Montessori education stems from the Montessori Method, created by Dr. Maria Montessori. The Montessori Method is rather simple. Dr. Montessori posited that the best way to educate children was to support their natural development, rather than pursuing specific outcomes for learning. Secondly, in the pursuit of supporting the child’s natural development, Dr. Montessori knew that children learn most from the experiences in their environment (rather than from direct instruction). Dr. Montessori re-positioned the role of the adult to a “guide” instead of a “teacher” for this purpose. Dr. Montessori’s methods were revolutionary in 1907 and it is still revolutionary today. In this simple process, we:

1. Aim to understand the development that the child is trying to do;

2. Prepare an environment of experiences for the child to do that development;

3. Use Observation as our guide to see the development unfold; and

4. Adjust any of the previous three as the child grows.

In Dr. Montessori’s aim to accomplish this revolutionary approach to education, she saw two essential outcomes of this developmentally-centered method. The first was the oppressive nature and practices of conventional education. Dr. Montessori aimed to remove all oppressive practices in the structure of schooling that were preventing children from developing as they were trying to. The second was her discovery that when children are allowed to develop as they are tryin to, they become peaceful with themselves and the world around them. This was a remarkable discovery and inspired her life’s work in education as a tool for peace.