Lake Fern Montessori Academy Maria Montessori was, in many ways, ahead of her time. Born in the town of Chiaraville, in the province of Ancona, Italy, in 1870, she became the first female physician in Italy upon her graduation from medical school in 1896. In her medical practice, her clinical observations led her to analyze how children learn, how they build themselves from what they find in their immediate environment. In 1906 she accepted the challenge to work with a group of 60 children of working parents in the San Lorenzo district of Rome. What ultimately became the Montessori method of education developed there, based upon Montessori's scientific observations of these children's almost effortless ability to absorb knowledge from their surroundings, as well as their tireless interest in manipulating materials.
Children teach themselves.
Maria Montessori died in Noordwijk, Holland in 1952, but her work continues. Montessori schools have opened up all over the world, only starting to gain popularity in the United States in the past 25 years. The Montessori philosophy cannot only be found in the private sector but in some public schools also. Education is an independent activity but not a solitary endeavor. It is the result of a cooperative effort of all within the environment for the maximum benefit of the individual.