Painting by Amedo Modigalini

You must have come across Montessori schools for small children. They carry the name of Dr.Maria Montessori, who propounded a new and innovative method for teaching children. She believed that education should be such it is attractive as well as interesting for child aspirants. In this method, the children are allowed to develop their physical and mental faculties through fine arts. Play and other curricular activities. Innumerbale schools that follow her methods are now engaged in teaching the children according to their aptitute and psychology all over the world. In Montessori method, children of the age group between 3 to 6 are given a wide range of materials and equipments which enable them to learn by themselves.

Maria Montessori was born in Italy in the year 1870. She belonged to a well-to-do family and took the degree of M.D. from the University of Rome. She was barely 24 at that time. Later, she served in the academic level at this university. She worked in the direction of finding a suitable educational system for mentally retarded children. She traveled to many countries for the propagation of her methods. She visited India too. Montessori was deeply influenced by the Theosophy.

Montessori laid stress on practical education. She opined that children’s physical, psychological, moral and social conditions should be kept in mind for their proper development. She devoted her life to impart suitable education to the mentally weak and handicapped children to bring them on par with normal children. She suggested many appliances that could help children in understanding complex things. Reward and punishment are excluded from the system. Her prominent books are: Montessori Method, The Secret of Childhood, Child Training, The Discovery of the Child and Education for a New World.