Influential Montessori Alumni

For over a century, the Montessori model has equipped children with a distinct academic advantage and has been a fundamental part in helping those reach their fullest potential. Montessori alumni are confident, self-empowered individuals with a lifelong love for learning. It's of no surprise that the following well-known individuals were all Montessori educated and attribute much of their success to their Montessori roots.

Stephen Curry, 4x NBA Champion, 2x NBA MVP

Stephen Curry and his siblings, Seth and Sydel, attended a Montessori school from a young age. Stephen Curry attributes a great deal of his success to the foundation that Montessori education gave him. "Montessori gave me a lot of confidence at a young age." Steph states in a video by the American Montessori Society. "I harnessed my strengths and worked on my weaknesses as I went through school and for any kid to experience that at some point, allows them the sense of confidence that they can achieve anything." Sonya and Dell Curry (Stephen's parents) were so touched by the Montessori method that they opened their own Montessori school, Christian Montessori School of Lake Norman, in August 1995.

Julia Child, Chef, Author and TV Personality

World renowned chef, author, and TV personality, Julia Child, famously shared her love for cooking and her work promotes cooking from a young age. The Montessori model of using hands-on manipulatives to teach impacted her career and the way she viewed cooking with children. "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," Julia states in the book titled Julia Child & Company by Alfred A. Knopf. Julia remains a great influence in the culinary world.

Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Founders of Google

One of today's largest and most successful companies, Google, was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin. When asked by Barbara Walters, in an ABC News special, what had driven them to success, both Page and Brin credited their early education. "We both went to Montessori school," said Page. "And I think it was part of that training of not following rules and orders and being self-motivated and questioning what's going on in the world that made us a little bit different." 

Will Wright, Video Game Designer (The Sims)

Will Wright is a video game designer, famously known for being the original designer of The Sims series, and co-founder of the game development company Maxis which later became part of Electronic Arts (EA). In a TED conference, Wright credits his Montessori education, it's hands-on manipulatives, and the idea of natural consequences to his success. "When I was a kid, I attended Montessori school," says Wright. "And it wasn't until later, as I started making games - that I really actually think of them more as toys." He continued, "I started getting really interested in Maria Montessori and her methods, and the way she went about things, the way she thought it very valuable for kids to discover things on their own rather than be taught these things overtly. And she would design these toys, where kids in playing with the toys would come to understand these deep principles of life and nature through play." Wright said, "There was a failure-based aspect to learning there. It was very important. And, so the games that I do, I think of really more as modern Montessori toys."

A Montessori education is the commonality amongst many of the most successful individuals in the world. At the pinnacle of their respective fields, these influential individuals attribute their success to their Montessori roots where they were encouraged to become critical thinkers and explore their unique interests.

Sources

Child, J. in collaboration with Yntema, E. S. (1978), On Cooking with Children. Julia Child & Company, Alfred A. Knopf. Page 147.

American Montessori Society. (2013). Living Montessori: Stephen Curry and Family [Video].

YouTube. Retrieved January 8, 2024, from https://youtu.be/Pb8kUvKcVTw?si=GY4W zeM1D9fhs48I. 

Schweiger, S. (n.d.). Larry Page, Montessori graduate, Google Creator. Our Kids. https://www .ourkids.net/school/larry-page-montessori-grad.php 

TED. (2007). Will Wright: Spore, birth of a game [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved January 8, 2024, from https://youtu.be/e3NA-aKpgFk?si=3c__M7FpJtwOvev5.