Ayn Rand and Montessori

“Children are capable of much more than adults give them credit for.”
Ayn Rand, on the The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson | Dec. 1967*


The novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand was once asked what suggestions she had for parents who want to guard against bad education and ensure their children remain eager to learn. Ms. Rand responded:

The best, best antidote is the Montessori system of education.

Ayn Rand was a strong supporter of Montessori education, once even noting that the Montessori Method is "an achievement of genius".

Ms. Rand said these words and the quote above during a Q&A period following her talk entitled The Moratorium on Brains. She also spoke very highly of Montessori in other discussions and publications (such as The Comprachicos), emphasizing that Dr. Montessori's work aided a child in developing his cognitive faculty — that is, his mind.

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To see what the “Montessori system of education” looks like in practice, watch the popular video, ‘What is Montessori?'