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Dr. Maria Montessori (1870-1952) was one of the most influential pioneers
in early childhood education of the 1900s. Her ideas have become known
and
recognised throughout the world and have significantly influenced
mainstream education. Having completed a degree in engineering, she
pursued
her primary interest – medicine. She was the first woman to graduate from
the University of Rome Medical School, and she became interested in
education only through her work as a doctor. With her background in
medicine, she approached education not as a philosopher but as a
scientist.
She used the classroom as her forum for observing children and for
developing her ideas about the most effective way to help them achieve
their full potential. Dr. Montessori put her ideas into practice,
retaining
and developing those that worked well. Her success was so great that she
travelled the world, establishing schools and lecturing about her
discoveries while writing numerous books and articles. She died in
Holland
in 1952 at the age of 82 having profoundly influenced childhood education
throughout the world. Today there are more than 6,000 and 200 public
Montessori schools in the United States alone, and thousands more
throughout Europe and Asia. |
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