Montessori St Nicholas Centre

2007 Montessori Centenary Celebrations.

100 Years of Montessori

6th January 2007 sees a major milestone on the history of Montessori teaching around the globe as Montessorians round the world celebrate the opening of the first Casa de Bambini in 1907.

The big day itself will be celebrated with a conference in Rome as well as celebrations in schools across the country and round the world.

The Montessori Schools Association (MSA) are asking all member schools to send in reports of their celebrations along with photos to go in the MSA pages in the next edition of Montessori International magazine. Please send reports and photos to caroline@montessori.org.uk by 2nd February.

Schools are being encouraged to contact their local press to get them involved as this is an ideal opportunity to publicise individual schools and spread the word about Montessori. A template press release and some background information are available by following these links:

100 Steps for Montessori

Throughout the early part of the summer, Montessori Schools around the UK will be taking part in the ‘100 Steps for Montessori’ sponsored walk event. The aim is to walk enough steps to walk round the equator while raising money for the Montessori Centenary Parents Support Initiative.

For more information and a fundraising pack, please contact Barbara@montessori.uk.com

Centenary Resource in Montessori International Magazine

The last four issues of Montessori International magazine have included pull out supplements designed to be used as teaching and learning resources, packed full of activity ideas and information for celebrating the centenary.

A booklet containing all the supplements has now been produced. Please contact Amanda@montessori.org.uk for further information

National Montessori Week 12-18 June

A week of centenary celebrations in schools round the country including several ‘100 Steps for Montessori’ walks.

Montessori Centenary Website

For more information about Centenary events round the world and to sign the Montessori Centenary Declaration (see below), please see the Centenary Steering Group website: www.montessoricentenary.org

The website is intended to be a focus for all the Centenary activities and will serve as a means of publicising and celebrating all of the Centenary activities going on around the world. At present the website sets out the aims and objectives of the Centenary and gives the historical basis for the Centenary but thoughtout the year it will grow into an exciting and useful resource for anyone wishing to find out more about Montessori and in particular about the Centenary.

In 2007 the world Montessori community celebrates the 100th anniversary of a revolution in education. 100 years ago Dr Maria Montessori began to explore the true nature of childhood through extensive scientific observation. We proudly recognise a century of great work, inspired by these discoveries:

the purpose of education is to nurture the energies of childhood — intellectual, physical, emotional, moral and spiritual — so that every member of the human race can make a constructive contribution to the world
all children deserve the best possible conditions at every stage of their development
all children, in the best educational conditions develop creative and flexible minds easily adapted to the complexities of human society
all children, in the best educational conditions demonstrate innate discipline, joyful and focused work and empathy with others. They are tireless and selfless in their work
all children possess inner directives to guide their own development
all children fully developed become individuals committed to human solidarity, social progress and peace

We declare our commitment now and in the future:

to participate in a universal social movement that places children at the centre of society, recognising them as citizens of the world
to promote knowledge and understanding of the conditions necessary for the full development of the human being from conception to maturity both at home and in society
to create a climate of opinion and opportunities for the full development of the potential of all young people so that humanity may work in harmony for a higher and more peaceful civilisation
to reform education as a reciprocal, lifelong process in which every member of the human race is profoundly engaged

MARIA MONTESSORI CENTENARY CELEBRATION

"WHO WERE THEY?"

100 years ago next year the first of the Case Dei Bambini opened in Rome. To commemorate this modest, unheralded event that proved to have such momentous significance for the lives of children all over the world, The Montessori Centenary Committee announce a quest to discover and bring to life the unsung pioneers of Montessori education in the British Isles in the first period: 1907 - 1921. We want to know who they were - these pioneers of Montessori education. Who trained as teachers? Who campaigned for the cause? Who financed and opened schools? And who were the pupils?

We invite you to research your area for any beginnings of Montessori education in this period, and present your conclusions in a report of six A4 pages (which may include photographs). The deadline for submission is January 31st 2007. We'd like to feature "the pick of the bunch" in our publications; all entries will, of course, be catalogued and stored in the Montessori UK archive.

Some (tentatively proposed) "facts" of the period are these:

1909: Madge Mayâ€™s article "Montessori Education"Journal of Education, September.
1912: Edmund Holmes, former Chief Inspector of Schools, visits Montessori settings.
1912: Publication of "The Montessori Method".
1912: Bertram Hawker and his wife begin Montessori classes at East Runton, Norfolk.
1912: The English Montessori Society is inaugurated at East Runton.
1913: LCC Conference includes 4 papers on Montessori education.
1913: Belle Rennie sets up the first fully equipped nursery at Sway, Hampshire.
1913: Harpenden Montessori House founded.
1913: Philip & Tacey Store, Fulham, get rights to manufacture and sell the apparatus.
1914: First London Montessori School, Hornsey Road.
1914: First Birmingham Montessori Classes at Canterbury Road.
1914: Jessie White's book Montessori Schools As Seen in the Early Summer of 1913, OUP.
1915: The English Montessori Society is reconstituted with Maria as President.
1916: Some Acton Borough of Education schools introduce Montessori teaching.
1916: Montessori Summer School at Wooton, near Oxford.
1918: Birmingham Branch of the Montessori Society founded.
1919: Maria Montessori holds the first Training Course in London and visits Hornsey Rd. school.
1920: She visits Salford, Sheffield, Birmingham, Leeds and Northampton.
1921: Maria Montessori's resignation from the English Montessori Society splits it into two.
1921: Dr. Kimmins forms the Dalton Plan Society and Dr. Smart the Auto-Educational Allies.
1929: Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) inaugurated in Berlin by Maria and Mario.

Sources of help: Local Historical Research Societies, School Logbooks, Parish Records, the Library, Museum, Local Press, Long-Established families, University or College Departments, Montessori Association Records, Private Archives and, particularly, the Montessori AMI Archive and its Archivist Mark Andrew Pardoe.

If you — or someone you know — is interested in taking part, please get in touch with us via the following Email address: montessoripioneers@hotmail.co.uk where the members of his Centenary Research Committee are waiting to help. Or, if you wish, by letter to "Montessori Pioneers", 26 Lyndhurst Gardens, London NW3. Please give some details of your idea — however tentative — and your connection — if there is one — with your local Montessori school.

Pete Jackson
Centenary Research Committee.