Book Reviews

The Child Is the Teacher: A Lifeof Maria Montessori
Christina De Stefano
New York: Other Press, 2022. Author’s
note, notes, bibliography, books by
Maria Montessori, articles by MariaMontessori. 348 pp. $28.99 hardcover.
ISBN: 9781635420845
In The Child Is the Teacher, De Stefano
tells Dr. Maria Montessori’s (1870–1952)
story by providing a logical, plausible set ofexplanations based on data. She seamlessly
integrates materials from primary andsecondary sources, in multiple languages,
into the ongoing narrative. This volume isa stellar example of the appropriate use ofprimary source documents and archival
materials. The inclusion of multiple viewpoints on the issues presented provides aneven-handed retrospective. The book isdivided into five parts, each with its own
set of copious notes.
Part I (1870–1900) covers Montessori’s birth, childhood, and primarythrough higher education. It includes her
relationship with Giuseppe Montesano,the birth of her son Mario, and a brief
review of the work of Jean-Marc-Gaspand
Itard and Edward Séguin. Montessori’s
article about the way in which environmental factors influence intelligence,emphasizing the principle of epigenetics,
is discussed in this section (p. 77).
Part II (1901–1907) discusses Montessori’s return to the university as a student in anthropology, her research andlectures, meeting Anna Maria Maccheroni(who became her lifelong friend and disciple), and her work for feminist causes.
Montessori’s work in San Lorenzo is themajor thrust of this section. De Stefano
also defines, presents the origin of, andprovides examples of the terms “children’shouse,” “prepared environment,” “normalization,” and “directress.”
Part III (1908–1913) begins with a
discussion of Montessori’s benefactors
and disciples. It chronicles her abandoning the practice of medicine, and resigning from her positions at the Pedagogy
School, the university, and the teachers
college to concentrate on the development of the method. The dissemination

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P L AYof Montessori’s ideas internationally starts
with her teaching a course at the Montesca summer School of Home Economics and continues with foreign travelers
who visit Rome on the Grand Tour anddescribe the Children’s Houses upon theirreturn home.
In this section, De Stefano makes animportant point which remains a part ofearly-education pedagogy today. Montessori insisted that, “The small child doesn’t
think; he simply does what corresponds
to his current state of development. . . .
He needs to be left alone, do not disturb
him,” when a visiting adult queried thechild about what she was going to do (pp.
149–50). The section summarizes thecomplementary points of view from which
Maria observes the children: medical,physiological, anthropological, pedagogical, and religious. Reuniting with her son
Mario completes this section of the book.
Part IV (1914–1934) records the riseand fall of Montessori’s relationship withSamuel McClure and her undertakings in
the United States and Spain during WorldWar I. It discusses the development of theelementary-level principles and materials published in The Advanced Montessori
Method. The idea of a White Cross, aninternational association to care for theyoungest civilian victims of World War I,
foreshadowed Montessori’s peace education work.
Part V (1934–1952) details Mario’s
rise to a position of importance and, eventually, the head of the movement. The lastphase of Montessori’s travels and training
courses and the internationalization of
the movement dominate this section. The
publication of her 1932 lecture, “Educationand Peace,” during the inter-war years, wasthe beginning of her work. The little grey
pamphlet, still found in education libraries
today, is based on her classroom observations. She speaks of “educating in peace,”suggesting that children are “capable ofnon-violent dynamics” (p. 284). Her belief
that “authoritarianism and competition—
the ingredients of school as traditionallyconceived—create violence” (p. 264) laid
the foundation of two of the renown modern Montessori interpreter Aline Wolf ’s
more recent works Peaceful Children,
Peaceful World: The Challenge of Maria
Montessori (1989) (which, by the way,starkly illustrates Montessori’s belief thatstruggles between the strong and the weakand disrespectful demands produce “inefficient” adults good only for conquest andwar) and Our Peaceful Classroom (1991)(which includes a celebrated study ofgreat peacemakers). She influenced Celia
Lascarides and Blythe F. Hinitz’s Historyof Early Childhood Education (2003) withits notion of a “silence game” that teaches
children to make friends with everyone.
De Stefano also provides details of Montessori’s sojourn in India during WorldWar II (1939–1946), during which she
wrote To Educate the Human Potential,
The Absorbent Mind, and The Discovery ofthe Child. Although Montessori achieved
many honors at the end of her life, her
three nominations did not lead to her
receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. The section ends with her peaceful demise andburial in Noordwijk aan Zee, Holland.
The bibliography, divided into books
and articles about Maria Montessori andthose authored by Montessori, contains
both breadth and depth. It provides a window into publications by Mario Montessori and Mario Montessori Jr. in the Times

