1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:02,120 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,200 --> 00:00:10,479 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:10,920 --> 00:00:15,080 Speaker 1: a show for those who can never know enough about history. 4 00:00:15,600 --> 00:00:19,920 Speaker 1: I'm Gay Bluzier and in this episode we're talking about 5 00:00:19,920 --> 00:00:25,200 Speaker 1: the life of Italian physician and educator Maria Montessori, including 6 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:38,520 Speaker 1: the breakthrough educational method that bears her name. The day 7 00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:45,519 Speaker 1: was January six, nineteen o seven. Dr Maria Montessori opened 8 00:00:45,520 --> 00:00:49,440 Speaker 1: a new kind of school in an impoverished neighborhood in Rome. 9 00:00:50,440 --> 00:00:54,480 Speaker 1: It was called the Casa day Bambini, or the Children's House, 10 00:00:54,960 --> 00:00:57,840 Speaker 1: and it didn't function like any other school in Italy. 11 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:02,600 Speaker 1: That's because Dr mont Tsuri had spent years developing a 12 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:07,920 Speaker 1: new approach to children's education. Instead of following structured lessons 13 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:12,000 Speaker 1: and teacher driven schedules, her school allowed the students to 14 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:15,520 Speaker 1: choose how they spent large portions of the day, while 15 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:20,160 Speaker 1: the teacher or director merely observed and only stepped in 16 00:01:20,200 --> 00:01:24,920 Speaker 1: when needed. This framework required a new kind of classroom, 17 00:01:25,440 --> 00:01:29,800 Speaker 1: one that was specially designed to encourage free interaction with 18 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:33,840 Speaker 1: learning materials and classmates instead of just sitting at a 19 00:01:33,880 --> 00:01:39,600 Speaker 1: desk all day. Monastoris approach proved so successful that it 20 00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:43,920 Speaker 1: was later implemented at schools throughout Italy and eventually at 21 00:01:43,959 --> 00:01:48,840 Speaker 1: schools all over the world. Maria Montessori was born on 22 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:55,200 Speaker 1: August thirty one, eighteen seventy, in Keira Vale, Italy. Her 23 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:58,880 Speaker 1: father worked for the Ministry of Finance as the financial 24 00:01:58,920 --> 00:02:03,480 Speaker 1: manager of a run tobacco factory. Her mother was a 25 00:02:03,480 --> 00:02:07,240 Speaker 1: homemaker but had received a much better education than most 26 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:11,400 Speaker 1: Italian women of the era. As a result, she instilled 27 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:13,880 Speaker 1: a love of reading and learning and her daughter at 28 00:02:13,919 --> 00:02:18,440 Speaker 1: a young age. When she turned thirteen, Maria decided to 29 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:22,519 Speaker 1: study engineering. She made waves by enrolling in an all 30 00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:27,040 Speaker 1: boys technical institute, and while she was admitted, she quickly 31 00:02:27,120 --> 00:02:31,000 Speaker 1: changed her mind and realized she'd rather study medicine instead. 32 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:34,079 Speaker 1: Her father tried to talk her out of it, but 33 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:38,799 Speaker 1: Maria was resolute. She enrolled in a prestigious medical program 34 00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:42,080 Speaker 1: at the University of Rome, and when she graduated in 35 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:45,720 Speaker 1: eighteen ninety six, she became one of the nation's first 36 00:02:45,880 --> 00:02:51,440 Speaker 1: female physicians. For the next few years, doctor Montessori focused 37 00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:55,239 Speaker 1: primarily on children's psychiatry, and it was during this time 38 00:02:55,280 --> 00:02:58,639 Speaker 1: that she began to develop an interest in educational theories. 39 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:03,760 Speaker 1: She to taking classes on pedagogy, and her studies eventually 40 00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:07,360 Speaker 1: led her to question the traditional model of children's education. 