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Montessori in America: T in the First of Two Parts, Dr Keith Whitescarver Explores the History Behind the Montessori Movement in the United States

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Montessori in America: T in the First of Two Parts, Dr Keith Whitescarver Explores the History Behind the Montessori Movement in the United States international PHOTO: KEITH WHITESCARVER The Beechwood Estate in Scarborough, New York. The first Montessori school in the United States opened in this location in 1911 in the building on the far left. Right: Nancy McCormick Rambusch and Margaret E. Stephenson addressing a Montessori study group, early 1960s UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT LIBRARIES PHOTOS: AMERICAN MONTESSORI SOCIETY, Montessori in America: t In the first of two parts, Dr Keith Whitescarver explores the history behind the Montessori movement in the United States. he United States was an Bambini bore little resemblance to this early adopter of Montessori first American school. She made her education. Maria first experiments in the model Montessori opened her tenements of the San Lorenzo district in first school, the Casa dei Rome – a section which has the same TBambini, as part of an urban renewal relation to the Eternal City that the East project in the San Lorenzo district of Side has to New York... My children all Rome in 1907. By 1909, additional came from cultured families, whose schools were launched and news of greatest ambition it was to give their Montessori’s academic benefits spread children everything possible in the way throughout the European continent of education and rational enjoyment.” and then to the rest of the world. In other words, the American version In the United States, news of of Montessori differed dramatically Montessori education had spread far from its Italian forerunner. Where Dr. and wide by 1911. In an article Montessori’s educational experiment published in the highly popular grew out of a larger social initiative, it Maria Montessori 1913 and 1915 to great acclaim and to McClure’s Magazine, Maria Montessori was the “miracle children” who (left) gives a packed lecture halls. She taught a lecture in Italian to was described as “an educational captured the attention of wealthy training course in San Francisco as part 5,000 teachers in American supporters. wonder-worker” and depicted the Los Angeles, of the Panama Pacific International students studying in her school as In this dazzling period of favorable California in 1915. Exposition in the latter tour. By the “miracle children” because of their publicity, additional Montessori schools The English 1916-17 school year, there were over opened around the country. translator is Adelia ability to read and write at such a young Pyle. 100 Montessori schools in 22 states. age. The American response to the Montessori’s American backers, Amazingly, the movement burned out article was intense and positive. including Mabel Bell and her spouse, in the United States just as quickly as it Latching on to the popularity, S. S. Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the had arrived. Language barriers, travel McClure, the owner/publisher of the telephone, were strong initial limitations forced by World War I, an magazine, assumed the role of supporters. She and her husband anti-immigrant sentiment, and public American promoter of both the founder opened a school in Nova Scotia in the criticism by a few influential and method. To this end, he ran letters summer of 1912, and they created a educational leaders, led to the decline. from the public commenting on second school in Washington, D. C. By the 1920s Montessori had all but Montessori’s ideas and created a column later that fall. Other progressive era disappeared. on Montessori education that became a reformers lauded the new educational While Montessori continued to regular feature. approach. In the years 1912–1914, flourish as a global movement for child- An American Montessori school there were 187 English language articles centered, peace-oriented learning for the opened in Scarborough, New York, in and books on Montessori education; remainder of Dr. Montessori’s life, the the fall of 1911 in the home of Frank almost all were published in the United movement lay dormant on American Vanderlip, one of the leading bankers in States. In the international training shores. By 1960, however, a distinctly the country. The teacher in this school, course led by Dr. Montessori in Rome in American version of the system began Anne George, wrote about the school 1913, sixty-seven of the eighty-seven to take shape. for McClure’s at the end of the first enrollees were from the United States. The leader of the American revival academic year: Supported, in part, by McClure, Dr. was Nancy McCormick Rambusch. Like “Externally, Dr. Montessori’s Casa dei Montessori traveled to the country in the movement’s founder, Dr. Rambusch 18 Montessori International JULY – SEPTEMBER 2010 Rambusch as Mario Montessori’s personal emissary to the United States. As Montessori schools grew in number, AMI opened a branch office in the United States at Miss Stephenson’s request. AMI/USA was founded in 1972 and directed for its first ten years by Karin Salzmann. Currently, Virginia McHugh Goodwin is the Executive Director of the organization. In 2010 there were 180 AMI affiliated schools in the United States. The American Montessori Society is now the larger of the two organizations with over 1200 affiliated schools in 2010 and over 11,000 members and 90 accredited AMS-affiliated teacher education courses. Richard A. Ungerer he first 100 years is Executive Director. There are at least four other was charismatic, well-educated, and a Above left: its May 12th issue. For the second time, organizations through which a school Montessori L&A determined advocate. The young Nancy an article on Montessori education may be affiliated. Schools that wish to Wise Memorial Day McCormick became aware of the Care Center. galvanized the American public. identify themselves as Montessori writings of Maria Montessori while a Interest was so intense that Time schools without any organizational student at the University of Toronto in Above right: printed a special report shortly affiliation are free to do so as well. The Unidentified the late 1940s. It was not until marriage afterwards, and AMS received teacher and name Montessori is not protected by and the birth of her first child, however, students at the numerous requests from parents on copyright or patent. that she actively sought an alternative Whitby School, how to start schools and begin study In recent years increased attention to to traditional American schooling. In 1960 groups. Publicity generated by print the public sector has been a priority for search of answers, she traveled to Paris media, including Newsweek, the New both AMS and AMI. Both organizations in 1953 to attend the Tenth York Times, the Catholic Reporter, and view the extension of Montessori International Montessori Congress. The Saturday Evening Post, and the education to larger numbers of children There she met the new leader of the publication in 1962 of Rambusch’s as a key, mission-based, priority. Today international Montessori movement, book, Learning How to Learn, led to there are more than 240 public Mario Montessori. She was urged by dramatic growth in schools and Montessori programs in 32 states. The Mario to take Montessori training and students. highest concentrations of public to bring Montessori education back to the United States. While Montessori continued to flourish as a global Taking Montessori’s advice, Rambusch completed training in London in 1955. movement... for the remainder of Dr. Montessori’s life, the Afterwards she returned home and movement lay dormant on American shores”. prepared a Montessori classroom in her Manhattan appartment. Subsequently, From the beginning Nancy Montessori schools are found in the the Rambusch family moved to McCormick Rambusch and AMS states of Arizona, California, Florida, Greenwich, Connecticut, and Nancy, pursued a “transmuted” rather than Michigan, Ohio, and Texas—each with with the collaboration of a group of “transplanted” version of Montessori in more than fifteen schools identified. prominent Roman Catholic families, the U. S. Transmutation manifested The vast majority of these schools opened the Whitby School in ‘‘ itself most obviously in teacher report no affiliation with a Montessori September, 1958. education. AMS broadened the professional association (AMI or AMS). In June 1959 Mario Montessori curriculum for teachers and attempted In the last two decades the number of appointed Dr. Rambusch the to forge inroads into mainstream Montessori schools in the United States “representative of the Association schooling by running courses in has grown dramatically in both the Montessori Internationale (AMI).” Six Montessori instruction through public and private sectors. ࡯ months later, the American Montessori traditional university-based teacher In the second part of this series, Dr. Society (AMS) was born, becoming the preparation programs. Whitescarver delves into why this organizational representative of AMI for Mario Montessori disagreed with this resurgence is occurring and provides the United States. The goals of AMS approach, calling for a deliberate case examples of successful public were to support efforts to create schools, approach to innovation. AMI and AMS Montessori programs and schools. develop teacher education programs, parted ways in 1963, largely over Keith Whitescarver is an historian of and publicize the value of Montessori disagreements regarding teacher education living in Hartford, Connecticut. education. preparation. He is on the Archives Committee and The last goal got a huge boost in 1961 After the split, Margaret Elizabeth Research Committee of the American when the news weekly Time published
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