Montessori



Name: Maria Montessori

Birthday: August 31, 1870

Birthplace: [|Chiaravalle], Italy.

This day in history (in location): > In July 1870, at the very last moment of the Church's rule over Rome, the [|First Vatican Council] was held in the city – affirming the doctrine of [|papal infallibility]. (** Papal infallibility ** is a [|dogma] of the [|Catholic Church] which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Peter, the [|Pope] is preserved from the possibility of error [|[1]] "when, in the exercise of his office as shepherd and teacher of all Christians, in virtue of his supreme apostolic authority, he defines a doctrine concerning faith or morals to be held by the whole [|Church] ".) >
 * The ** Capture of Rome ** (20 September 1870) was the final event of the long process of [|Italian unification] known as the // [|Risorgimento]  //,  [|[1]]  which unified the Italian peninsula under King [|Victor Emmanuel II] of the [|House of Savoy].
 * During the [|Second Italian War of Independence], much of the [|Papal States] had been conquered by the Piedmontese Army, and the new unified [|Kingdom of Italy] was created in March 1861, when the first Italian Parliament met in Turin. On 27 March 1861, the Parliament declared Rome the Capital of the Kingdom of Italy. However, the Italian government could not take its seat in Rome because it did not control the territory. In addition, a French garrison was maintained in the city by [|Napoleon III of France] in support of [|Pope Pius IX] , who was determined not to hand over [|temporal power] in the States of the Church.

IQ:

Educational Background:

** Early education **
The Montessori family moved to Florence in 1873 and then to Rome in 1875 because of her father's work. Montessori entered a public elementary school at the age of 6 in 1876. Her early school record was "not particularly noteworthy", [|[3]] although she was awarded certificates for good behavior in the 1st grade and for "lavori donneschi", or "women's work", the next year.

** Secondary school **
In 1883 or 1884, at the age of 13, Montessori entered a secondary, technical school Regia Scuola Tecnica Michelangelo Buonarroti, where she studied Italian, arithmetic, algebra, geometry, accounting, history, geography, and sciences. She graduated in 1886 with good grades and examination results. That year, at the age of 16, she continued at the technical institute Regio Istituto Tecnico Leonardo da Vinci, studying Italian, mathematics, history, geography, geometric and ornate drawing, physics, chemistry, botany, zoology, and two foreign languages. She did well in the sciences and especially in mathematics. She initially intended to pursue the study of engineering upon graduation, an unusual aspiration for a woman in her time and place. However, by the time she graduated in 1890 at the age of 20, with a certificate in physics–mathematics, she had decided to study medicine instead, an even more unlikely pursuit given cultural norms at the time.

** University of Rome—Medical school **
Montessori moved forward with her intention to study medicine. She appealed to **Guido Baccelli**, the professor of clinical medicine at the University of Rome, but was strongly discouraged. Nonetheless, in 1890, she enrolled in the University of Rome in a degree course in natural sciences, passing examinations in botany, zoology, experimental physics, histology, anatomy, and general and organic chemistry, and earning her __//diploma di licenza// in 1892__. This degree, along with additional studies in Italian and Latin, qualified her for entrance into the medical program at the University in 1893. She was met with hostility and harassment from some medical students and professors because of her gender. Because her attendance of classes with men in the presence of a naked body was deemed inappropriate, she was required to perform her dissections of cadavers alone, after hours. She resorted to smoking tobacco to mask the offensive odor of [|formaldehyde]. [|[9]] Montessori won an academic prize in her first year, and in 1895 secured a position as a hospital assistant, gaining early clinical experience. In her last two years she studied pediatrics and psychiatry, and worked in the pediatric consulting room and emergency service, becoming an expert in pediatric medicine. Montessori graduated from the University of Rome in 1896 as a doctor of medicine. Her thesis was published in 1897 in the journal Policlinico. She found employment as an assistant at the University hospital and started a private practice

Family Background:

Her father, Alessandro Montessori, 33 years old at the time, was an official of the Ministry of Finance working in the local state-run tobacco factory. Her mother, Renilde Stoppani, 25 years old, was well educated for the times and was probably related to Italian geologist and paleontologist [|Antonio Stoppani]. [|[1]] While she did not have any particular mentor, she was very close to her mother who readily encouraged her. She also had a loving relationship with her father, although he disagreed with her choice to continue her education.

Quotations: > ***** ** > **“Little children, from the moment they are [|weaned], are making their way toward independence.” ** > ***** ** > **“Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed.” ** > ***** ** > **“The child is both a hope and a promise for mankind.” ** > ***** ** > **“ [|Education] is a natural process carried out by the child and is not acquired by listening to words but by experiences in the environment.” ** > ***** ** > **“The first essential for the child’s development is concentration. The child who concentrates is immensely happy.” ** > ***** ** > **“Respect all the reasonable forms of activity in which the child engages and try to understand them.” ** > ***** ** > **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #444455; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">“Plainly, the environment must be a living one, directed by a higher intelligence, arranged by an adult who is prepared for his mission.” **
 * 1) **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #444455; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">The things he sees are not just remembered; they form a part of his soul.” ****<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #444455; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">“When dealing with children there is greater need for [|observing] than of probing” ****<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #444455; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">*** **
 * 2) **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #444455; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">“It is true that we cannot make a genius. We can only give to teach child the chance to fulfil his potential possibilities.” **