Maria Montessori was born on August 31, 1870, in the town of Chiaravelle, Italy. She was an outstanding student, confident, ambitious, and unwilling to be limited by traditional expectations for women. She was a physician and educator best known for the philosophy of education that bears her name.

It all started in 1907 when Maria accepted a new challenge to open a childcare center in a poor inner-city district. The youngsters were unruly at first, but soon showed great interest in working with puzzles, learning to prepare meals, and manipulating materials that held lessons in math. She observed how the children absorbed knowledge from their surroundings, essentially teaching themselves. She implemented a number of practices that became hallmarks of her educational philosophy and method. She felt that by working independently, children could reach new levels of autonomy and become self-motivated to reach new levels of understanding. She believed that acknowledging all children as individuals and treating them as such, resulted better learning and fulfilled potential.

In the years following, and for the rest of her life, Maria dedicated herself to advancing her child-centered approach to education. Through her efforts and the work of her followers, Montessori education was adopted worldwide.