Get Smart

"We especially need imagination in science. It is not all mathematics, nor all logic, but it is somewhat beauty and poetry." "We cannot create observers by saying "observe," but by giving them the power and the means for this observation and these means are procured through education of the senses" "If education is always to be conceived along the same antiquated lines of a mere transmission of knowledge, there is little to be hoped from it in the bettering of man's future" " . . .education is a natural process carried out by the human individual, and is acquired not by listening to words, but by experiences in the environment." As you might surmise, these quotes come from an educator and one of some renown.  Maria Montessori, whose schools bear her name, believed passionately in the innate ability of children to learn. Teachers, in her view, did their best work when they sought to nurture and serve this ability rather than to corral it. She was the first woman physician in Italy in 1894 and she opened a school in 1907 to use her philosophy to teach children in the slums of Rome.  She met with great success and from that beginning, spread the word of her methods throughout Europe, India and the US. To learn more about this pioneering woman, her ideas and her life, just click on her picture above.  You will find several fine biographies in the link.