Maria Montessori: The Italian Doctor Who Revolutionized the Education Systems of the World (People Who Have Helped the World S.) - Hardcover

This series of short biographies covers the lives of 24 leading humanitarians, peacemakers and conservationists, all of whom have made a major contribution to the world around them. This book features the life of Dr Maria Montessori. When children went to school before the beginning of the 20th century, it was a strict, regimented place. Children were made to sit at desks in long rows, with the teacher at the front. Materials were limited and everything was learnt parrot-fashion, repeated after the teacher. When Maria Montessori became the first woman doctor in Italy, she was setting a precedent. She used that same intelligence and determination to transform the classroom into a place where children were thought of as "people" who both wanted to learn and had a great potential to do so. In 1907 Dr Montessori introduced the now familiar look of classrooms - the child-sized furniture, aprons, paints, sinks and toys. The changes that Maria made marked the start of the important world-wide progression in education and in the way that adults think of and treat young children today.