Montessori - A Pioneer in the Movement of Social Reform for Children

During the Conference "The Child as Builder of Humanity", held from 26 to 28 September 2003, in Sydney, Australia, Takako Fukatsu and Victoria Barres gave a joint presentation on Montessori initiatives outside the classroom, around the world. An important aspect was the consideration of how "Montessori Principles Contribute to an International Movement of Social Reform".

Montessori was intrigued by several fundamental questions: can physical health be achieved separately from emotional, intellectual and spiritual health? Are there links between "inner peace" and "outer peace"? Can ordinary people contribute to peace? For Montessori, these issues were linked to the harmonious development of the child.

Dr. Montessori's principles are used successfully in families and schools. Not all people, however, are fully aware that Montessori advocated a movement of social reform for children, whom she called the "forgotten citizens". Schools were a means to reach her goal of helping children develop harmoniously in healthy environments; they were never an end in themselves. Families, communities, and countries needed to understand the child's developmental needs, so that they could provide appropriate environments that would allow all children to develop their human potential. Montessori used her lectures, training courses and publications as means to reach the general public and shape opinion.