Montessori Opens First School: Education Reimagined
Maria Montessori opened the Casa dei Bambini in Rome on January 6, 1907. The children were from the San Lorenzo slum — poor, often malnourished, and considered unteachable. She gave them materials to manipulate, chose not to punish or reward, and watched what happened. They focused for long stretches. They taught each other. They asked to come back. What she observed became the Montessori method: self-directed learning, mixed-age classrooms, uninterrupted work periods. There are now 20,000 Montessori schools worldwide. She started with 50 kids in a tenement building because nobody else wanted them.
January 6, 1907
119 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on January 6
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