Maria Montessori Welcomed by European royal families, entertained in the White House, and introduced to Mahatma Gandhi, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Erik Ericson, and the world as the "great educator, who transformed the education of young children.  She developed her theories while working as a doctor in a hospital for special-needs children, and opened her first school for normal children in Rome in 1907.  Her approach, teaching materials, and observations were groundbreaking and innovative, and have made a lasting impact on our educational systems.
 
You might be surprised by the following information about this remarkable woman. Montessori's dedication to her research and to the development of the whole child was far from simple or easy:
 

• Before she graduated from medical school in 1896, Montessori considered quitting due to the prejudice she faced as a woman in a man's world. She found it difficult being alone in the dimly-lit laboratory at night dissecting her cadaver, since it was considered improper for a woman to be exposed to naked bodies in mixed company, but, she persevered, and before long won the respect of many of her classmates, though her father maintained his objection to her non-traditional ways despite her eventual success.
  

 

•  Representing Italy at the International Women's Conference in Berlin just two months after graduation, Dr. Montessori lectured on the rights of working women and proposed equal pay for equal work.  In the late 1890's, she represented the National League for the Education of Retarded Children, and spoke throughout Europe about the ability of all children to learn.
  

 

•  With a private practice as a pediatrician, and as director of the State Orth phrenic School for the retarded, Montessori continued her research and created the first learning materials for "deficient" children.  She studied the philosophy of education and was appointed as a lecturer at the women's teacher-training college.  In 1899 she began a second degree in anthropology, experimental psychology, and education at the University of Rome.  She became a lecturer of science and medicine at the University of Rome in 1904.
  

 

•  Montessori had a love affair with a medical colleague, Dr. Montesano, in the late 1890s and became pregnant.  Knowing this would end her career, they agreed to keep their son's birth secret from all but close family and a few friends. Her son Mario was raised in a foster home, with infrequent visits from his mother who identified herself as his aunt.  When he came to live with her around the age of 13, he was identified as her nephew, but with his name now Montessori rather than Montesano.  Official public acknowledgement that he was indeed her son came after her death when her will was read.
  

 

•  By 1911, the Montessori system had spread around the world.  The first American Montessori School opened in Tarrytown, New York that year.
  

 

•  Montessori traveled to the United States in 1913 after the popular magazine, McClure's, ran a lengthy article featuring her new method of education.  Supported by many influential people including Alexander Graham Bell and President Wilson's daughter Margaret, she gave lectures in many large cities.
  

 

•  San Francisco, CA 1915: A gifted speaker who never used notes, Montessori was described by the New York Tribune during her first visit to the United States in 1913 as "a woman who revolutionized the educational system of the world."  In 1915, she returned to oversee her "glass classroom" exhibit at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, where attendees could watch the children at work.  She also gave training courses for teachers.
  

 

•  In spite of some prominent educator's criticisms of her theory, her enthusiastic followers were ready to help her continue her research and spread the Montessori system of education throughout the United States.  With a strong belief in her methods, which she feared would be exploited and misinterpreted, Montessori decided she was the only person qualified to train teachers.  She chose to continue to develop her methods by herself outside the educational community.  Unfortunately, this led to the failure of the American expansion of her schools.
  

 

•  Rome, Italy, 1930: Throughout the 1920s, Montessori gave training courses and set up model schools throughout the world.  In 1926 she was invited to address the League of Nations in Geneva, where she talked about "Peace and Education."  With the support of Mussolini and his fascist government, Montessori schools became official state schools in her homeland.  Perhaps for economic reasons and believing that she could expand her influence, she allowed this governmental sponsorship of her schools, with Mussolini serving as the director of the Montessori Association in Italy.  The fifteenth international Montessori training course was held under official governmental auspices in 1930.
  

 

• In 1933, denying any political affiliation, but as the sole authority over her schools, Montessori refused to have children and teachers in her schools take the oath of loyalty to fascism.  She left Italy, settling first in Spain and later in The Netherlands.  Montessori schools in Germany, Italy, Austria, and other European countries were closed as the war spread.  Her education of teachers continued in India.
  

