Maria Montessori: A Modern Woman in an Old World

Paper Summary:

Maria Montessori was a modern woman in a man's world. In times when women were expected to follow procedure and know their roles in society, Montessori made her own rules. This paper shows how she continuously broke tradition and expectations by forcing her thoughts and ideas onto society. She was the first female to enroll in two all-male institutions, showing no fear when the male students ridiculed her. She dominated the medical profession, which was more of a fraternal brotherhood in those days, and she completely transformed the world of early childhood education. The paper shows that Maria Montessori's willingness to take dramatic steps away from the accepted methods of her era allowed her to create a ground-breaking teaching technique that has withstood the test of time.

From the Paper:

"As a physician, Montessori specialized in pediatrics and psychiatry. Through this contact with children, she began to acquire an awareness of child development. In 1901, she was appointed director of the Orthophrentic School at the University of Rome. The school had been used as an asylum for "deficient and insane" children of the city. Many of the children were most likely retarded or autistic. She walked into a room to discover children sitting on old benches for hours at a time. She was told that the children were "savage and dirty" because they would scramble to pick crumbs up off the floor after a meal. Montessori was appalled by the scene and began to develop a way to reform the school (Standing 28)."

More papers on Maria Montessori: A Modern Woman in an Old World:

• Book Review # 116619 : "Montessori: A Modern Approach"
• Descriptive Essay # 74907 : " The Death of a Beautiful Woman in Poe's "The Raven"
• Essay # 84074 : "Dr. Maria Montessori"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: