The Child Is the Teacher: A Life of Maria Montessori

Maria Montessori, the Italian pedagogue identified as the founder of a groundbreaking education system, became a legend in her lifetime. The Child Is the Teacher addresses her personality and idiosyncrasies as well as her genius.

Born in Chiaravalle in 1870, Montessori resolved to become a physician, a career verging on the improper for a woman at the time. Before long, she adapted her training and early practice as a doctor when she recognized children’s ability to make choices for themselves without adult intervention. She determined how, with adults’ lengthy patience, even infants could investigate and then master progressively more complex tasks.

She saw education as an aid to personality, and the many materials she developed, some appropriately child-sized, made it possible for children to organize their knowledge. She believed that “the hand touches the evident, and the mind discovers the secret.”

Seemingly, Montessori was resolute and uncompromising, allowing her followers to make no adjustments to her method when using her name. In later years, accompanied always by her son, she traveled in Europe, America, and South Asia disseminating the Montessori method.

Despite a need to reiterate the dates of Montessori’s professional life to avoid confusion, The Child Is the Teacher is an outstanding tribute.