Birth of Maria Montessori

Maria Montessori was born on 31 August 1870 in Chiaravalle. An Italian physician and educator, Montessori was one of the first women in Italy to qualify as a doctor. Working with children with learning difficulties in Rome, she developed methods that she applied in 1907 in her first Casa dei Bambini, a school for young children from poor families. The Montessori method emphasizes independence, freedom within limits, hands-on learning with specially designed materials, and mixed-age classrooms in which children follow their own interests. Her ideas spread around the world, and thousands of Montessori schools now exist. She left Italy during the Fascist period, and lived in Spain, the Netherlands and India.

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