Discovery of the child

by Maria Montessori

Maria Montessori describes the nature of the child and her method. She believes that once the general principles of her method have been grasped, its material application is very simple.

Gone are teachers who wear out their lungs maintaining discipline. Verbal instruction is replaced by "material for development," which affords children the opportunity of teaching themselves by their own efforts. The teacher thus becomes a director of the child's own spontaneous work.

About the Author:

Maria Montessori (1870-1952), Italian physician and educationist, born in Rome, the first woman in Italy to receive a mediacal degree (1894), she founded a school for children with learning disabilities (1899-1901), and developed a system of education for children of three to six based on spontaneity of expression and freedom from restraint. The system was later worked out for older childre, and applied in Montessori schools throughout the world. She opened the first Montessori school for children in the slums of Rome in 1907.