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If I Am Going Up A Ladder, And A Dog Begins To Bite At My Ankles, I Can Do One Of Two Things - Either Turn Round And Kick Out At The It, Or Simply Go On Up The Ladder. I Prefer To Go Up The Ladder!
-Maria Montessori
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If I Am Going

Maria Montessori
If I Am Going Up A Ladder, And A Dog Begins To Bite At My Ankles, I Can Do One Of Two Things - Either Turn Round And Kick Out At The It, Or Simply Go On Up The Ladder. I Prefer To Go Up The Ladder!
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Dog
Two
Challenges
More From Maria Montessori
A New Education From Birth Onwards Must Be Built Up. Education Must Be Reconstructed And Based On The Law Of Nature And Not On The Preconceived Notions And Prejudices Of Adult Society.
Law
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This Is Education, Understood As A Help To Life; An Education From Birth, Which Feeds A Peaceful Revolution And Unites All In A Common Aim, Attracting Them As To A Single Centre. Mothers, Fathers, Politicians: All Must Combine In Their Respect And Help For This Delicate Work Of Formation, Which The Little Child Carries On In The Depth Of A Profound Psychological Mystery, Under The Tutelage Of An Inner Guide. This Is The Bright New Hope For Mankind.
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The Child's Conquests Of Independence Are The Basic Steps In What Is Called His 'natural Development'.
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The Principal Agent Is The Object Itself And Not The Instruction Given By The Teacher. It Is The Child Who Uses The Objects; It Is The Child Who Is Active, And Not The Teacher.
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The First Duty Of The Educator, Whether He Is Involved With The Newborn Infant Or The Older Child, Is To Recognize The Human Personality Of The Young Being And Respect It.
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If Education Recognizes The Intrinsic Value Of The Child's Personality And Provides An Environment Suited To Spiritual Growth, We Have The Revelation Of An Entirely New Child Whose Astonishing Characteristics Can Eventually Contribute To The Betterment Of The World.
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The Adult Ought Never To Mold The Child After Himself, But Should Leave Him Alone And Work Always From The Deepest Comprehension Of The Child Himself.
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Establishing Lasting Peace Is The Work Of Education; All Politics Can Do Is Keep Us Out Of War.
Peace
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This Is The Treasure We Need Today - Helping The Child Become Independent Of Us And Make His Way By Himself, Receiving In Return His Gifts Of Hope And Light.
Children
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We Are The Sowers - Our Children Are Those Who Reap. We Labor So That Future Generations Will Be Better And Nobler Than We Are.
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But If For The Physical Life It Is Necessary To Have The Child Exposed To The Vivifying Forces Of Nature, It Is Also Necessary For His Psychical Life To Place The Soul Of The Child In Contact With Creation.
Children
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The Child's True Constructive Energy, A Dynamic Power, Has Remained Unnoticed For Thousands Of Years. Just As Men Have Trodden The Earth, And Later Tilled Its Surface, Without Thought For The Immense Wealth Hidden In Its Depths, So The Men Of Our Day Make Progress After Progress In Civilized Life, Without Noticing The Treasures That Lie Hidden In The Psychic World Of Infancy.
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The Word Education Must Not Be Understood In The Sense Of Teaching But Of Assisting The Psychological Development Of The Child.
Children
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Education Should Therefore Include The Two Forms Of Work, Manual And Intellectual, For The Same Person, And Thus Make It Understood By Practical Experience That These Two Kinds Complete Each Other And Are Equally Essential To A Civilized Existence.
Two
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Let The Children Be Free; Encourage Them; Let Them Run Outside When It Is Raining; Let Them Remove Their Shoes When They Find A Puddle Of Water; And When The Grass Of The Meadows Is Wet With Dew, Let Them Run On It And Trample It With Their Bare Feet; Let Them Rest Peacefully When A Tree Invites Them To Sleep Beneath Its Shade; Let Them Shout And Laugh When The Sun Wakes Them In The Morning.
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Morning
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Growth Is Not Merely A Harmonious Increase In Size, But A Transformation.
Growth
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Education Must Start From Birth.
Birth
In Nature Everything Is Transformed But Nothing Destroyed.
Nature
Transformed
Destroyed
The Child Is The Spiritual Builder Of Mankind, And Obstacles To His Free Development Are The Stones In The Wall By Which The Soul Of Man Has Become Imprisoned.
