Top Montessori Quotes

nd so we discovered that education is not something which the teacher does, but that it is a natural process which develops spontaneously in the human being. It is not acquired by listening to words, but in virtue of experiences in which the child acts on his environment. The teacher’s task is not to talk, but to prepare and arrange a series of motives for cultural activity in a special environment made for the child. [Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind, translated by Claude A. Claremont]

he task of the educator lies in seeing that the child does not confound good with immobility, and evil with activity, as often happens in old-time discipline . . .

room in which all the children move about usefully, intelligently, and voluntarily, without committing any rough or rude act, would seem to me a classroom very well disciplined indeed. [Maria Montessori, The Montessori Method, translated by Anne E. George]

he instructions of the teacher consist then merely in a hint, a touch—enough to give a start to the child. The rest develops of itself. [Maria Montessori, Dr. Montessori’s Own Handbook, translator unknown]

teacher, therefore, who would think that he could prepare himself for his mission through study alone would be mistaken. The first thing required of a teacher is that he be rightly disposed for his task. [Maria Montessori, The Secret of Childhood, translated by M. Joseph Costelloe, S.J.]

he teacher, when she begins work in our schools, must have a kind of faith that the child will reveal himself through work. [Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind, translated by Claude A. Claremont]

efore elaborating any system of education, we must therefore create a favorable environment that will encourage the flowering of a child’s natural gifts. All that is needed is to remove the obstacles. And this should be the basis of, and point of departure for, all future education.

he first thing to be done, therefore, is to discover the true nature of a child and then assist him in his normal development. [Maria Montessori, The Secret of Childhood, translated by M. Joseph Costelloe, S.J.]

hen a child is given a little leeway, he will at once shout, “I want to do it!” But in our schools, which have an environment adapted to children’s needs, they say, “Help me to do it alone.” And these words reveal their inner needs. [Maria Montessori, The Secret of Childhood, translated by M. Joseph Costelloe, S.J.]

What is to be particularly noted in these child conversions is a psychic cure, a return to what is normal. Actually the normal child is one who is precociously intelligent, who has learned to overcome himself and to live in peace, and who prefers a disciplined task to futile idleness. When we see a child in this light, we would more properly call his “conversion” a “normalization.” [Maria Montessori, The Secret of Childhood, translated by M. Joseph Costelloe, S.J.]

child in his earliest years, when he is only two or a little more, is capable of tremendous achievements simply through his unconscious power of absorption, though he is himself still immobile.

fter the age of three he is able to acquire a great number of concepts through his own efforts in exploring his surroundings. In this period he lays hold of things through his own activity and assimilates them into his mind. [Maria Montessori, The Discovery of the Child, translated by M. Joseph Costelloe, S.J.]

ere is an essential principal of education: to teach details is to bring confusion; to establish the relationship between things is to bring knowledge. [Maria Montessori, From Childhood to Adolescence, translator unknown]

ince it has been seen to be necessary to give so much to the child, let us give him a vision of the whole universe. The universe is an imposing reality and an answer to all questions. We shall walk together on this path of life, for all things are part of the universe and are connected with each other to form one whole unity. This idea helps the mind of the child to become fixed, to stop wandering in an aimless quest for knowledge. He is satisfied, having found the universal centre of himself with all things. [Maria Montessori, To Educate the Human Potential, translator unknown]

he laws governing the universe can be made interesting and wonderful to the child, more interesting even that things in themselves, and he begins to ask: What am I? What is the task of man in this wonderful universe? Do we merely live here for ourselves, or is there something more for us to do? Why do we struggle and fight? What is good and evil? Where will it all end? [Maria Montessori, To Educate the Human Potential, translator unknown]

ducation today, in this particular social period, is assuming truly unlimited importance. And the increased emphasis on its practical value can be summed up in one sentence: education is the best weapon for peace.

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