We’ll bet you had no idea your child was in such exalted company! While attendance at a Montessori school is not a guarantee of fame and fortune, it’s interesting to note how many graduates have gone on to success in the world in one way or another. Just to name a few famous Montessori graduates:
- Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis – former first lady (John F. Kennedy)
- Prince Harry
- Katherine Graham – ex-owner of the Washington Post
- Andrew Lloyd Webber – composer
- Julia Child – author, chef, TV cooking shows
- Gabriel Garcia Marquez – Nobel Prize winner for Literature
- Anne Frank – author, diarist from World War II
The Montessori “Method”
Italian physician Maria Montessori was a pioneer of theories in early childhood education, which are still implemented in Montessori schools all over the globe. Montessori became the first female doctor in Italy, choosing pediatrics and psychiatry as her specialties. While teaching at her medical-school alma mater, Montessori treated many poor and working-class children who attended the free clinics there. During that time, she observed that intrinsic intelligence was present in children of all socio-economic backgrounds. Teachers were encouraged to stand back and “follow the child”—that is, to let children’s natural interests take the lead. Over time, Montessori tweaked her methods through trial and error. By 1925 more than 1,000 of her schools had opened in America.
Even though the Montessori Method eventually fell out of favor, the 1960s witnessed a resurgence in Montessori schools, led by Dr. Nancy McCormick Rambusch. Today, Montessori’s teaching methods continue to “follow the child” all over the globe and to generate a whole new generation of famous Montessori graduates.
Global Montessori has been providing infant/toddler daycare, preschool and elementary school programs in Langley and surrounding areas since 1988. In addition to daycare programs, Global Montessori also provides before and after school care for kindergarten and elementary children for parents who require the extra care.