What role did women's leadership play in the introduction and revival of the Montessori Method in America? Phyllis Povell explores this question through the contributions of Maria Montessori and Nancy McCormick Rambusch, who brought the Montessori Method to the American educational scene. Introduced to the U. S. in the early 20th century by Montessori herself, the Method lapsed into oblivion after WWI. Thanks to Rambusch, it was reborn after the launching of Sputnik. In Montessori Comes to America, Povell traces the evolution of women's leadership and its influence on the Montessori Method's development. She includes insights from her own formative years, showing how childhood, education and career all shape women into leaders. New research not only illuminates the unique roles of two historic early childhood educators, but also updates the historical record and reveals the human dimension behind one of the most colorful chapters in American educational development.

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Bringing Montessori to America tells the little known story of the collaboration and clash between the indomitable educator Maria Montessori and the American publisher S. S. McClure over the launch of Montessori education in the United States.

A fresh, comprehensive biography of the pioneering educator and activist who changed the way we look at children’s minds, from the author of Oriana Fallaci. Born in 1870 in Chiaravalle, Italy, Maria Montessori would grow up to embody almost every trait men of her era detested in the fairer sex. She was self-confident, strong-willed, and had a fiery temper at a time when women were supposed to be soft and pliable. She studied until she became a doctor at a time when female graduates in Italy provoked outright scandal. She never wanted to marry or have children—the accepted destiny for all women of her milieu in late nineteenth-century bourgeois Rome—and when she became pregnant by a colleague of hers, she gave up her son to continue pursuing her career. At around age thirty, Montessori was struck by the condition of children in the slums of Rome’s San Lorenzo neighborhood, and realized what she wanted to do with her life: change the school, and therefore the world, through a new approach to the child’s mind. In spite of the resistance she faced from all sides—scientists accused her of being too mystical, and the clergy of being too scientific, traditionalists of giving children too much freedom, and anarchists of giving them too much structure—she would garner acclaim and establish the influential Montessori method, which is now practiced throughout the world. A thorough, nuanced portrait of this often controversial woman, The Child Is the Teacher is the first biographical work on Maria Montessori written by an author who is not a member of the Montessori movement, but who has been granted access to original letters, diaries, notes, and texts written by Montessori herself, including an array of previously unpublished material.

Paula Lillard, director of a Montessori school ranging in age from 18 months to fifteen years, provides a clear and cogent introduction to the Montessori program for the elementary and later years. In detailed accounts, Lillard shows how children acquire the skills to answer their own questions, learn to manage freedom with responsibility, and maintain a high level of intellectual stimulation by using the Montessori method. This is an essential handbook for parents and teachers who have chosen the Montessori alternative for the older child.

Certain aspects of the system are in themselves striking and significant: it adapts to the education of normal children methods and apparatus originally used for deficients; it is based on a radical conception of liberty for the pupil; it entails a highly formal training of separate sensory, motor, and mental capacities; and it leads to rapid, easy, and substantial mastery of the elements of reading, writing, and arithmetic. - Introduction.

The purpose of this book is to expound and defend the great powers of the child, and to help teachers to a new outlook which will change their task from drudgery to joy, from repression to collaboration with nature...the first two years of life are the most important... So here begins a new path, wherein it will not be the professor who teaches the child, but the child who teaches the professor

The definitive biography of a physician, feminist, social reformer, educator, and one of the most influential, and controversial women of the 20th century. Maria Montessori effected a worldwide revolution in the classroom. She developed a new method of educating the young and inspired a movement that carried it into every corner of the world. This is the story of the woman behind the public figure—her accomplishments, her ideas, and her passions. Montessori broke the mold imposed on women in the nineteenth century and forged a new one, first for herself and eventually for those who came after her. Against formidable odds she became the first woman to graduate from the medical school of the University of Rome and then devoted herself to the condition of children considered uneducable at the time. She developed a teaching method that enabled them to do as well as normal children, a method which then led her to found a new kind of school—the Casa dei Bambini, or House of Children—which gained her worldwide fame and still pervades classrooms wherever young children learn. This biography is not only the story of a groundbreaking feminist but a vital chapter in the history of education. “Highly recommended for educators, parents, and moderate feminists who seek inspiration from one of the most accomplished women of this or any other age.”—Publishers Weekly

Calm the chaos and transform your home into a space that fosters curiosity, creativity, and independence Too often, the toys, games, and other materials meant to educate young children end up being a detriment instead. If you're overwhelmed and your kids are overstimulated, it's time to reset your space by applying the principles of the Montessori method at home so you can be a calmer, more attentive parent. Author and certified Montessori guide Ashley Yeh tackles each room of the home and explains how to provide young children with the accessibility they need to complete practical life skills on their own, tapping into their innate desire to "do it myself." Whether your child is an infant, toddler, or preschooler, there are simple and inexpensive changes you can make to foster indpendence and reduce the stress around mealtimes, bedtime, and leaving the house. Includes: • Introduction to the Montessori method, which emphasizes whole-child development and learning through experience • How to apply Montessori principles throughout the home so that children are able to complete practical, everyday tasks on their own • Over 75 simple activities for ages 0–5 • Essential Montessori resources and materials with DIY options

Angeline Stoll Lillard here shows that science has finally caught up with Maria Montessori. Lillard presents the research behind eight principles that provide the foundation for Montessori education and describes how each principle is applied in the Montessori classroom.