all day while the children created havoc at home. In 1901, Montessori began her study in anthropology and educational philosophy and joined as a lecturer at the Pedagogic School of the University of Rome. Maria passionately worked throughout the day and compiled her notes at night.The unexpected progress of the children made the programme a big success. She decided to approach the task in a scientific manner by analysing and observing the different teaching methods to find the one that was best for the children. The school admitted a number of children with different disorders and developmental disabilities. Maria got the opportunity to further investigate and improve the teaching methods when she was appointed as the co-director of Orthophrenic School. A revolution in early childhood education Gradually Maria got interested in education and her studies led her to observe and question the teaching methods of children with intellectual disabilities. She was also a member of Women’s Rights Movement and later joined a research programme at the University of Rome in the psychiatric clinic.

Dr Montessori was very competent and treated patients from all social classes with the same the respect. Maria joined the University of Rome in 1890 and became the first woman to join a medical college in Italy.ĭue to the gender bias, Maria faced many obstacles during her study and finally qualified as a doctor in 1896.

Despite her parents wishes to make her a teacher, Maria wanted to enter the field of medicine, which was dominated by men. But once she graduated from higher secondary school, she was determined to become a doctor. Maria Montessori was a courageous girl breaking the conventional barriers of education set up for those of her gender in the 1890s in Chiaravalle, Italy.Īs a little girl, she initially aspired to become an engineer. An stirring story of determination and courage

The maria montessori