Maria Montessori                                                                   Paloma LLedó

She was born in ChiaravaIle (Italy), in 1870.

Although at that time women could only aspire to be teachers, and she had a strict father, the family allowed her another type of education.

She studied engineering, biology and finally medicine at the University of Rome.

She was the first doctor (medic) woman in Italy, she was even a member of the Psychiatric Clinic of Rome. Later, she studied anthropology and she got a doctorate in philosophy. She was also contemporary of S. Freud. At that time Marie made her own classification of mental diseases. Therefore, we can say she was an authentic propellant woman of humanism.

She had an unfortunate love with another doctor who with she had her son Mario, but he abandoned her and after that, she joined  the feminist movement,of which she was an international representative.

She was interested in the education of children, specially children with problems, and she founded the “Children’s House” where she applied her method of teaching, mainly inspired by the fact that children have to be their own teachers and in order to learn they need freedom and multiple options to choose from.

She settled permanently in Amsterdam, where she was named “Doctor honoris cause” in 1950 and she also published  her book “Absorbent Mind”.

She was nominated three times for the Nobel Prize.

She died in 1952 in the Nedherlands at 82, but her thought is still alive in many educational institutions around the world.

In my opinion, the “Montessori Method” is one the best methods of teaching children, to prepare confident adults and happy responsible people.