Montessori Examined

London: Constable and Company Ltd, 1915. First UK Edition, First Printing. Hardcover. At Least Very Good. Volume V in Constable's 'Handbooks in the Art of Teaching' series. "Montessori education had spread to the United States by 1912 and became widely known in educational and popular publications. However, conflict between Montessori and the American educational establishment, and especially the publication in 1914 of a critical booklet, 'The Montessori System Examined' by influential education teacher William Heard Kilpatrick, limited the spread of her ideas, and they languished after 1914. Montessori education returned to the United States in 1960 and has since spread to thousands of schools there." wiki. Blue linen cloth over boards, title printed in blue onto upper board and spine, 12mo (7 inches tall), pp. [1]-95, [96 - ad], pink tear out ad sheet at rear. First UK edition, with a slightly different title from the US edition and "Published 1915" printed on copyright page with no other printings indicated. Volume with light wear and stains to covers, endpapers slightly toned with name in pencil to ffep, occasional soil or stray pencil mark to text. With content both controversial and critical, this UK Montessori item is scarce in the trade. Interestingly, most institutional holdings were found to be only microfilm copies. From a contemporary book review in The Journal of Education Vol. 80, No, 5. Aug. 20, 1914, p. 133. "... The author fully appreciates the magnitude of Dr. Montessori's vision, and the intensity of her devotion to her ideal, without being unaware of the lack of perfection of the details in application. We incline to think that it is the best inexpensive statement to put into the hands of inquirers after the truth regarding the theory and practice of Montessorism that has been published.