41 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:13,240 Speaker 1: In particular, doctor Montessori believed the established methods weren't well 42 00:03:13,320 --> 00:03:19,000 Speaker 1: suited to children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She theorized 43 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:22,520 Speaker 1: that those students had the same innate desire to learn 44 00:03:22,639 --> 00:03:26,760 Speaker 1: as everybody else, They just needed opportunities to pursue that 45 00:03:26,919 --> 00:03:32,320 Speaker 1: impulse in a less structured environment. In nine hundred, doctor 46 00:03:32,440 --> 00:03:35,800 Speaker 1: Montessori got the chance to test out her ideas when 47 00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:38,320 Speaker 1: she was made the co director of a new training 48 00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:43,560 Speaker 1: institute for special education teachers. She experimented with different teaching 49 00:03:43,600 --> 00:03:47,600 Speaker 1: methods and materials, and she observed how the students responded 50 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:51,320 Speaker 1: to see which one's worked best. Many of the children 51 00:03:51,360 --> 00:03:56,000 Speaker 1: benefited from this new, self directed, hands on approach to learning. 52 00:03:56,600 --> 00:03:59,920 Speaker 1: The two year program was deemed a success, and doctor 53 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:04,160 Speaker 1: Montessori began to imagine how her methods might be adapted 54 00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:10,240 Speaker 1: for mainstream education. Montessori spent several more years developing what 55 00:04:10,360 --> 00:04:15,560 Speaker 1: she would later call scientific pedagogy. Then, in nineteen o seven, 56 00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:20,400 Speaker 1: she accepted a daunting challenge to oversee the full day 57 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:24,760 Speaker 1: care and education of fifty to sixty children between the 58 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:28,760 Speaker 1: ages of two and seven. All of them were children 59 00:04:28,760 --> 00:04:32,040 Speaker 1: of low income working parents who had been provided with 60 00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:35,520 Speaker 1: housing and a new apartment building in the San Lorenzo 61 00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:40,240 Speaker 1: district of Rome. This new learning center became the first 62 00:04:40,360 --> 00:04:45,320 Speaker 1: Casa day Bambini. Dr Montessori didn't teach or care for 63 00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:50,000 Speaker 1: the children there directly. Instead, she oversaw and observed their 64 00:04:50,040 --> 00:04:54,160 Speaker 1: work in the classroom, which included practical activities such as 65 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:58,080 Speaker 1: sweeping and personal grooming, as well as the learning material 66 00:04:58,240 --> 00:05:02,400 Speaker 1: she had developed over the years. Based on her observations, 67 00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:07,280 Speaker 1: doctor Montessori began to see independence as the goal of education, 68 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:10,800 Speaker 1: and she gradually changed the classroom to reflect that view. 69 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:15,760 Speaker 1: For example, she replaced heavy chairs and tables with lightweight, 70 00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:19,440 Speaker 1: child sized furniture that could be easily moved around by 71 00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:24,120 Speaker 1: the students. She also placed learning materials on low shelves 72 00:05:24,279 --> 00:05:27,400 Speaker 1: to make them more accessible, and she carved out large 73 00:05:27,480 --> 00:05:30,760 Speaker 1: open sections of the classroom so that the children could 74 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:34,280 Speaker 1: move freely between the different areas and lessons that were 75 00:05:34,279 --> 00:05:38,240 Speaker 1: set up throughout the room. Although they were rowdy at first, 76 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:42,479 Speaker 1: over time, the children developed self discipline and became self 77 00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:47,840 Speaker 1: motivated to learn new skills and concepts. Essentially, teaching themselves. 78 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:53,080 Speaker 1: Decades later, doctor Montessori published a book about her educational 79 00:05:53,120 --> 00:05:57,679 Speaker 1: philosophy and methods. She summed up the model saying quote, 80 00:05:58,120 --> 00:06:02,359 Speaker 1: before elaborating any sist stem of education, we must create 81 00:06:02,440 --> 00:06:06,200 Speaker 1: a favorable environment that will encourage the flowering of a 82 00:06:06,279 --> 00:06:10,440 Speaker 1: child's natural gifts. All that is needed is to remove 83 00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:13,599 Speaker 1: the obstacles, and this should be the basis of and 84 00:06:13,839 --> 00:06:18,440 Speaker 1: point of departure four all future education. The first thing 85 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:21,520 Speaker 1: to be done is to discover the true nature of 86 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:25,039 Speaker 1: a child and then assist him in his normal development. 87 00:06:26,240 --> 00:06:30,800 Speaker 1: Cosa day Bambini was a monumental success, and a second 88 00:06:30,839 --> 00:06:34,040 Speaker 1: location was open just a few months after the first. 