Why Teacher Unions Hate Maria Montessori

Born in Italy in 1871, Maria Montessori was a pioneer whose vision as an educator and research on how children learn attracted many supporters within the field of education.(1) The “Montessori Method” resulted in the creation of thousands of Montessori Schools in the United States and worldwide.

Montessori’s father and mother were not millionaires; money played no part in Maria’s interest in studying engineering as a young girl. Like Thomas Sowell, who was raised in Harlem, Maria Montessori found joy in the libraries and museums of Rome. Montessori’s passion for learning was stimulated not by government funded studies of gender equity but instead by the moral support of her parents who encouraged Maria to challenge the traditional educational roles of young women.

Maria eventually decided to study medicine and was initially denied admission to the University of Rome’s medical program. She did not picket the university on the grounds of gender discrimination, but instead took additional courses to help her prepare for the rigorous entrance exam. Maria ultimately gained admittance to medical school through her disciplined work ethic. (2) Upon graduation from medical school, Maria became one of Italy’s first female physicians. Montessori’s accomplishment was made possible by her dedication and determination for personal achievement and self-fulfillment.

Montessori focused her medical practice on psychiatry and educational theory. This sparked her interest in pedagogy, and the rationale of how children with intellectual disabilities processed information.(3) Montessori was given an opportunity to experiment with alternative teaching methods when she was appointed as co-director of a new training school for special education teachers. Approaching her assignment from a scientific standpoint, Montessori observed children’s learning behavior and allowed them to gain knowledge from their classroom surroundings.(4) A classroom with children seated in desks arranged in straight rows while a teacher directed the lesson from the front of the room was contradictory to Montessori’s vision of how children could learn.

Encouraged by the positive results attained in the first Casa del Bambini school in Rome, Montessori began to design classroom learning materials that stimulated a child’s inherent desire to explore and learn from his or her surroundings. When children were left to choose their own materials from an enriching environment, they were essentially teaching themselves. The results were encouraging, as children exhibited self-discipline and a self-preoccupation with learning based on individual interests.

Using concrete objects and sensory-based materials, students developed abstract ideas from an unrestrictive classroom environment. The “Montessori Method” attracted attention from progressive educators, and schools bearing Maria’s name were established in other countries throughout Europe. The first Montessori school in America opened in 1911 in Tarrytown, New York. (5) Montessori schools have cultivated a love of learning and inspired independent thinkers to develop an entrepreneurial skill set. Notable Montessori alumni include Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Larry Page & Sergey Brin, co-founders of Google, and popular musical performer Beyonce Knowles.(6)

Maria continued to promote her concept of a student-centered approach to education by lecturing, writing, and developing teacher training programs utilizing the Montessori Method. Montessori was not concerned with protecting under performing teachers as is the priority with many public school teacher unions today. Rather her dedication and focus was always on the education of children. Maria Montessori was a pioneer during a time when women’s ideas were rarely recognized as beneficial to the well-being of society.

With a current movement by public school unions to curtail the expansion of charter schools, I am optimistic that Montessori Schools will remain as an alternative school choice for parents and students. Leftist critics falsely charge that Montessori schools are exclusively for affluent white families. According to a page titled “Montessori Musings” on the Montessori Children’s Academy website in Short Hills, New Jersey, there are approximately 20,000 Montessori schools worldwide.(7) The Montessori Musings page states:

Montessori schools are often the first choice for immigrant and expatriate families because of the international recognition of the Montessori philosophy. The Montessori Children’s Academy (MCA) has certainly experienced this phenomenon in recent years. MCA’s school community reflects the international acceptance of the Montessori philosophy. Our area is culturally diverse in part because of the many international companies headquartered here. When international families relocate, they have a desire to enroll their children in Montessori schools because the philosophy is already familiar to them. In addition to the many MCA families born and raised here in America, our schools include families from Germany, the United Kingdom, Sweden, India, Pakistan, China, and Australia.(8)

According to a census by the National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector, there are approximately 2,000 tuition based, and over 500 publicly funded Montessori schools in the U.S.(9) Those publicly funded Montessori schools are typically located in urban areas where they are most needed, but face extreme backlash from Democratic controlled teacher unions. Many urban schools across the U.S. are characterized by high dropout rates, low standardized test scores, and apathetic tenured teachers who are protected by teacher unions.

Democratic politicians in urban areas are reluctant to publicly support charter schools and Montessori schools for fear of losing votes from teacher unions. This unfortunate political merry-go-round continues to plague America’s educational system. Communities that could benefit most from Montessori and charter schools are robbed of valuable tax dollars that instead are funneled to failing public schools.

Teacher unions protect the occupations of inefficient teachers and administrators in those same failing public schools. As a returning favor for teacher union endorsements, Democratic politicians who pretend that they care about the educational welfare of children veto any bill that promotes a charter school. The end result is that students are not afforded an opportunity for a progressive education. Democratic politicians must change their thought process regarding the public funding of charter schools. They should muster up the courage to free themselves as puppets from the restrictive strings of teacher unions and place educational opportunity at the forefront of future campaigns.

In 2018, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos pledged one billion dollars to fund low-income Montessori preschools.(10) Equality of educational opportunity must continue through private philanthropy. Leftists criticize corporate funding of charter schools for fear that free enterprise and capitalism will thwart their mission of socialistic indoctrination in public schools. I challenge former NYC Democratic mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg to consider a sizable donation to support a NYC Montessori or charter school. I challenge media mogul Ted Turner or billionaire financier George Soros to support the continued existence and expansion of charter schools that adopt the Montessori Method.

Whether funding comes from governments or private philanthropy, Maria Montessori would want her vision of a progressive education for children to continue to flourish. Maria Montessori’s legacy is evident in the intuitive sparkle of a child’s eye when entering one of the schools that bears her name. God bless Maria Montessori for the educational gift that she has given to teachers and children. I hope and pray that her legacy of learning continues to stimulate the minds of millions of children in the future.

End Notes

(1) American Montessori Society, “Who Was Maria Montessori?” https://amshq.org

(2) Ibid.

(3) Ibid.

(4) Ibid.

(5) Ibid.

(6) British Bulgarian Business Association, bbba.bg, https://bbba.bg/posts/show/why-montessori-education-famous-montessori-educated-students

(7) Montessori Around the World, https://themontessorichildrensacademy.com/blog/2016/09/29/montessori-around-the-world/

(8) Ibid.

(9) https://www.montessoricensus.org/

(10) Meinke, Hannah, “Exploring the Pros and Cons of Montessori Education”, Nov. 4, 2019, Rasmussen University https://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/education/blog/pros_cons_montessori_education/