 

• London, England, 1951: Montessori successfully turned her educational activities into a self-supporting venture with her son Mario as her partner.  They founded the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) in 1929.  After her death in 1952, Mario carried on his mother's vision.  This organization, with headquarters in Amsterdam, continues to train teachers and accredit schools worldwide to this day.
  

 

•  Until 1960, there were few Montessori schools remaining in the U.S.  In 1958, after taking a Montessori teacher-training course in London, Nancy McCormick Rambusch opened the Whitby School in Greenwich, Connecticut.  In 1962, her book Learning How to Learn, An American Approach to Montessori, was published.  Although Mario Montessori protested the Americanization of the Montessori approach, Ms. Rambusch formed the American Montessori Society (AMS).  As more schools opened around the world, a dispute arose between the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) and the American Montessori Society (AMS) over the use of the Montessori name.   In the United States, the Patent and Trademark Office refused to grant exclusive use of the term "Montessori" to any one single organization, saying that the term "Montessori'' has a generic or descriptive meaning.
  

 

•  Today both AMI and AMS cooperate to promote the value of Montessori education, provide education programs for teachers, and support schools with accreditation and continued learning opportunities.
  

 
  For more, see:  Maria Montessori:  A Little History.
 
 
Credits
 
Color image of Maria Montessori is taken from Maria Montessori Poster (R03); black and white images are from Maria Montessori Centenary Cards (R09).
 
Bibliography
 Hainstock, Elizabeth G., The Essential Montessori, An Introduction to the Woman, the Writings, the Method and the Movement, Penguin Books, 1978 (revised 1997).
 
Kramer, Rita, Maria Montessori: A Biography, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1976.
 
North American Montessori Teachers' Association, A Montessori Journey: 1907-2007 - The Centenary Exhibit. The NAMTA Journal, Vol. 32, No. 3, Summer, 2007.
 Pollard, Michael, Maria Montessori, Gareth Stevens Children's Books, 1990.
 Standing, E.M., Maria Montessori, Her Life and Work, Penguin Books,1957.

  By Jane M. Jacobs, M.A., Montessori Educational Consultant at Montessori Services. She is a trained primary Montessori directress and also a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She has taught children aged 2 to 7 years in Montessori schools, Headstart, and also in a preschool for children with developmental challenges. In her counseling practice, she helps individuals, couples, and families

                       "When the children had completed an absorbing bit of work,
                                           they appeared rested and deeply pleased."
                                     Maria Montessori (author), Paul Oswald (editor),
                                     Basic Ideas of Montessori's Educational Theory
 
Boy Hammering-Children as young as three-years-old, after several months in a Montessori classroom, are able to choose their own work and focus on, and finish their tasks.  Through observation and experimentation, Montessori discovered the importance of a two-and-a-half to three-hour uninterrupted work period.  The last hour of a lengthy work period is usually when children are most likely to choose challenging work and concentrate deeply.
 
Montessori once observed a three-year-old repeat the knobbed cylinders activity 44 times.  The girl's concentration did not waver when Montessori tested it, first picking up the girl in her chair and placing her (still in her chair) on top of her desk and then asking classmates to sing.  When she stopped working of her own accord, "...she looked round with a satisfied air, almost as if waking from a refreshing nap." Montessori called this a "never-to-be-forgotten" discovery. (Spontaneous Activity in Education)
 
Phases of the Work Period
 
Montessori and her directresses carefully observed the phases of children's work during long work periods.  They noted that in the first hour and twenty minutes, children often chose an easy initial task, followed by a moderately challenging activity.  After this, ten minutes of "false fatigue" occurred as children appeared restless and classroom noise increased.  This is the time when many teachers get uneasy and end the work period.  However, false fatigue is actually "preparation for the culminating work," when children choose challenging work and concentrate deeply.  When finished, there is a period of "contemplation" as children appear deeply satisfied and at peace. (ibid)
 
Children in Montessori classrooms become absorbed in their work, because they have the freedom to choose activities that interest them.  In classrooms where the work period is less than two hours long, children rarely experience the deep concentration where leaps of cognitive development can take place. Children are understandably hesitant to choose challenging work if they think they won't have time to complete it (or repeat it 44 times).
 
