Maria Montessori: Her Life and Legacy

Born in Rome in 1870, Maria Montessori was the first Italian woman to attend medical school, graduating at the top of her class. In 1907, following the birth of an out-of-wedlock child, she left the medical profession to assume directorship of a daycare center for "idiot children," where she began to develop the educational principles and practices for which she would become renowned. Written and narrated by Dr. Annette Haines, a member of the Association Montessori Internationale, Maria Montessori: Her Life and Legacy makes skilled use of archival film stills as it outlines the educator's personal history and life's work. In addition, the documentary contains many scenes of present-day classrooms, offering a contemporary look at the "unification of physical and mental energies" and the "intrinsic motivation" inherent in what is essentially a form of independent study. Though the tape does not provide any opposing point of view to Montessori's methods and philosophies (which are indeed popular though not universally embraced), this is a solid biographical profile. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Glaser)