montessori(n = noun.person) maria montesorri - Italian educator who developed a method of teaching mentally handicapped children and advocated a child-centered approach (1870-1952);
is a kind of educator, pedagog, pedagogue
montessori, n. (usu. attrib.) a system of education (esp. of young children) that seeks to develop natural interests and activities rather than use formal teaching methods.
Etymology:
Maria Montessori, It. educationist d. 1952, who initiated it