Maria Montessori was an Italian physician, educator, philosopher, humanitarian and devout Catholic; she is best known for her philosophy and the Montessori method of education of children from birth to adolescence. Her educational method is in use today in a number of public as well as private schools throughout the world.
Insightful and inspirational! It’s hard to believe that Dr. Montessori had spoken these things in the 1940’s because these lectures are still so relevant to today! I had previously read many Montessori parenting books, written by other authors, so I was familiar with Montessori philosophies, materials, and methods. But even still, I learned a lot from these lectures and was inspired by Dr. Montessori—she was a true genius! I especially enjoyed the cultural references she made, her analogies, and her explanations of how she came to using certain materials and methods. She spoke with a wealth of scientific and historic knowledge, experience, and passion. Very insightful and inspirational!
The editor did a great job of including footnotes wherever Dr. Montessori made references to people, books, events, etc.
The content is dense, but each lecture/chapter is short, which keeps it from being too dense of a read. It’s a good book to read over time, reflecting on each chapter. For example, there are 33 lectures, so a person could easily read one per day (plus the few remaining) within a month.
These lectures are quite an interesting read if you think about the context of when and where they were given. It is also interesting to think about how Montessori's ideas still hold up in modern time.