About
Maria Montessori:
Born
in Chiaravalle, Italy, Maria
Montessori became Italy's first
woman doctor. She graduated from
the faculty of medicine at Rome
University in 1896.
After
graduating she returned to the
University to do research work
at the psychiatric clinic.
Children became her special
interest. In 1900 she became
Director of a school established
by the National League for
Retarded Children.
She
set about observing the children
and designing teaching materials
best suited to their needs.
Previously, these children, who
had been abandoned as incapable
of learning, began to show the
ability to care for themselves.
Montessori later submitted these
same children for the public
examinations for normal
children, with the astounding
results that they achieved marks
equal to or even above those
gained by the normal school
child in Italy at the time.
Montessori was so successful
with her work for these children
that she now became recognised
as an educator rather than a
physician.
In
1907 Montessori had her first
opportunity to work with normal
children when her first Casa dei
Bambini (Children's House) was
opened in a tenement building in
the San Lorenzo slums of Rome.
Here
the children were provided with
a prepared environment and were
invited to explore and choose
their own work, thereby
fostering their independence.
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