66. Maria Montessori (Cont.)

Maria Montessori was born in 1870 in Ancona, a port city on Italy's Adriatic coast. Although her intellectual interests were discouraged by her father and others around her who felt women belonged in the home, she remained steadfast in her pursuit of a scientific education. She made history when she graduated from the Medical School of the University of Rome, becoming the first woman physician in modern Italy. Her specialties pediatrics and psychiatry, prepared her well for a career studying how children learn and putting her observations and insights on this subject into practice. Simple ideas like making classroom furniture an appropriate size for children and storing learning materials on low shelves where children could reach them revolutionized early education.

Today there are "official" Montessori schools throughout the world, and aspects of her method of educating children have infiltrated most public and private schools as well. Maria Montessori was clearly a woman whose ideas were well ahead of the prevailing wisdom of her time. She is unquestionably one of the most important educators of the century, and her legacy belongs not only to Italy but also to the entire world.

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