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Books by Maria Montessori

Selected Quotes from The Child, Society and the World

The characteristic of children under 6 years of age is that it is almost impossible to teach them; children of this age cannot take from a teacher. Therefore they are considered to be too young to go to school and therefore education does not begin until 6 years of age. Another characteristic of this age is that the children know and understand a great deal. They are full of knowledge. This would seem to be a contradiction, but the truth is that these children must take knowledge by themselves from the environment.
Maria Montessori
The Child, Society and the World, p. 44
But the child is conscious of another kind of work which has its origin in life itself. If it were true that man need not work in order to live or man did not work in order to find a means of having enough money to get food and clothing for himself and his family, that man would work just the same, because man works as he breathes and because it is a form of life. Without work, man would not be able to live without becoming ill, degenerate and old, and that is why work is one of the essential of existence, of life. Men are urged to work by a need which is higher than the instinct of self-preservation, and a man who no longer works for himself of his family is a man who does the great work of the world.
Maria Montessori
The Child, Society and the World, p. 84
...the great hope for education is to help the little young humanity which is in our hands.
Maria Montessori
The Child, Society and the World, p. 81
We must give the child relaxation from the continuous direction of adults. So we give them the right environment, relaxation and freedom from orders. This is an indirect treatment; it is not the correction of the individual but the preparation for a new life. This is something children have never had, even in the grandest and richest of homes. For even in a palace, you find that the children are relegated to some obscure nursery.
Maria Montessori
The Child, Society and the World, p. 78