Maria Montessori was an Italian physician and educational reformer who is best known for developing the Montessori method of education. She believed that children are naturally curious and eager to learn, and that they have an innate desire to explore and understand their environment. Through her work, she sought to create an educational approach that focused on the child's individual needs and interests, and that encouraged self-directed learning and exploration. Over the years, Montessori's ideas have had a profound impact on education, and her quotes continue to inspire educators and parents around the world.
Here is a collection of some of her most memorable and thought-provoking quotes on education, children, learning, and the role of the teacher:
Education
"The child is both a hope and a promise for mankind."
"Education is a natural process carried out by the child and is not acquired by listening to words but by experiences in the environment."
"The most important period of life is not the age of university studies, but the first one, the period from birth to the age of six."
The first essential for the child's development is concentration. The child who concentrates is immensely happy
"The different parts of the brain must not only be stimulated in order to make them function, but must work together in harmony: this is what is called “integration”"
Role of the Teacher
"It is not enough for the teacher to love the child. She must first love and understand the universe. She must prepare herself, and truly work at it."
"The teacher's role is not to talk, but to prepare and arrange a series of motives for cultural activity in a special environment made for the child"
"The greatest sign of success for a teacher... is to be able to say, 'The children are now working as if I did not exist'"
“The task of educators is immense because human progress and world peace are in their hands”
"We cannot know the consequences of suppressing a child spontaneity when he is just beginning to be active. We may even suffocate life itself. That humanity which is revealed in all its intellectual splendor during the sweet and tender age of childhood should be respected with a kind of religious veneration. It is like the sun which appears at dawn or a flower just beginning to bloom. Education cannot be effective unless it helps a child to open up himself to life."
Learning
"We cannot know the consequences of suppressing a child spontaneity when he is just beginning to be active. We may even suffocate life itself. That humanity which is revealed in all its intellectual splendor during the sweet and tender age of childhood should be respected with a kind of religious veneration. It is like the sun which appears at dawn or a flower just beginning to bloom. Education cannot be effective unless it helps a child to open up himself to life."
"Our care of the child should be governed, not by the desire to make him learn things, but by the endeavor always to keep burning within him that light which is called intelligence."
"The development of language is part of the development of the personality, for words are the natural means of expressing thoughts and establishing understanding between people"
"Children have a tendency to imitate. They must adapt to this world and be able to do all the things that are done in the environment. They imitate for this reason"
"If children are allowed to do what they see done in the environment, they will perform a series of exercises which have no external purpose, but which are a preparation for the activity which is to follow. Children do these things, which appear to have no use, with great care and interest. There is a cycle of activity. These things may seem useless to us, but the child is preparing himself and preparing the coordination of his movements. One consequence of this is that he wants to climb."
Worldview
"Establishing lasting peace is the work of education; all politics can do is keep us out of war."
"He is an independent person who must be considered in terms of his own individual self."
"All animals and vegetables, superior animals, inferior animals, insects, etc., have a cosmic task. All are agents, maintainers and conservers of this order in the environment."
"Now we must learn how to care for the newborn child. We must welcome him with love and respect..."
"We must look to the children as a vehicle for bringing change to humanity."