Sana Maria

Roll no: D16063

Module 1: Assignment 1
 PMC – Module 1(Assignment 1)
Sana Maria: D16063
Q1: Discuss the life and works of Dr. Maria Montessori and why is she referred to as
a lady much ahead of her time?

A: Birth and Early Education:

Dr. Maria Montessori was born on 31st August, 1870 to an educated

Middle class family in Ancona, Italy. Her father Alessandro Montessori

was a military man and conservative too. Whereas her mother,

Renidle Montessori was a liberal lady and supported her education. Due

to frequent transfer of her father, Maria got a chance to explore different

education systems in big cities throughout Italy.

She despite of opposition from her father, teachers and male class fellows graduated with
highest honors from the Medical school of the University of Rome. She was the first lady
doctor in Italy in 1896.

Founder of Montessori Method:

She is recognized as the founder of Montessori Method. She was also among the pioneers
in the development of early childhood education. She has promoted a substantial number
of educational reforms. These reforms have become integral components of 21st century’s
educational core.

Work with Special Children:

Convent, working with children or homemaking was three traditional roles open for women
at that time but Maria was no willing to adapt teaching as a career. She specialized in
pediatrics and psychiatry. Her approach was more scientific than the familiar philosophical
approach.

Worked as a Teacher:

She taught at medical school of the University of Rome. She was in contact with children of
working class and poor and this experience convinced her that intelligence is not rare. She
became the director of the “deficient and insane” children in the University of Rome. She
started working with these mentally disabled children. She discovered that her children
need purposeful activities to do in order to get sense and mind and she successfully
achieved her goals.
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Inspiration from Itard and Seguin:

Montessori searched for almost a year from 1900 to 1901 regarding successful work
previously done with the education of children with disabilities. She got inspired by the
work of two French doctors of 18th and 19th centuries. Jean- Marc- Gaspard Itard and
Edouard Seguin, who was the student of Itard. She based her studies on their experiments
for the development of child, it was concluded by Itard if in early years of development
appropriate experiments were not performed they may hinder or will not be able to develop
later.

These studies and experimentation on disabled children was resulted in a remarkable

result when those children passed exam given by Italian public school. Which raised a
question in her mind why normal children are back in exams? As per her studies, she
stated that newborns are born with intellectual potential that was barely being developed
by schools.

Active Speaker:

She was a reformer, invited as a guest speaker on behalf of children’s rights, the women
movement and peace education.

Casa dei Bambini:

Montessori started her first school with normal children named Casa dei Bambini (the
house of children) which was inaugurated in 1907. At the beginning of the school, there
were only fifty students and one untrained teacher. In her school, she introduced exercises
of practical day living for example cleaning, dressing; gardening etc. she noticed that
children took great interest in doing these kinds of activities. These kinds of activities made
them independent and more efficient. When she found out that the job of the teacher is to
serve the children, she believed that the urges of the children are universal and that is in
the nature of the child to perform such activities. The children of the school of Casa dei
Bambini had showed outstanding progress in their academic and practical work. They
learnt a lot of activities related to writing and reading etc. Her school became famous due
to the progress of these young angels whom people consider they can’t do anything until
they sent to public schools.

Role of the Teacher:

She has mentioned that role of a teacher is to serve the child as per the need. The failure
of a child should not be blamed them, it is educator’s job to facilitate the natural processes
of learning.
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Worldwide Response:

Her school became famous all over the world in a very short time. After first school, she
started numerous schools. People from all over the world visited her and appreciated her
effort and discoveries. Her methodology was started to practice all over the world. Scholars
valued the clam and disciplined behavior of little children, people with liberal approach
highly appreciated the freedom and spontaneity and political leaders and educationist took
it as a reform which can change the old method and fashioned school system of Asia,
Europe and North America.

Decline and Revival of interest in Montessori Education:

In 1940’s there was a dramatic decline in Montessori movements in America and some
other parts of countries. Few reasons of this decline were as below:

 World War I and II stopped the transportation between America and Europe and this
stopped the sharing to knowledge.
 Kilpatrick, a well known professor of that time wrote a book about Maria in 1922,
where she mentioned her as an outdated, rigid and mistaken in her attempt to
educate the senses. She mentioned her as a doctor not a trained educator, or
perhaps she was European not American.

In 1960’s Dr. Nancy McCormick rediscovered and brought back Montessori methods to
North America. The schools were expanded and she regained her popularity.

Montessori Prime Time:

Her period from 1907 till 1930’s was considered as a Prime Time. During this time she
continued her study of children, expanded the curriculum and methodology. More schools
started all over the world. She devoted her life on the mission, REGENERATING
MANKIND. She was one of the world’s leading educators.

Highest Recognition and Award:

 Her picture was on 200 lire coin and on 1000 lire bill through the 1990’s.
 She was nominated for Nobel Peace Prize thrice.

Death:

In 1952, she left the world in the Netherlands; she will always be remembered as a great
reformer in education system which can be implemented now and in future for the
development of children. She was living in old days but worked for the children of then
and for those in future, based on her experimentation that the development of child in all
aspects is same in all ages. That’s why she is called as a LADY MUCH AHEAD OF HER
TIME.
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Q2: Which are the main requirements to be considered to start a house of children?
How do you implement them?

A: A house of children is a place where a child feels free to touch, observe and
experience the environment around him. The adult’s house can never be an alternate for
this house of children. Below are some reasons and also the comparisons to support the
need of house of children:
1. Problem of restrictions:
At home he will not be free to experience everything. He will be stop many times during
the day regardless of the his urge to experience such things for his development, this will
stop the development during early periods of his life.

So, only the Montessori houses of children where they are free to follow their urge
and can experience as many times they want to gain maximum development and
learning.
2. Problem of complexity and size:
At home all the things are giant size, a child although have a strong desire to touch,
observe, handle, play, feel, listen, and learn the way to use them. He will not be allowed
to do things of his own; every time there will be a spy who will restrict him to do anything
by his own.

Whereas in the house of children he will find all the things around him child size.
There isn’t anything which he cannot see and touch.
3. Prohibition:
Children are normally trying to achieve their inner satisfaction and if they fail to reach
there they will be more problematic and aggressive. To keep children in the state of
normal mind we need to set an environment where they are free to do anything but within
limits.
Even if we prevent them to do anything in angry or affectionate tone, for them this is a big
NO or prohibition.
For them, whether prohibition is sweet or bitter, prohibition is a prohibition.

Where house of children is a place they can do everything but under certain limits.
They are not be given same tone of prohibition again and again. They will have proper
activity and work to do in this environment that will keep him busy and ambitious.
4. Superfluous help:
At home child is given a helping hand in almost every task he is doing this help is a barrier
to is development.
In a Montessori house of children, assistance is only provided if required to such children ,
they will follow the slogan, “HELP ME DO IT MYSELF”. It doesn’t mean they can do
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anything, in other words there will be a teacher just to assist them for the things they can
do by themselves.

So we have concluded, the requirements to start a house of children are:

 A place where child can perform his activities with a strong urge to accomplish it.
 A prepared environment should be designed where it meets the needs, interest,
abilities and development of the children in the class.

 A place where everything is child size, material is arranged in child’s approach

and there is nothing out of their reach.

 A place where teacher focuses on individual progress or development.

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 A place where there is no competition and comparison but thing are done with
cooperation and teamwork. They learn kindness and respect.

 The directress or guide is just a facilitator. Her job is to support and prepare happy
healthy kid who is stable, normal, and flexible and have advanced skills like
reading, writing, problem solving and creativity.
 Places where mix age group will work and explore to develop skills of
acceptance, give and take, help, responsibility and appreciation.

 A place where teachers show respect for children when they help them do things
and learn for themselves.
 A place where there will also be an interaction between parents and teacher to
discuss about child’s growth and needs.
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Q3: What are the discoveries made by Dr. Maria Montessori by observing a child?

A: It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Dr. Maria truly discovered the child. All these
discoveries were not happened in one day or in a year but actually it was the result of
about twenty two years of hard work and patience by making keen observations, analysis
and resetting the same environment to get similar results.

Her first house of children “Casa di Bambini” was not remained the same as when she
joined it. She made huge changes and the key for these changes were the children. They
were teaching her daily new variations. She had observed that each child is having an
inner urge for freedom and constructive work according to their age and stage of
development. She had also made a discovery that children are free and have ability of
select their activities as per their capacities to accomplish them with full concentration.
There are more discoveries made by Dr. Maria Montessori which are as below:

 Children have a natural drive to work and that is for a purpose to reach a certain goal,
this goal is their inner satisfaction of accomplishment.
 Children don’t work for any incentives but their work is totally depending upon the inner
urge that comes naturally in them.
 They need a right condition to discover and show their abilities. Dr. Maria observed that
there is step by step process which leads to true learning.

When inner needs meet with interest under suitable conditions, it leads to the repetition of
same activity with great concentration and ending with true learning.

 Child’s normal behavior can be made possible by letting him work individually at the
developmental freedom.
 Consistency in everything around him is another essential factor for the better
development. Very young children need order. This order should not only with the things
around them but also with the values, function and other activities. They need to learn
the value of speaking truth, they should practice the correct use of things, they are made
for and also any practice they are doing in any circumstances should be done in same
manner.
 Child’s intelligence, will and voluntary movements can be increased and developed
by arranging activities like sensorial, language, arithmetic, art and culture. This can be
done by making them practice exercises of practical life.
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 Assimilation of complex knowledge can be done by children if such type of
knowledge will be delivered in a right condition.
 Development of discipline cannot be imposed from outside, this is totally the inner
transformation that comes when a right environment of freedom is given to the children.
In other words we can say that freedom and discipline are two faces of same coin. A
child learns different manner of speaking, moving, handling, responsibility,
independence, control of errors and love for silence. All these manners cannot be
enforced but they develop when a true freedom is given to a child.