Google Doodle Celebrates 142nd Birthday of Maria Montessori

Google has come up with a new doodle to honour the 142nd birthday of Maria Montessori who gave the world a unique educational method which is still adopted in public and private schools throughout the world.

The Google homepage shows educational tools which form the essential part of the teaching method propagated by Montessori, arranged in a manner to depict the logo of the tech giant.

The "Montessori system" of education which bears her name gives importance to the creative potential of a child while emphasising independent thinking. It is aimed at bringing out the natural mental development of the child.

Born on 31 August, 1870 as Maria Tecla Artemesia Montessori, in Chiaravalle, Italy, she grew up to become a physician and an educator.
She is credited with being the first Italian woman to get a degree in medicine. Monessori graduated from the University of Rome in 1896.

Montessori opened her first preschool in 1907, the success of which followed many Montessori schools and she travelled to several countries to spread her method of education.

Montessori came to England in 1919, where her training method was met with both enthusiasm and controversy.

A major feature of the Montessori system of education is the discovery model where students learn concepts from working with materials, instead of direct instruction.

On May 6, 1952, Montessori died of cerebral haemorrhage in the Netherlands at the age of 81.