Some VERY famous people went to Montessori school as children, and they actually talk pretty highly about its impact on their lives.
I wanted to share a few of these individuals with you, but I thought I’d do it in a different way, by playing a little game, if you’re up for it…
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Transcript
(with quote sources)
Some very famous people went to Montessori school as children, and they actually talk pretty highly about its impact on their lives.
I wanted to share a few of these individuals with you, but thought I’d do it in a different way, by playing a little game, if you’re up for it…
So I’ll read a quote from one of these famous Montessori children, and you guess who the person is. Pretty simple.
I’ll give you a hint with the first one.
The following words were said by a former Montessori child who happens to be one of the richest people in the world today, if not the richest. Here’s what he said: “I’m going to guess I went to Montessori school about a year and a half, starting probably at age 2 1/2. … I have these very clear visual images of tracing out letters on sandpaper. I remember having a little special board that you can use to practice tying your shoes. … It’s amazing, I think, what a good program it was.”
So, the question: Who said it?
I’ll give you a moment and come back with his name, and then we’ll get into a handful of other famous Montessori children, as well as some successful supporters of Montessori who might surprise you.
…
Ok, the person who said the opening words about his Montessori experience as a child is … Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.
His mom actually shared a funny anecdote a few years back about Bezos’ early schooling: “Young Jeff would get so engrossed in his activities as a Montessori preschooler that his teachers would literally have to pick him up out of his chair to go to the next task.”
Now Bezos is actually in the process of building his own network of Montessori-inspired schools, committing literally a billion dollars in his efforts for these programs, um, in underserved communities throughout America.
Anyway, on to our next quote. We’ll stick to successful businessmen on this one too, so that’s your hint: this person started a popular company, to put it lightly, a company that I am certain everyone listening knows very, very well.
Here’s what this individual had to say about his early schooling: “I benefited from Montessori education, which in some ways gives the students a lot more freedom to do things at their own pace, to discover… Some of the credit for the willingness to go on your own interests, you can tie that back to that Montessori education.”
So, any guesses — who said it? I’ll give you a few seconds; maybe if you want to cheat and Google his words, you’ll find out who he is.
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Well, if you were to actually Google the words of this man, you’d find out that he is Sergey Brin, the cofounder of Google itself — and a former Montessori child of course.
And what’s really wild is that the other founder of Google, Sergey’s partner Larry Page, also just happens to be a Montessori child. And he, like Sergey, attributes some of Google’s success to it. Here’s Larry: “I think it was part of that training ... of being self-motivated, questioning what’s going on in the world, doing things a little bit different.”
So his words sound very similar to comments made by the former Vice President of Google (and former CEO of Yahoo), Marissa Mayer, when she was talking about both founders: “You can’t understand Google unless you know that both Larry and Sergey were Montessori kids. ... In Montessori school you go paint because you have something to express or you just want to do it that afternoon, not because the teacher said so. This is really baked into how Larry and Sergey approach problems. They’re always asking ‘Why should it be like that?’”
In essence, these guys are non-traditional thinking businessmen or entrepreneurs, and some of that attitude, that approach, came from Montessori.
Ok, enough on company leaders, we’re going to jump fields in a huge way... to cooking.
The person who said the next words I’m going to share was a Montessori child a ways back, and unfortunately she is no longer with us — but when she was around she was the most beloved chef in America.
Here’s what this woman had to say about her early education, as it relates to her love of cooking and aiding children in the kitchen:
Incidentally, this is probably the best description of food preparation in Montessori classrooms that I’ve ever heard. Huge cheers to this woman!
So, who said it? who is she?
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If you guessed Martha Stewart, you’d be wrong — Martha is still alive and kicking, over at MarthaStewart.com. (I hope she’s happy I’m giving her a plug here.)
Anyway, it’s not Martha, but Julia — Julia Child.
And Julia’s such a fun human being generally, by the way. She has this great line, at least for me: “Maybe life itself is the proper binge.” I love it.
Ok, now leaving the kitchen, and maybe heading into the living room or library.
This next quote is from a Nobel Prize winner in literature, who was also a former Montessori child. He too is longer with us, having died about a decade ago.
In his autobiography this man talks about how in his hometown, “they had opened a Montessori school ... It was wonderful to be alive then — studying was like playing."
So who is this expressive man? I’ll give you a moment.
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He is Gabriel García Márquez, author of many books, including One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera.
Ok, so far we’ve got a creative author, an awesome chef, and few ridiculously successful businessmen. Let’s now jump to something completely different — to the basketball court and a person some believe is the best player in the NBA.
What this man said is to the point, and I think pretty powerful. It’s: “Montessori has helped me become the person I am today.”
So, who said it?
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Steph Curry.
If you don’t know who Steph Curry is, I suggest Googling him. This isn’t just some random basketball player. This guy is a super star of the sport.
Ok, so leaving the court, I want to share my own personal favorite Montessori child, um, but actually let’s save her for the end.. So before that, I want to quickly get away from former Montessori children and just mention a few highly successful individuals who really supported and admired the Montessori approach. This won’t be a guessing game though, as I’m kind of tight on time.
So one simple quote to start is from Thomas Edison, inventor of the popular light bulb. He said Montessori “makes learning a pleasure. It follows the natural instincts of the human being.” And Edison wasn’t the type to just throw praise around. He actually could be pretty cutting. He once had some devastating things to say about the traditional education of his time, which is not all too different from ours I would argue. Here he is: “The present system does not give elasticity to the mind. It casts the brain into a mold. It insists that the child must accept. It does not encourage original thought or reasoning, and it lays more stress on memory than on observation. The result of accepting unrelated facts is the fostering of conservatism [in thinking]. It breeds fear, and from fear comes ignorance.”