False Fatigue
 
At 10 o'clock, there is a great commotion; the children are restless; they neither work nor go in quest of materials. The onlooker gets an impression of a tired class, about to become disorderly.  After a few minutes, the most perfect order reigns once more.  The children are promptly absorbed in work again; they have chosen new and more difficult occupations.
(ibid)
 
False fatigue is similar to adults taking a coffee break after working hard.  If children are disrupting others, they can be quietly redirected, but too much interference actually prolongs the period of false fatigue.  Instead of anxiously over-controlling or ending the work period, we must trust children to return to work.  We can then observe whether they choose their most challenging task of the day.
 
Is Circle Time Always Necessary?                                   

During the morning work period, children receive individual or small group lessons, work at their own pace with materials they choose, and serve themselves snack.  Many schools have a mandatory circle (often lasting 30-40 minutes) near the start or end of the work period.  At the beginning of the school year, before the class has normalized, more whole group activities are often necessary.
 
However, any interruption to the work period (including circle) disrupts the child's exploration, focus, mastery of skills, critical thinking, and problem solving.  Lengthy circles significantly shorten the work period.  Without sufficient time, children rarely concentrate deeply on really challenging work.  Instead of mandatory circle time, you could invite smaller groups of children to sing, listen to a story, or observe an art lesson.  A good time for a short circle (to do the calendar or sing songs) is during the transition to lunch, while children are cleaning up from the work period.
 
If your school enlists specialists to teach enrichment subjects (music, Spanish, etc.), perhaps they could all be scheduled on the same day.  This would maximize the number of uninterrupted work periods.
 
Implementing a Longer Work Period
 
As an intern supervisor, I have visited dozens of Montessori classrooms.  Only a handful had a lengthy, uninterrupted work period.  Here are some steps you can take to move towards a three-hour work period:
 
Evaluate if daily circle is truly necessary.  Even at the start of the school year, you probably have a few children who could be given the choice to work quietly rather than attend circle.
Motivate parents to bring their children to school on time, explaining that when children miss class time, they are less likely to choose challenging work that requires more concentration.
Reschedule outdoor/lunch time to give children a longer work period.
 
Inspiration
 
Sometimes teachers wonder if it's still possible for today's children to attain the kind of deep concentration that Montessori called a "miracle."  Are our children, surrounded by screens, incapable of the same focused attention as children in Montessori's time?
 
I was recently inspired by observing Montessori philosophy in action, in the kind of classroom that Montessori wrote about so eloquently.  It had all of the key elements, including a three-hour work period and a mixed age group of three- to six-year-olds.  The children were engaged in a variety of interesting activities, working without seeming to need the teachers.  An older child spontaneously helped a younger one clean up a spill, teaching her how to use the mop.  A large group of five-year-olds organized their own lesson, taking turns picking out rivers in an atlas.  After the short period of false fatigue, there was a hush in the room as many children worked with profound concentration.
 
A Montessori teacher put it this way: "Protect the three-hour work period with your life! It's one of the most important ingredients in our method."
 
 
Credits:
 
—by Irene Baker, MEd, Montessori Educational Consultant at Montessori Services.  She holds both primary (ages 3-6) and elementary (ages 6-12) Montessori certifications, and has taught at all three levels.  For over 15 years, she has served as a Montessori teacher-trainer for both primary and elementary levels, and has presented workshops for teachers at schools and AMS national conferences. Her work with both students and teachers is infused with the knowledge she has gained from her passions:  History, social justice, non-violent (compassionate) communication, nature, meditation, music, and poetry.