Book Reviews

Educational Supplement, and lesser-known
articles by disciples in McClure’s Magazineand Good Housekeeping. It does omit the1913 Outlook article “Maria Montessori:
Friend of Children,” penned by Margaret
Naumburg, a member of the first trainingclass for American and English teachers
held in Italy, heralding Montessori’s firstvisit to the United States.
The author’s note appears at the endof the book. Prior to reading it, I had concluded that the author made a thoroughstudy of existing books about Montessori
and her method and that she had visited
numerous archives to search out sources inseveral languages. The author’s note confirms these conclusions, but goes beyond it
to make the following points: “Maria Montessori asks adults to give up their positionof strength and superiority with respect tochildren, in which they have placed themselves, consciously or not, since the beginning of time” (p. 321); “she speaks abouthuman relationships” (p. 321); she helps
adults look at children differently, statingthat “children do not play, they work, often
harder than we adults do, but we still do
not hesitate to interrupt them” (p. 321);
and Montessori asks “why do we touchthem without asking permission, even if it
is just to caress their hair, while we would
never allow ourselves to do that with theirparents?” (p. 321).
DeStefano barely mentions Montessori’s view of play, except to note that theDottoressa chides her students and disciples if they stray from established patterns. The author highlights Montessori’s
belief that children learn from their own
spontaneous activity with materials thatare appropriate to their level of development from which they get immediate feed-back. This is as close as the book comes toa definition of play.
In a 1983 article entitled “Montessori
Education: Abiding Contributions andContemporary Challenges,” David Elkind
writes that Montessori was an adherent of
the Anticipatory Theory of play, accepting only those forms of play that had apreparatory function. He disagreed withthat view, stating that play “can serve a
number of different functions.” He said
that “when children engage in play, theycome to realize their personal abilities inthe sense that they transform the world
to adapt it to their needs.” Elkind pointed
out that “play is indeed a preparation for
adult life, if adult life is seen as including
self-expression and self-realization as well
as social adaptation” (pp. 4-7).
Writing this review for a journal ofplay, at a museum dedicated to play, I comeback to a principle I have held throughout
my career as a teacher, a teacher educator, and a historian of education. I agreewith Montessori that play is children’swork. But one can view it from many perspectives, from all parts of the curricular
spectrum, beginning with the “free” (or“natural”) school of A. S. Neill describedin Summerhill (1960) through the variety
of approaches in the Head Start and Follow Through models to the rigidity of the“academic preschool.”
What differentiates one approachfrom another is the amount of time allottedfor “meditation,” taking time to contemplate the materials and what they requireprior to using them, and the freedom toexplore the materials at will. However,one will never find a “strict Montessorian”
talking about “children’s play.”
The Child is the Teacher is a welcome

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—Blythe Hinitz, The College of New Jersey,
Ewing Township, N.J.

Enhancing Brain Development
in Infants and Young Children:
Strategies for Caregivers andEducators
Doris Bergen, Lena Lee, Cynthia DiCarlo,and Gail Bernett
New York: Teachers College Press, 2020.
Contents, foreword, introduction, references, index, about the authors. 132 pp.
$27.95 paper.
ISBN: 978807764442
The authors of this accessible book connect the dynamic process of brain growthwith specific activities for children from
infancy through the primary-age years. In
addition, there are suggestions for adults
to modify offerings to adjust to special
learning needs. It is noteworthy that theauthors also include music and movement
activities.
Seven chapters follow an introductory
chapter. Each chapter includes vignettes ofchildren with related sample activities. For
example, adults could provide preverbal
children with picture cards to help communicate a choice or, as needed, provide
adaptive spoons. In addition, the authors
suggest a daily schedule. Each chapter
closes with “Questions for Discussion” and“Suggestions for further Reading/Listening.” The first chapter, “The Brain Building Process,” describes the physical processof brain development from the prenatal
period through kindergarten and primary
years. To help build neuronal connections,
there are recommendations for exercises
and good nutritional care. The authors
continuously focus on providing a variety
of present-time, direct experiences in a
playful environment.
The second chapter, “Fostering Brain
Development in the Infant Curriculum,”
begins with helpful advice for parents
and caretakers that includes mimicking
infants’ expressions and sounds as well
as describing their activities. The authorsemphasize the importance of smiling,vocalizing, talking, and eye contact. They
advocate for “human to human” contact
instead of extended use of automatic
movement devices. Sample music andmovement activities provide practice inrhythmic pattern building and “crossingthe midline.”
Chapter 3, “Fostering Brain Development in the Toddler Curriculum,”
focuses on toddlers’ particularly rapid
brain growth. The authors spell out thepower of play and the “as-if ” significanceof pretense in children’s ongoing symbolic
development. The authors emphasize thepower of choices to support youngsters’
sense of competence. Examples of modified activities include a chalk line insteadof a balance beam, or modified game rules.
The fourth chapter, “Fostering Brain
Development in the Preschool Curriculum,” includes the suggestion that sample curricular activities can be adapted
for either younger or older children. A
framework of specific, engaging activities
provides a continuum from oral language,
three-dimensional objects, and visual representations into print. Children at this age