Happy Birthday,
Maria Montessori.
On this, the 150th anniversary of your birth,
we celebrate your life and express our gratitude.
You contributed so much to children’s lives and
to all of us who discovered your work as adults.
Thank you for patiently observing and listening
to the children who taught you how to create
learning environments where they can blossom.
You inspired a new cross-disciplinary field of
science that looks at children and their development
from many perspectives that have led
to the creation of schools that are not only
effective for a much wider range of children;
they are replicable, adaptable, and sustainable.
Schools inspired by your work have been
established and sustained all over the world
for 113 years.
You taught us that children are capable
of amazing things, no matter how young,
regardless of gender, race, or ethnic
background. Even more importantly, you
taught us that the children of poverty can, with
the right stimulation and support, develop
their full human potential.
You demonstrated that, although human beings
are born with the capacity for goodness or
evil, we can nurture kindness and empathy, just
as we can encourage the development of their
innate intelligence, curiosity, creativity, and
sense of wonder.
You taught us that we must see every child as a
universe of one, unique human beings who are
already full human beings today, not one day in
the future when they grow up.
You demonstrated the importance of giving
children independence and choice, but helping
them to realize their own capabilities and value
of their unique voice in this world.
And you taught us that the Montessori
Method is really the Montessori way. Montessori
is not limited to the classroom; it is a way
of life, and is equally valuable in the family, in
the office, and in civil life.
You helped us see that we can save the world
and save the planet by teaching peace and
teaching children how to resolve conflicts without
violence, hear, cherish one another, and
live in a spirit of collaboration and partnership
rather than shortsightedness and greed.
The gift you gave us all is the gift of great hope
for the future of all humanity. And you showed
and inspired us to recognize that the only way
to change the future for all human beings is
really through the child. The world’s children
are the fulcrum and the lever with which we,
together, can build a better world.
So, Dr. Maria Montessori, we congratulate you
on this anniversary of your birth and thank
you for your contribution to the world and to
us as individual human beings.
Tim Seldin
President
The Montessori Foundation
4 TOMORROW'S CHILD © OCTOBER 2020 WWW.MONTESSORI.ORG
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