Strong words for sure, which I have to say many of the old-school supporters of Montessori agree with. For instance, when the late novelist-philosopher Ayn Rand was asked what suggestions she had for parents who want to guard against bad education — and to ensure their children actually remain eager to learn — she responded with, “The best, best antidote is the Montessori system of education,” which she deemed, “an achievement of genius.” That is VERY high praise coming from Miss Rand.
And then there’s the late teacher of management, Peter Drucker, who had this to say about Maria Montessori herself: “For thousands of years people have been talking about improving teaching — to no avail. It was not until the early years of this century [the 20th], however, that an educator asked, ‘What is the end product?’ Then the answer was obvious: It is not teaching. It is, of course, learning. And then the same educator, the great Italian doctor and teacher Maria Montessori (1870-1952), began to apply systematic analysis of the work and systematic integration of the parts into a process.”
And I’ll just quickly give you a few other big-name supporters, of yesterday and today: There’s Helen Keller and her teacher Anne Sullivan; Salman Khan of the online Khan Academy; Alexander Graham Bell — who invented the telephone of course, and also just happened to have a Montessori school *in his house*; and Jimmy Wales, creator of Wikipedia. I could go on, but I want to get back to former Montessori children, and my favorite one at that.
Before I talk about her though, I want to note that every single person I’ve mentioned up until this point — whether a Montessori child or just an admirer — has said positive things about Montessori school. I think it’s important to note this, especially in the case of former Montessori children, because I’m not trying to cherry pick here. I mean, I’m sure I could list off just as many impressive people who happened to go to traditional public or private school, too. The difference would be, they would not be raving about their education. No successful person I’ve ever heard of is out there going, “Oh, I just loved my experience in traditional school — and you should send your child to it to, too!” No. No one. The wildest thing about the famous former Montessori children I’ve quoted today, is that they all talk about how great their early education was, and/or how much of an influence it had on their lives.
So I just wanted to add that there, as I think it’s meaningful.
Ok, back to the little game ‘Who said it?’
This will be the last one, and it will be a tad bit different, because I’ll be quoting the parent of this famous former Montessori child. And there’s a reason for that, which will make sense in a moment.
So the following is this young woman’s father, and his words offer a hint about who she is because he says her first name a couple of times, I think: “Anne was a demanding character. She continually asked questions … When we had visitors, it was difficult to free yourself from her, because everyone and everything interested her … It was good that Anne went to a Montessori School.”
So, instead of ‘who said it?’ this time, I’ll ask, ‘Who is this man’s daughter?’
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She is Anne Frank, who wrote the famous diary while in hiding from Nazis during WWII.
Now Anne happens to be one of my own greatest heroes, and as I found out years after reading her, she too attended Montessori school. And I think, for the longest time out of the people I’ve mentioned today. Anne was in Montessori for over 7 years, starting at age 4. That is a long time.
And if you’ve read and remember Anne’s diary, you know this is one incredible young woman. It’s not like if someone found my diary at 13 or 14 years old, which would be an absolute mess. She writes better, by far, than most college students and really I’d say most writers. Here’s an example passage, which just gets me every time:
"It's really a wonder that I haven't dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart. I simply can't build up my hopes on a foundation consisting of confusion, misery, and death. I see the world gradually being turned into wilderness, I hear the ever approaching thunder, which will destroy us too, I can feel the sufferings of millions and yet, if I look up into the heavens, I think that it will all come right, that this cruelty too will end, and that peace and tranquility will return again.
“In the meantime, I must uphold my ideals, for perhaps the time will come when I shall be able to carry them out.”
Less than a month after Anne wrote this, she and her family were discovered by the Nazis and eventually sent to concentration camps. As we know, she didn’t make it out.
I don’t want to end on a sad note, and I doubt Anne Frank would want that either. If you read her diary, you see clearly that this young lady loved to be silly at times. And more than that, she made the best of her situation — which has really inspired me in my life.
So if anything, please buy her diary if you haven’t read it yet, or if you haven’t read it in some time. Just such a bright, beautiful human being — and wise way beyond her years.
Anywho, that is all for ‘who said it?’
Maybe this all wasn’t much of a game, but ultimately I really just wanted to share with you guys a bunch of famous Montessori children and supporters who I appreciate.
One big note at the end here, especially for those new to Montessori: not all Montessori schools are the same. So although the people I talked about today had a good time with Montessori, or find it amazing, they’re talking about what they experienced, and that might not be your neighborhood Montessori school. So as always, do your research. I’d hate to be promoting Montessori education and you walk into a particular Montessori school and it’s a big hot mess. So again, do your own research near you.
Ok, that’s it. Oh, and if you want references to any of the quotes I mentioned today, head over to montessorieducation.com, or find the direct link in the show notes. There you can also contact me, Jesse McCarthy, if you like. Now if you know of other former Montessori children or supporters and you want to share their words with me, please send my way. Just ensure you have a primary source for the quote. Sometimes I joke around that I feel like one day I’m going to find someone claiming that Jesus himself was a Montessori child, you know. Anyway, point being, please only share source-able quotes with me, where you can find the original interview, or book, or show, etc. where the person talked about Montessori.
All right, that is all. Talk again soon, everyone, and adios for now..
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