Maria Montessori lived from 1870 to 1952. She was the first woman to receive a medical degree in Italy. Through her work with handicapped and socially deprived children, she developed her unique educational method known as the Montessori method. As a result of her further study, observation and experimentation, she found the principles of her method to be applicable to all children. She has had an impact on the field of education in general and the way we understand and teach children today.

Dr. Montessori's influence can be seen not only in the number of schools that bear her name, but also throughout the fields of child care, education and child development. Many of her ideas are now part of our common knowledge, language and thinking about children. She was an innovator in the field of education and ideas that were once met with great resistance in her day now seem natural as accepted aspects of childhood. She was nominated twice for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Excerpted from montessoriconnections.com

The Montessori Movement

Montessori pedagogical principles are rooted in a social movement intended to champion the cause of all children, in all strata of society, of all races and ethnic backgrounds, within and beyond educational institutions.

The Montessori movement is recognized to have begun on January 6, 1907 when Dr. Montessori opened the first Casa dei Bambini in San Lorenzo in Rome.

In 1929 Dr. Montessori founded the Association Montessori Internationale. The objectives of the association are to uphold, propagate and further the pedagogical principles and practice formulated by Dr. Maria Montessori for the full development of the human being.

Montessori is the single largest pedagogy in the world with over 8,000 schools on 6 continents. The Montessori movement, however, is far broader and works to assist children and their families in a variety of settings.

Montessorians serve as advocates for all children—championing the rights of the child in society.

Excerpted from montessori-ami.org