Similarly, Maria Montessori's life provides key lessons for educators and for other individuals confronted with large systems that they can see to be clearly broken. Montessori managed to overcome the general gender discrimination typical of her time, and more than that she managed to challenge and the preconceived and largely entrenched patriarchal notions of education as an exercise in control, replacing them with her own theories based solely on the fact that they worked so indisputably well (a fact that has failed to bring many theories and projects to light). In this manner, she is a direct inspiration to educators and others working to fix a flawed system, or at least to mitigate its damage.
It is difficult to determine the extent of Montessori's impact on the overall practice of education, as she was not the only force working towards the liberalization of educational practices in the first half of the twentieth century. It is certain that her impact was substantial in this regard, however, and with more than twenty-thousand schools worldwide estimated to be utilizing Montessori principles even educators that do not employ her techniques to a large degree are likely to be aware of and even incorporate certain Montessori...
The Montessori Method, in whole or in part, can lead to more effective and enjoyable education for students, teachers, parents, and administrators, reducing disciplinary problems and enhancing progress with greater ease and eagerness, and these methods are thus useful learning for any teacher at any level.
Conclusion
There have been few figures in the history of education who loom as large as Maria Montessori. Though her theories have still not wholly entered mainstream practice, they remain a strong influence on modern education. As these theories continue to be proven correct, it is likely that this influence will continue to grow.
References
AMS. (2011). American Montessori Society. Accessed 13 November 2011. http://www.amshq.org/
IMI. (2011). International Montessori Index. Accessed 13 November 2011. http://www.montessori.edu/
Kramer, R. (1988). Maria Montessori: A Biography. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Montessori, M. (1912). The Montessori Method. Accessed 13 November 2011. http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/montessori/method/method.html
Montessori, M. (2004). The…
