Who said it?

March 30, 2021 Jesse McCarthy

JESSE MCCARTHY | MONTESSORIEDUCATION.COM

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.

…

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:

“Influenced, perhaps, by my early experience at a Montessori school, and surely by living in a clan full of carvers, painters, carpenters, and cooks of all ages, I am all for encouraging children to work productively with their hands. They learn to handle and care for equipment with respect. It is good to give them knives, for instance, as early as you dare. A knife is a tool, not a toy. A sharp, clean knife is safer to use than a dull, rusty one – easier too: a four-year old will discover that for himself as you teach him to slice a hard-boiled egg neatly and then to fillet a fish. Talk to children as you plan menus. Let their small, sensitive noses sniff the fish as you shop. Work together at the counter and let your children arrange platters. Nothing gives them more pleasure than setting things in rows and rosettes.

“The small rituals, like the clean hands and clean apron before setting to work; the precision of gesture, like leveling off a cupful of flour; the charm of improvisation and making something new; the pride of mastery; and the gratification of offering something one has made – these have such value to a child. And where are they so easily to be obtained as in cooking? The patience and good humour demanded of you by cooking with a child are a good investment.

“Do taste everything together, at every stage, and serve to children what you eat yourself. Once they have enough teeth to cope with any food, children, with their unjaded palates, are a keen, responsive audience for an enthusiastic cook.”

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."

And he adds, “I do not believe there is a method better than Montessori for making children sensitive to the beauties of the world and awakening their curiosity regarding the secrets of life.”

So who is this expressive man? I’ll give you a moment.

…

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.