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The Child Is Both A Hope And A Promise For Mankind.
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This Then Is The First Duty Of An Educator: To Stir Up Life But Leave It Free To Develop.
Childhood
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The Greatest Source Of Discouragement Is The Conviction That One Is Unable To Do Something
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We Especially Need Imagination In Science. It Is Not All Mathematics, Nor All Logic, But It Is Somewhat Beauty And Poetry.
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How Often Is The Soul Of Man - Especially In Childhood - Deprived Because He Is Not Allowed To Come In Contact With Nature.
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No Social Problem Is As Universal As The Oppression Of The Child ... No Slave Was Ever So Much The Property Of His Master As The Child Is Of His Parent ... Never Were The Rights Of Man Ever So Disregarded As In The Case Of The Child.
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The Essential Thing Is To Arouse Such An Interest That It Engages The Child’s Whole Personality.
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Imagination Does Not Become Great Until Human Beings, Given The Courage And The Strength, Use It To Create.
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Praise, Help, Or Even A Look, May Be Enough To Interrupt Him, Or Destroy The Activity. It Seems A Strange Thing To Say, But This Can Happen Even If The Child Merely Becomes Aware Of Being Watched. After All, We Too Sometimes Feel Unable To Go On Working If Someone Comes To See What We Are Doing. The Great Principle Which Brings Success To The Teacher Is This: As Soon As Concentration Has Begun, Act As If The Child Does Not Exist. Naturally, One Can See What He Is Doing With A Quick Glance, But Without His Being Aware Of It.
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Red Rodsbefore 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. The First Thing To Be Done, Therefore, Is To Discover The True Nature Of A Child And Then Assist Him In His Normal Development.
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We Seek To Sow Life In The Child Rather Than Theories, To Help Him In His Growth, Mental And Emotional As Well As Physical, And For That We Must Offer Grand And Lofty Ideas To The Human Mind.
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All Our Handling Of The Child Will Bear Fruit, Not Only At The Moment, But In The Adult They Are Destined To Become.
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The Child Endures All Things.
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Concentration Is The Key That Opens Up To The Child The Latent Treasures Within Him.
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The Real Preparation For Education Is A Study Of One's Self. The Training Of The Teacher...is Something Far More Than A Learning Of Ideas. It Includes The Training Of Character; It Is A Preparation Of The Spirit.
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Education Cannot Be Effective Unless It Helps A Child To Open Up Himself To Life.
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Beauty Lies In Harmony, Not In Contrast; And Harmony Is Refinement; Therefore, There Must Be A Fineness Of The Senses If We Are To Appreciate Harmony.
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There Are Many Who Hold, As I Do, That The Most Important Part Of Life Is Not The Age Of University Studies, But The First One, The Period From Birth To The Age Of Six. For That Is The Time When A Man's Intelligence Itself, His Greatest Implement, Is Being Formed. But Not Only His Intelligence; The Full Totality Of His Psychic Powers.
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Times Have Changed, And Science Has Made Great Progress, And So Has Our Work; But Our Principles Have Only Been Confirmed, And Along With Them Our Conviction That Mankind Can Hope For A Solution To Its Problems, Among Which The Most Urgent Are Those Of Peace And Unity, Only By Turning Its Attention And Energies To The Discovery Of The Child And To The Development Of The Great Potentialities Of The Human Personality In The Course Of Its Formation.
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Only Through Freedom And Environmental Experience Is It Practically Possible For Human Development To Occur.
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The Teacher's Task Is Not A Small Easy One! She Has To Prepare A Huge Amount Of Knowledge To Satisfy The Child's Mental Hunger. She Is Not Like The Ordinary Teacher, Limited By A Syllabus. The Needs Of The Child Are Clearly More Difficult To Answer.
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A Child's Character Develops In Accordance With The Obstacles He Has Encountered... Or The Freedom Favoring His Development That He Has Enjoyed.
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Knowing What We Must Do Is Neither Fundamental Nor Difficult, But To Comprehend Which Presumptions And Vain Prejudices We Must Rid Ourselves Of In Order To Be Able To Educate Our Children Is Most Difficult.
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The Observation Of The Way In Which The Children Pass From The First Disordered Movements To Those Which Are Spontaneous And Ordered -- This Is The Book Of The Teacher; This Is The Book Which Must Inspire Her Actions . . .
