05/01/2025
Italian physician, educator, and innovator Maria Montessori was the creator of the Montessori Method of education.
Her early focus on psychiatry allowed her to immerse herself into educational theory. She was given the opportunity to open her own childcare centre in San Lorenzo, a poor inner-city district of Rome.
The children were unruly at first, but soon showed interest in working with puzzles, learning to prepare meals, and manipulating learning materials Maria had designed. She observed how the children absorbed knowledge from their surroundings, essentially teaching themselves.
Montessori schools have since popped up everywhere around the world, offering an alternate style of teaching to that of traditional methods.
Lessons involve students moving around the classroom interacting with challenges of their choice, rather than sitting behind a desk listening to a teacher speaking.