89 00:06:34,880 --> 00:06:38,599 Speaker 1: The children in the Monassori programs continued to display high 90 00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:43,400 Speaker 1: levels of concentration, attention, and self discipline, and this eventually 91 00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:47,000 Speaker 1: drew the attention of other educators and members of the press. 92 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:52,080 Speaker 1: Word of the Montessori method began to spread, and by 93 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:56,480 Speaker 1: nineteen ten it had been adopted by schools throughout Western Europe. 94 00:06:57,279 --> 00:07:00,320 Speaker 1: A year later, in nineteen eleven, the method made its 95 00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:03,360 Speaker 1: way across the Atlantic with the opening of the first 96 00:07:03,440 --> 00:07:07,480 Speaker 1: Montessori school in the United States in Terrytown, New York. 97 00:07:08,560 --> 00:07:12,080 Speaker 1: Doctor Montessori spent the rest of her life advocating for 98 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:16,600 Speaker 1: her child directed approach to education. She wrote dozens of 99 00:07:16,720 --> 00:07:20,760 Speaker 1: articles and books, and gave numerous lectures on the psychological 100 00:07:20,880 --> 00:07:25,320 Speaker 1: and developmental benefits of collaborative play and hands on learning. 101 00:07:25,960 --> 00:07:29,720 Speaker 1: She developed a program to train teachers in the Montessori method, 102 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:33,640 Speaker 1: and then she taught it herself in countries across the globe. 103 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:37,320 Speaker 1: In fact, she lived in exile during World War Two, 104 00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:40,920 Speaker 1: and she used the displacement as an opportunity to teach 105 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:44,640 Speaker 1: her method in India. When the war was finally over, 106 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:47,720 Speaker 1: she returned to Europe and lived out the remainder of 107 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:52,240 Speaker 1: her days in Amsterdam. She died there peacefully in the 108 00:07:52,280 --> 00:07:56,240 Speaker 1: garden of a friend on May sixth, nineteen fifty two, 109 00:07:56,520 --> 00:08:00,320 Speaker 1: at the age of eighty one. Through her efforts and 110 00:08:00,400 --> 00:08:03,200 Speaker 1: the work of those who believed in her cause, the 111 00:08:03,280 --> 00:08:06,800 Speaker 1: Monossori method has been adopted by schools in a hundred 112 00:08:06,800 --> 00:08:11,120 Speaker 1: and ten countries. Today, there are more than twenty thousand 113 00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:16,280 Speaker 1: Monossori schools worldwide, and the influence of Monossori programs can 114 00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:19,640 Speaker 1: be found in countless more at every age level and 115 00:08:19,720 --> 00:08:26,240 Speaker 1: every developmental stage. Thanks to Maria Montessori's pioneering work. Parents 116 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:29,360 Speaker 1: now have other options and don't have to settle for 117 00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:33,560 Speaker 1: the old, one size fits all approach to education. And 118 00:08:33,640 --> 00:08:37,000 Speaker 1: better yet, many children now get to go to school 119 00:08:37,040 --> 00:08:41,920 Speaker 1: in engaging, non competitive classrooms where they're allowed and encouraged 120 00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:45,240 Speaker 1: to learn at their own pace without a bunch of 121 00:08:45,280 --> 00:08:50,920 Speaker 1: stuffy adults getting in the way. I'm Gaybe Louzier, and 122 00:08:51,120 --> 00:08:54,599 Speaker 1: hopefully you now know a little more about history today 123 00:08:54,720 --> 00:08:57,840 Speaker 1: than you did yesterday. If you have a second and 124 00:08:57,880 --> 00:09:02,280 Speaker 1: you're so inclined, consider fall doing the show on Twitter, Facebook, 125 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:07,120 Speaker 1: and Instagram at t d I h C show. You 126 00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:10,120 Speaker 1: can also leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, and 127 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:13,000 Speaker 1: you can write to us at this Day at I 128 00:09:13,160 --> 00:09:17,400 Speaker 1: heart media dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing 129 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:20,320 Speaker 1: the show, and thanks to you for listening. I'll see 130 00:09:20,320 --> 00:09:24,319 Speaker 1: you back here again tomorrow for another day in History class. 131 00:09:33,880 --> 00:09:36,199 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the iHeart 132 00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:38,600 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or where ever you listen to 133 00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:39,360 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.