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Eleanor
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| Posted: Feb 26 2010 at 5:00pm | IP Logged
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On another thread, someone mentioned that the theosophists consider Maria Montessori to be "one of their own."
Keep in mind that they also consider Jesus Christ to be one of their own. In their way of thinking, "theosophist" seems to be a commonly used shorthand for "people we admire." 
Anyway, just thought it might be helpful to provide some background information on this subject. [Note: After re-reading a biography of MM, I've edited this to add some more details, and to clarify a few points where my memory was a bit off.]
When Maria Montessori first began her association with the theosophists, she was 69 years old. Her system of primary education (ages 3-6) had already been in use for 32 years, and her elementary method (ages 6-12) had been around for at least 22 years. She had written many books about her method and theory, and had also sketched out the beginnings of her system of religious education (e.g., in The Child in the Church), and her system of education for adolescents (e.g., in her book on Erdkinder).
In 1939, she was invited to India to conduct a teacher training session, because the Theosophical Society had started using her method in their schools. While she was there, World War II broke out. As she was an Italian citizen and India was a British colony, she was considered one of the "enemy," and she ended up being interned there for several years. During this time, she lived with several prominent members of the Theosophical Society (some British, some Indian).
It was a difficult period for her, but she threw herself into her work, and was able to establish her method in many parts of India. She also spent a lot of time observing the babies and toddlers around her, thus laying the groundwork for the Montessori "Assistants to Infancy" program (which, like CGS and Erdkinder, was developed in more detail by others). It's my understanding that she also modified some aspects of the elementary curriculum, working together with her son Mario.
[Edited to add: I'm not clear on exactly what changes she made to the elementary method while she was in India. She had already developed the grammar, math, and geometry materials, and had established some classes for older children, by the time she published The Advanced Montessori Method in 1917. I'll share more information as I figure it out, unless someone else can clear this up in the meantime.]
She was horrified and devastated by the terrible war that was going on in Europe, and believed that her method could help to promote peace and understanding between different cultural and religious groups.
I've seen nothing to indicate that she herself acquired any new ideas from the theosophists. She did recognize that they shared some common beliefs, but that seems to be as far as it went. That said, there are some things in her later books that are difficult to understand, but I think they draw more from Teilhard de Chardin (a confusing Jesuit philosopher) than from theosophy. Teilhard certainly sounded a bit loony at times, and his writings were denounced by the Vatican in 1962. On the other hand, Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI have spoken favorably about some of his ideas, so perhaps his work will be "rehabilitated." Anyway, I think this is where a lot of her talk of "cosmic" this and that comes from.
Some of Montessori's later books were published by Kalakshetra, an Indian publishing house that has Hindu and theosophist connections. I believe that some of these have been re-issued by CLIO, which as far as I know has no religious affiliation. [Edited to add: Just checked, and it looks like the CLIO editions are out of print. Not sure if they're available elsewhere.] [Edited *again* to add: Found them! They're now being offered by Montessori-Pierson.]
Again, though -- for those who don't have the time to look into this, and want to be 100% careful -- her work before 1939 (including many of her most famous writings, and the entire 3-6 curriculum) would not have had any connection to theosophists whatsoever.
Now, as for Mussolini, that's a whole other can of worms!  Seriously, though... she had a hard time getting her ideas respected in her own time, so she made alliances wherever she could, in order to promote this form of education. But she didn't compromise on her method.
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SeaStar
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Thanks, Eleanor. I had the same impression from reading I have done-
her 3-6 curriculum was already solidly in place and had been used for years before she got stuck in India during the war.
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CatholicMommy
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Thank you for posting this clarification. It has come up in SO many conversations I've had with others... I feel better knowing I'm not the only one in the world who can answer this question!
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Marcia
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Thanks for sharing this! It's great to hear more about her.
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| Posted: Feb 27 2010 at 12:02am | IP Logged
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Good information. Thanks for doing the research on this,Eleanor.
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Eleanor
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| Posted: Feb 27 2010 at 10:13am | IP Logged
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You're very welcome; I'm glad all my reading has been of some use!
