Maria Montessori Biography

Maria Montessori was an Italian physician and educator whose method of teaching young children first became popular in the early 20th century.

Today about 20,000 schools around the world use what is called the Montessori Method.

In 1894 Maria Montessori became one of the first women physicians in Italy.

An early job training educators for special needs children developed her interest in education and psychology, and in 1907 she opened a children’s daycare and school in the slums outside Rome.

Montessori put into practice her theory that children have a natural “tendency towards elevation,” and created an environment for self-education and self-realization, with remarkable success.

Montessori lectured and wrote about her method, and within a few years schools using the Montessori method spread throughout Europe, then eventually around the world, with around 3,000 schools today in the United States.