Mario Montessori Sr.

Mario Montessori Sr. was the only son of Dr. Maria Montessori. He was her close associate in all her endeavors in the field of education and carried on the propagation of the Montessori Movement after her death.

Although Mario had no real scholastic or academic background, his understanding of the working of Dr. Maria's mind was total. His intuitive intelligence and openness of spirit allowed him to keep pace with her. Often geniuses suffer isolation because they are far ahead of their times and are not properly understood by other people. Dr. Maria didn't have to go through this ordeal because of Mario who not only was her sounding board for her ideas but also helped her to clarify those ideas, and give them shape thus enabling her to continue developing her unique mind till the end of her life.

Birth and Early Years

There is some speculation about Mario Montessori's exact date of birth, however, according to Mario he was born on 31st March 1898 [Maria Montessori, Rita Kramer, Hamish Hamilton publication, ISBN 0241128471 pp. 93] . Dr. Maria was an unwed mother, and in those days it was considered sacrilege to be so. According to Mario only Maria's parents and a few close friends and associates knew of his existence. Maria had to give in to their pressures and sent Mario away to be discreetly brought up by a family in the countryside near Rome [Maria Montessori, Rita Kramer, Hamish Hamilton publication, ISBN 0241128471 pp. 94] .

Mario came to know that Maria was his mother when he was fifteen. Maria never publicly acknowledged him as her son till just before her death. In fact, initially she introduced him as her nephew and later as her adopted son [Maria Montessori, Rita Kramer, Hamish Hamilton publication, ISBN 0241128471 pp. 214] . Mario when he was seventeen accompanied Maria to the US. Maria's stay in the US was quite trying for her and Mario proved to be a calming influence. This probably signalled the beginning of a lifelong association between the mother and the son in both work and personal life.

His association with Maria Montessori

By the early 1920s Maria lost a few of her close associates and she became increasingly dependent on Mario. He also played the role of a buffer between her and those who were always trying to climb on the bandwagon of her fame with some profitable scheme or other [Maria Montessori, Rita Kramer, Hamish Hamilton publication, ISBN 0241128471 pp. 219-20] . He started accompanying her in all her tours and also assisted her actively in the conduct of her courses. Both of them together established the Association Montessori Internationale as a parent body to oversee the activities of schools and societies all over the world and supervise the training of teachers [Maria Montessori, Rita Kramer, Hamish Hamilton publication, ISBN 0241128471 pp. 305] . After the establishment of AMI the activities of the movement became increasingly organized, thanks to the efforts of Mario.

Maria was frustrated by the "politics" of dealing with people and it is in this area that Mario's role became increasingly crucial [Maria Montessori, Rita Kramer, Hamish Hamilton publication, ISBN 0241128471 pp. 315] . Mario virtually became her protector and this provided Maria the much required freedom and peace of mind to continue with her work. Mario made helping her in her work his own life's work. This he did even at the expense of his own family life. He traveled with her and took over more and more of the tasks of organizing and administering the activities of the movement through the AMI. As Maria became older she became more and more dependent on her son in the countless organizational details of her work.

Mario's Indian experience

Mario accompanied Maria on her travel to India. Together they reached Adyar, Chennai in October 1939. This trip to India was on the invitation of the Theosophical Society which was headquartered in Chennai. The Montessoris had actually planned to conduct a three-month course and return to Europe sometime during 1940. But because of World War II they were forced to extend their stay in India. Since they were Italians, the British Government interned Mario to a camp for civilians in Ahmednagar [Maria Montessori, Rita Kramer, Hamish Hamilton publication, ISBN 0241128471 pp. 344] and also placed some restrictions on Dr. Maria's movements. But on 31st August 1940 which was also Maria's birthday the British released Mario.

Between 1939 and 1946 the Montessoris conducted sixteen batches of courses and called it the Indian Montessori Training Courses. Maria would give her lectures in Italian and Mario would translate it in English. Together they trained over thousand Indian teachers in the Montessori Method [Maria Montessori, Rita Kramer, Hamish Hamilton publication, ISBN 0241128471 pp. 346] . In 1946 they returned to Holland after staying in the Indian subcontinent for nearly seven years.

Mario with Maria after the war

Maria continued travelling around the world popularizing her method of teaching and Mario was her constant companion. They conducted courses, and also organized lectures, in London, Scotland, Rome, Berlin, Ceylon, India, Pakistan, Holland, France.

Mario - life after Maria's death

After Dr. Maria Montessori's death Mario actively continued the work of spreading the Montessori Movement. He continued conducting the training courses. In 1956 Mario published the book "The Human Tendencies and Montessori education". He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the Edgecliffe College, USA in the year 1970. He also implemented the Training of Trainers programme for the first time in the year 1976.

After a brief period of failing health and eyesight Mario passed away on the 10th of February 1982 [February 1982, Voice of Innocence, Quarterly Bulletin of IMC, pp. 2] .

References

External links

* [http://indianmontessoricentre.org/tsep.0942/montessorians/articles/mario/article_list.php Some articles on education written by Mario Montessori Sr.]