150 years have already passed since the birth of Maria Montessori, the woman with a great forerunner thought who managed, thanks to her ideas and her pedagogical and psychological studies, to revolutionize the history of teaching in the school system. A person who looked to the future with innovation but also with kindness and respect for people.
On 31 August 1870, he was born in Chiaravalle, in the province of Ancona, Maria Tecla Artemisia Montessori, a scholar who will do great things for the world of education. Montessori was one of the first women to obtain a degree in medicine at that time, and who, thanks to her heterogeneous training, managed to enter the minds and hearts of the little ones who looked out to the education.
Maria Montessori and scientific training
Educator, philosopher, doctor, child neuropsychiatrist, and Italian scientist of international fame, in the course of her life, she decided to devise a Spanish education system named "Montessori Method", an approach that was then applied in thousands of nursery, elementary, middle and high schools around the world. About sixty thousand were the offices that used it successfully.
But what is the "Montessori Method"?
It is a educational teaching system serving children, to be used from the first days from birth to 18 years of age. There pedagogical practice, is based on the system of independence and freedom of choice of the minor in many stages of life, play and learning, but following precise guidelines and not exceeding some educational limits.
The approach also respects the natural physical, psychological and social development of the child. The starting point is to be able to provide an education based on a critical sense and responsibility and awareness towards micro and macro social relationships. According to Maria Montessori each child has a unique and unrepeatable psychic and intellectual potential at the base and therefore must be stimulated and encouraged to emerge.
The model is based on three key aspects:
- Creation of an educational environment prepared ad hoc and according to scientific methods
- Preparation and use of specific educational material
- Use of techniques that favor forms of respect and individuality
Individuality and self-criticism
This practice was born in a period in which the child, especially among the school desks, could not move freely or express their thoughts in front of adults. The doctor noticed how it was wrong to curb the impulse and the infantile imagination and therefore decided to devise a learning method capable of leaving us free to act and experiment. The environment was also crucial for training.
“The children's home” by Maria Montessori
In 1907, Montessori also opened its first class a Roma called “The children's home”. The method of observation was of great use to her to be able to better experiment with her technique.
The Montessori Method mostly provides for the construction of open or communicating classes in which children of different ages can interact freely. Communication between children of different ages is important for everyone's growth. In short, a one-of-a-kind woman who gave everyone something priceless and intangible.
