by Camilla Nichols, Senior Director of Montessori Development
(edited by Tori Inkley)
As many know, the Montessori Method of education has been around for over 100 years. Maria Montessori was born and raised in Italy, which is also where she opened the very first Montessori School, Casa dei Bambini, in San Lorenzo in 1907. Given her own thirst for knowledge and desire to make a difference in the world, Dr. Montessori became one of the first female doctors in Italy, graduating from the University of Rome in 1896. After graduating, she became an assistant at the university hospital and continued to conduct research in the psychiatric clinic. It was in this clinic where she witnessed immense concentration in a young boy who, despite being understimulated and not properly cared for, picked up breadcrumbs from the floor, one by one, over a long period of time. Though maybe not particularly significant to anyone else, to that child, the work of picking up breadcrumbs lead to great focus.
While studying and observing children in various environments, Dr. Montessori discovered that if the children were provided with meaningful activities, they would develop both independence and self-confidence. From those initial discoveries, she went on to develop colorful and inviting materials that would stimulate a child’s senses and would allow the child to work independently and self-correct without needing the assistance of an adult. The environment that she prepared for the children contained child-sized shelves and furniture, and the children were able to choose their own work, as well as choose where to work (i.e., on a floor rug, at a table, or in the rose garden). The Montessori Directresses (Teachers) moved around the classroom as guides, observing the needs of the children and respectfully allowing them to complete their work… only interrupting when and if needed. At this school, the children learned Grace and Courtesy, in addition to building academic skills through work in the areas of Practical Life, Math, Language, Sensorial, and Culture. In this Prepared Environment, the child became the driving force, not the teacher. At Casa dei Bambini, the children thrived and were so stimulated through purposeful engagement, that they didn’t want to leave at the end of the day. Casa de Bambini, which means “Children’s House”, immediately drew worldwide attention. Visitors from across the globe came to witness the children performing “work”, which included engaging in daily life skills. The children were observed eating meals using porcelain plates and utensils and drinking from glasses. The school looked more like a home with fresh cut flowers in small vases and a beautiful garden. While creating this original school with its impressive materials and establishing the Montessori Method, Maria Montessori called upon the work of her greatest influencers: Friedrich Froebel, Jean Rousseau, Edouard Seguin, and Jean Marc Gaspard Itard.
In 1915, at the World Fair in San Francisco, a “Glass Classroom” was constructed and put on display. In the classroom were 30 children with no prior Montessori experience; something Dr. Montessori insisted on. The children were observed working on meaningful activities for three full months. Spectators at the fair soon referred to them as “miracle children”, as they witnessed the powerful sense of concentration that was taking place and the phenomenon of children joyously working independently. While this new educational model had quickly begun spreading around the world several years prior to the fair, with the first school in America opening in New York in 1911, due to world events and personal events in Dr. Montessori’s own life, it wasn’t until the 1960s that the Montessori Method was firmly established once and for all in the United States. Maria Montessori quickly became well respected by world leaders, such as Thomas Edison, Helen Keller, Ghandi, Alexander Graham Bell, and President Woodrow Wilson, who even established a Montessori classroom in the basement of the White House during his presidency.
In 1960, after being appointed the U.S. Representative of the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) by Mario Montessori, the son of Maria, Nancy McCormick Rambusch established the American Montessori Society (AMS) of which The Montessori Children’s Academy is a member. Mrs. Rambusch had also founded the first authentic Montessori School in the United States, Whitby School, which is located in Greenwich, CT, and she served as its first Headmistress from 1958 – 1962. The opening of Whitby is believed to be the beginning of the Montessori resurgence in America. Today, there are over 15,750 Montessori schools around the world, with some boasting famous alumni such as Jeff Bezos (Amazon Chairman), Sergey Brin (Google Co-Founder), George Clooney (Actor/Filmmaker), Sean Combs (aka P. Diddy; Rapper/Record Producer), Steph Curry (NBA Player), John Cusack (Actor/Producer), Anne Frank (German-born Jewish Diarist), Helen Hunt (Actor/Director), Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (Editor/Journalist/Former First Lady), Larry Page (Google Co-Founder), Taylor Swift (Singer/Songwriter), Prince George of Wales, and more.
Over her lifetime, Maria Montessori trained thousands of Montessori teachers, published over 15 books, was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times, and held lectures while traveling all over Europe, the United States, and India. One of the last training centers Dr. Montessori helped establish before she settled in the Netherlands was the Montessori Centre in London, which later became St. Nicholas Training Centre. She held her last training course in Austria at the age of 81, and died shortly thereafter in Noordwijk, Netherlands with her son Mario by her side.
I can honestly say I owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Maria Montessori for the gifts she shared with the world. My own personal Montessori journey began some 28 years ago at St. Nicholas Training Center in London, and that path has provided me with an amazing opportunity to travel around the world as a Montessorian. While working as a teacher in Jakarta, Indonesia, with mainly non-English speaking students, I witnessed firsthand that regardless of religion, race, or language, the Montessori Method applies to all children. During my time as an educator at Whitby School in Connecticut, I observed Middle School students presenting graduation speeches on how the Montessori Method had influenced and changed their lives. And in 2006, I had the good fortune to become a part of The Montessori Children’s Academy family. In addition to being a former Head Teacher at MCA, I am also the proud mother of two MCA alumni who are now both successful college students; one in NC in the field of nursing and one in CO in the field of education. To this day, my children still tell me that MCA is where they learned to think outside the box and that those years were when it was fun to come to school.
After my time as an MCA Head Teacher, I became the Director of Montessori Development and had the immense privilege to be part of the team who founded Montessori Center for Teacher Development (MCTD), MCA’s very own Montessori Teacher Education Program. MCTD is now in its 10th year of educating Early Childhood Montessori teachers throughout New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. When I found The Montessori Children’s Academy, I knew that I had found my second home here in the states. During my almost 17 years with MCA, I have been able to guide and support hundreds of children and their families, instruct numerous Adult Learners enrolled in MCTD, host some very influential speakers during Parent Nights, present at AMS Conferences, hold inspirational in-services for our staff, and much more. MCA is also where I had the honor of meeting former Chief Executive Officer of AMS, Tim Purnell, who after visiting our school with his wife, chose to enroll their daughter at MCA, stating that they were looking for an environment that was not only high-fidelity, but a place where their daughter would flourish – as it’s not just the pedagogy that makes Montessori, but the entire look and feel of a program. (The interview with Dr. Purnell is at https://themontessorichildrensacademy.com/blog/2019/10/01/spotlight-on-dr-timothy-purnell/ )
In addition to my time with MCA, I have also been a consultant to other Montessori schools in the United States and abroad; most recently, I have been consulting with Bladins, a school located in Malmö, Sweden, near where I grew up. I recall that in 1972, I was placed on a student waiting list for the only Montessori school that existed in my hometown at that time. My mother was very carefully planting the seeds for what I now consider to be my life’s quest… sharing my Montessori passion with others around the world. Fast forward to the fall of 2022 when I was visiting Italy. My eyes welled with tears as the Director of Casa dei Bambini opened the school door and welcomed me into the very first classroom that Dr. Maria Montessori had created. Everything was still the same… from the Pink Tower to the children eating on porcelain dishes in the dining room to the still thriving rose bush Maria planted in the garden. Her legacy lives on and continues to touch thousands of children every day, all around the world. With that, I would like to say that I am so glad you have chosen The Montessori Children’s Academy, an authentic Montessori school that I am very proud to be a part of, for your children and your families. It is my sincere hope that you too feel that this is your second home; a home filled with love for the Montessori Method, and most importantly, filled with love for your children.
