Many parents choose Montessori for their kids because they appreciate how the approach respects their children as people and as learners. We love how the structure, materials, and lessons appeal to the developmental nature of our children. But how does it affect kids in the long-term?
Plenty of people are noticing the positive effects of a Montessori education and researchers are paying closer attention in recent years. For anyone who has been involved with the philosophy for any length of time, the results are not surprising. If you are interested in reading more about current research findings, check out this website: https://www.montessori.org/research/ .
The big question that remains is, will Montessori children grow up to become successful later in their lives? We may want to start by examining our definition of success. Is success the ability to score well on tests? To be empathetic? To be an innovator? Regardless of how we define the word, research indicates that Montessori does seem to give kids a leg up.
Did you know that many creative, innovative, and successful people that have and continue to shape our world attended Montessori schools? Read on for a list of just some of those folks.
Julia Child - Where would Americans have found their fondness for French cooking if not for Julia Child? Her books, television show, and the realness of her delivery made a huge impact on households across the country. Child accredited Montessori with teaching her to love working with her hands
Jeff Bezos - Most of us recognize Bezos’ name as he is the founder of Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer.
Prince William and Prince Harry - The sons of Prince Charles and Princess Diana both attended Montessori schools as children.
Prince George - Perhaps unsurprisingly, Prince George, the son of Prince William, also attended a Montessori primary school.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez - The Nobel Laureate who wrote One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera has said, “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.
Anne Frank - Famous for the penning of her diaries written while she was in hiding during World War II, Frank was a Montessori student.
Larry Page and Sergey Brin - The co-founders of Google have been vocal advocates for Montessori. In 2012 there was a Google doodle dedicated to Montessori. Page has said, “I think it was part of that training of not following rules or orders, and being self motivated, questioning what’s going on in the world in and doing things a little bit differently.”
Sean “Diddy” Combs - Best known as a rapper, Combs has also worked as a talent director, songwriter, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He once said, “I feel like I was nurtured into wanting to be somebody special.”
Dakota Fanning - Fanning is an actress credited as being the youngest ever nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for her performance in the film I Am Sam at age seven. She has starred in many celebrated films since.
Will Wright - Wright is a well-known video game designer, and creator of games such as The Sims, SimCity, and Spore. He says that children “can become interested in pretty complex theories, like Pythagorean theory, say, by playing with blocks. It’s all about learning on your own terms, rather than having a teacher explain stuff to you. And when kids discover these things on their own, what they learn sticks with them so much more.”
Check out this short video of Barbara Walters interviewing Larry Page and Sergey Brin: