1. One of the world’s great educators, who looked up to a child as an individual and a very special human being, was Maria Montessori. She gave the very young children the ‘Stimulating Kindergarten, where children grew in an atmosphere of freedom and confidence. 2. Maria Montessori was born in Chiaravalle near Ancona, Italy, in 1870. As a little girl,she was a dull student, unable to grasp and retain what her teacher taught her. At the age of 10, she suddenly changed. Besides her heightened interest in religion, she felt she had a long way to go. 3. Maria began topping her class, and her parents felt that she should become a teacher. But she was determined to be an engineer. At the age of 14, she attended a technical school for boys. After a year she took up biology and decided to study medicine. In spite of a strong opposition from her father, she went ahead with medicine. 4. Maria became the first Italian woman to receive a medical degree after she graduated from the University of Rome in 1896. After getting her degree, she joined the university’s Psychiatric clinic. As a part of her duty, she had to visit the city’s mental asylum, where disabled children were housed with the insane. She watched the children shriek, stretching their hands out, with an urge to reach out or to touch something. Maria felt they needed a normal and friendlier environment and a contact with the world. She worked out ways by which she could help the disabled children. Dr. Bacelli opened an experimental state school for disabled children with Dr. Maria Montessori as its head. Maria spent long hours, almost 12 hours a day with children, observing them and finding out what could really help them. After two years of hard work, her students took the normal state school examination. After her children proved that they were not hopeless cases. In fact, many did almost as well as other normal children . 5. Later, Maria was appointed professor of anthropology at the university. After seven years, she took up another important mission of her life. She started a Kindergarten for the poor, normal children. She first taught them to become tidy, learn self- discipline and then taught them to read and write. In her colourful, stimulating Kindergarten, she provided them with innovative learing objects, like cutout letters of sand paper, coloured blocks and musical bells with different notes. Many more such innovations made her system of education stimulating, and even inspired the educationists.
Option 1
I a. As a child Maria was a ----- Child. *
1 point
intelligent
weak
dull
unhealthy
b. The disabled children were housed -------- *
1 point
in a school
in an asylum
in a library
in a hall
c. The children needed ---environment *
1 point
friendlier
abnormal
unfriendly
stressful
d. The disabled children's sucess in ----proved that they were as capable as the normal children. *
1 point
playground
library
arena
state school examination
XXL
e. Maria's innovative Kindergarten provided children with ------- and -------- *
2 points
learning objects, opportunities
normal, abnormal
books, lunch boxes
Colours, friends
f. Maria's two main areas of interest were-------- and ---------- *
2 points
making children self disciplined, educated
physics, psychology
education, examination
sandpaper, blocks
g. Which word in the passage mean making somebody more alert and active. *
1 point
stimulating
Provide
Receive
Observe
h. Find synonym for the word 'comprehend ' *
1 point
command
grasp
inspire
teach
Answers
The answers to the multiple choice questions are given as follows:
I a. As a child Maria was a dull Child.
( It refers to a child who is unable to understand things properly).
b. The disabled children were housed in an asylum.
c. The children needed friendlier environment.
d. The disabled children's sucess in state school examination proved that they were as capable as the normal children.
e. Maria's innovative Kindergarten provided children with learning objects and opportunities.
f. Maria's two main areas of interest were making children self disciplined and educated.
g. The word 'stimulating' means making somebody more alert and active.
( It means to activate something)
h. The synonym for the word 'comprehend ' is grasp.
( Synonyms are words having similar menaings. Comprehend means to understand something well,i.e. to grasp any concept or idea).
Answer:
who was maria Montessori ? what did she do for the children