Mamma Mia - the story of Maria Montessori

If you're reading this, you will very likely be familiar with Maria Montessori, but did you know about the other Montessoris who carried on her work?

On the 31st of March 1898, Maria Montessori gave birth to her only child, a son, Mario Montessori.

Mario was born out of wedlock, a product of Montessori's love affair with a fellow doctor, Giuseppe Montesano. If the pair had decided to get married, the societal expectation of the time would have meant that Maria would very likely have to stop working professionally.

As Maria was incredibly dedicated to her work, she then was faced with a difficult choice. She chose to continue with her work and studies, but as a result, was forced to place her son in care. Mario went to live with a wet nurse in the countryside, and Maria sadly had to miss the first few years of his life.

Maria visited Mario as often as she could, and the pair remained extremely close throughout both of their lives. However Mario didn't discover that Maria was his mother until he was well into his teens. This didn't appear to affect their relationship, and they ended up living together and travelling the world to tell people about the Montessori method.

Mario and his mother worked together on many different aspects of the Montessori method, and when Maria passed, Mario was appointed heir to the work that she did. He remained hugely dedicated to the Montessori method and ensuring that children have access to high quality education

The Montessori family to this day is still very involved in practicing the method, researching, and spreading the word about the Montessori way of education.

I personally find the personal history of the Montessori family absolutely fascinating. How about you?