What Is Montessori Education

The Montessori Educational system was pioneered by Maria Montessori, the first woman in Italy to obtain a doctorate. Dr Montessori spent a lifetime devoted to improving the education of children worldwide, discovering that every child has a spontaneous urge to learn. She evolved a new method that revolutionized teaching concepts, freed the child from the rigid disciplines of formal education, and brought to the classroom a sense of joy and self-achievement

Maria Montessori's first observations came from an Italian classroom attended by underprivileged children with whom she worked for two years .The disadvantaged children exposed to Dr Montessori's revolutionary teaching techniques were found to have made much greater progress under her guidance than was possible using conventional teaching methods. Contemporaries quickly questioned their own approach to teaching and encouraged Montessori to work with underprivileged children in the poorer areas of Rome. Here she founded her first school which quickly became World Famous for the calibre of its pupils.

Central to Montessori`s research was the discovery that all children have a natural learning cycle. Within this cycle there are periods of time when each child is especially receptive to a particular area of learning. This is termed Child`s `Sensitive Period`. By matching specific educational activities to a child`s `sensitive period`, knowledge can be absorbed with ease. This is central to the development of self-esteem and confidence , Dr Montessori found that children are capable of pacing their own development through sensitive periods during which time the children became acutely aware of language, movement, order, small objects their own senses and society. Her method encouraged these periods to explode into bursts of creativity, reading, writing. She also discovered that unlike us the child has an absorbent mind and is able to learn an enormous amount of information in a relatively short space of time. She developed a series of unique equipment that catered for every area of the child's development. Montessori promoted discipline and ensured that her teaching programmes actively encouraged social development and respect for others.

The most striking feature of Dr Montessori's work is that her method of teaching is found all over the world, no other educator has had such global influence

There is no doubt that Maria Montessori`s methods were and still are revolutionary; teaching not only individual skills but also laying the foundations of `How to Learn`. Her efforts have changed the very essence of education for young children.

Montessori Schools are now established throughout the World, offering one of the finest forms of education for young children, since they meet their incredible readiness to learn.