Drawing Inspiration from
Montessori During the Pandemic
PUNUM BHAT I A , P H D
“Through the thirty years and more that I have been involved in Montessori, I have studied Maria
Montessori’s philosophy and methodology in depth, reading her books over and over again, and each
time coming up with something new. She never fails to surprise me, nudging me to think harder and
deeper, and always making it clear that our work be centered on the child.” (Bhatia, 2019, p. xi)
It was only natural then that when
the COVID-19 pandemic hit us, and I had
to make the very hard decision to close our
school on March 13, 2020, I turned to Maria
Montessori once again. I was looking for
insight, for wisdom, to regain my balance
so I could deal with this situation effectively.
Some parents were unhappy, voicing
their opinions clearly and loudly, disagreeing
with my decision, still thinking this
was just a flu and everyone was overreacting.
My teachers and staff were looking to
me for guidance and, honestly speaking, I
had no idea what to do next. None of us
had been in this situation before…it was
totally unprecedented.
We had been given a “stay-at-home
order” with no idea how long this might
last. Dr. Maria Montessori persevered and
her work continued through some of the
most politically volatile times in history.
After being forced out of Italy because
of her liberal and anti-fascist views, she
fled to Spain where she lived until she was
escorted out one night and taken to
England. There, with Europe on the brink
of war, she accepted an invitation by the
Theosophical Society to visit India for
four months. With nowhere else to go, she
accepted this invitation and, with her son
Mario, landed in India in November of
1939. She was given a hero’s welcome with
a guard of honor and children waving flags
along both sides of the street; but just
imagine how uncomfortable it must have
been for her – especially as things only got
progressively harder. Mario was considered
A child returns to school after an 8-week absence and begins to work right away
to be a threat and was taken away from her
and put in jail.
Maria did not know if she would ever
return to Europe, let alone to her home
country. It was possible she may never
even see her grandchildren again.. It is
not surprising she was reportedly often
seen pacing on the balcony of the Olcott
Bungalow where she lived. The Olcott
Bungalow is grand, with gigantic Roman
pillars that once had a spectacular view
of the Bay of Bengal. She was, in theory,
VOLUME 22 ISSUE 3 • 2020 | WWW.MONTESSORI.ORG/IMC | ©MONTESSORI LEADERSHIP ����
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