On a related note, I'd be glad if we could have a general discussion of Montessori elementary (6-12) theory & practice, at some point in the future. We talked about it a few years ago, but IIRC we just scratched the surface.
(Our eldest is 6 now, so I can't just keep putting those books back on the shelf when my eyes start to glaze over. )
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Eleanor
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| Posted: March 02 2010 at 11:44am | IP Logged
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Bumping because I did some editing to the OP, after re-reading Rita Kramer's biography of Maria Montessori.
There are many things that I'd argue with in this biography. For one thing, the author seems to want to portray MM as a secular feminist heroine, and is critical of her whenever she doesn't fit the mold (e.g., by her use of explicitly Catholic language, or by her lack of interest in discussing Freud's theories). She also thinks that Montessori should have joined the American academic establishment, and collaborated with the leading educational theorists of her era -- as if this were somehow a way to improve her method. 
Given that the book was published by Radcliffe College as part of a series on famous women, I guess neither of these issues should come as a surprise. Still, Rita Kramer does do a decent job of presenting what happened in MM's life, even if I'd disagree strongly with her as to why.
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CatholicMommy
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Ms. Kramer does have her style of belief. That fact is that Maria Montessori CHOSE to live a very private life, despite her relative fame and public standing. For example, it was not revealed that Mario was her son until her will was read - yet Maria was only child and could not have been her "nephew" as so many believed while she was alive. The fact that she was able to do that (maintain privacy), is commendable; but it also makes it difficult to know which sources to trust regarding her life.
And then you have all the people who have totally secularized her work. Grrr.
Eleanor: I'm slowly posting some elementary Montessori items on my blog - Cosmic Education, modified Great Lesson stories and the like. And while I'm organizing my albums, I'm seeing what I can put together for a Montessori homeschool experience that does NOT require using the full curriculum if that makes sense (see Garden of Francis, under Montessori).
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JennGM
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| Posted: March 02 2010 at 11:55am | IP Logged
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Eleanor wrote:
Bumping because I did some editing to the OP, after re-reading Rita Kramer's biography of Maria Montessori.
There are many things that I'd argue with in this biography. For one thing, the author seems to want to portray MM as a secular feminist heroine, and is critical of her whenever she doesn't fit the mold (e.g., by her use of explicitly Catholic language, or by her lack of interest in Freudianism). She also thinks that Montessori should have joined the American academic establishment, and collaborated with the leading educational theorists of her era -- as if this were somehow a way to improve her method.
Given that the book was published by Radcliffe College as part of a series on famous women, I guess neither of these issues should come as a surprise. Still, Rita Kramer does do a decent job of presenting what happened in MM's life, even if I'd disagree strongly with her as to why. |
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Thank you, Eleanor. I skimmed some sections of that biography online and came to the same conclusions. Her personal history is interesting, but the author does seem to be pushing some personal interpretations of the reasoning behind some events in MM's life.
Just another example that we have to always look to see what is the author's worldview and the cultural worldview at the time the work was written to help understand historical works, including biographies. I can't remember, it might have been Christopher Dawson I first read this, but basically, there is no unbiased written works of history. As readers we cannot disembody ourselves reading in our views, nor can the writer disembody themselves from all the influences.
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Eleanor
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CatholicMommy, do you know if she started using the Great Lessons for the first time when she was in India, or if they were part of the 6-12 method from the early days (and she rewrote them for non-Catholic children)?
I'm guessing the former, since I didn't see any mention of the lessons in her earlier books, but maybe I missed it.
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CatholicMommy
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Actually, that is one of those very interesting questions that has no answer ;) Most of the stories were not written down for many years after they were originally told.
I do know that the Black Strip (which follows the story of the Coming of Life) was first given in India, when some of the people the Montessoris were working with made themselves bigger than they were. So she got this really long black strip with the really tiny red strip at the end and recounted the story of creation and the coming of life. I'll have that posted in the next couple of weeks as well, actually :)
Other than that, the origins of the Great Lessons and their direct follow-up works are really lost in history....
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4Real Forums : Philosophy of Education
Topic: Montessori and theosophy