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A Child Is Mysterious And Powerful; And Contains Within Himself The Secret Of Human Nature.
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The Undisciplined Child Enters Into Discipline By Working In The Company Of Others; Not Being Told He Is Naughty.” “discipline Is, Therefore, Primarily A Learning Experience And Less A Punitive Experience If Appropriately Dealt With.
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For What Is The Use Of Transmitting Knowledge If The Individual's Total Development Lags Behind?
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If Help And Salvation Are To Come They Can Only Come From The Children, For The Children Are The Makers Of Men.
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The Great Constructive Energies Of The Child ... Have Hitherto Been Concealed Beneath An Accumulation Of Ideas Concerning Motherhood. We Used To Say It Was The Mother Who Formed The Child; For It Is She Who Teaches Him To Walk, Talk, And So On. But None Of This Is Really Done By The Mother. It Is An Achievement Of The Child. What The Mother Brings Forth Is The Baby, But It Is The Baby Who Produces The Man. Should The Mother Die, The Baby Still Grows Up And Completes His Work Of Making The Man.
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We Cannot Know The Consequences Of Suppressing A Child's 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.
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The Child Is Endowed With Unknown Powers, Which Can Guide Us To A Radiant Future. If What We Really Want Is A New World, Then Education Must Take As Its Aim The Development Of These Hidden Possibilities.
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The Essence Of Independence Is To Be Able To Do Something For One’s Self.
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All Human Victories, All Human Progress, Stand Upon The Inner Force.
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When We Want To Infuse New Ideas, To Modify Or Better The Habits And Customs Of A People, To Breathe New Vigor Into Its National Traits, We Must Use The Children As Our Vehicle; For Little Can Be Accomplished With Adults.
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He Does It With His Hands, By Experience, First In Play And Then Through Work. The Hands Are The Instruments Of Man's Intelligence.
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Happiness Is Not The Whole Aim Of Education. A Man Must Be Independent In His Powers And Character; Able To Work And Assert His Mastery Over All That Depends On Him.
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Discipline Must Come Through Liberty. . . . We Do Not Consider An Individual Disciplined Only When He Has Been Rendered As Artificially Silent As A Mute And As Immovable As A Paralytic. He Is An Individual Annihilated, Not Disciplined.
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These Words Reveal The Child’s Inner Needs; ‘help Me To Do It Alone’.
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Independence Is Not A Static Condition; It Is A Continuous Conquest, And In Order To Reach Not Only Freedom, But Also Strength, And The Perfecting On One's Powers, It Is Necessary To Follow This Path Of Unremitting Toil.
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By The Age Of Three, The Child Has Already Laid Down The Foundations Of His Personality As A Human Being, And Only Then Does He Need The Help Of Special Scholastic Influences. So Great Are The Conquests He Has Made That One May Well Say: The Child Who Goes To School At Three Is Already A Little Man.
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The Child Who Has Felt A Strong Love For His Surroundings And For All Living Creatures, Who Has Discovered Joy And Enthusiasm In Work, Gives Us Reason To Hope That Humanity Can Develop In A New Direction.
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The Child Is Truly A Miraculous Being, And This Should Be Felt Deeply By The Educator.
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An Educational Method That Shall Have Liberty As Its Basis Must Intervene To Help The Child To A Conquest Of Liberty. That Is To Say, His Training Must Be Such As Shall Help Him To Diminish As Much As Possible The Social Bonds Which Limit His Activity.
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Sometimes Very Small Children In A Proper Environment Develop A Skill And Exactness In Their Work That Can Only Surprise Us.
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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.
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The Secret Of Good Teaching Is To Regard The Child's Intelligence As A Fertile Field In Which Seeds May Be Sown, To Grow Under The Heat Of Flaming Imagination.
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At A Given Moment A Child Becomes Interested In A Piece Of Work, Showing It By The Expression Of His Face, By His Intense Attention, By His Perseverance In The Same Exercise. That Child Has Set Foot Upon The Road Leading To Discipline.
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A Man Is Not What He Is Because Of The Teachers He Has Had, But Because Of What He Has Done
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Bring The Child To The Consciousness Of His Own Dignity And He Will Feel Free.
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When The Children Had Completed An Absorbing Bit Of Work, They Appeared Rested And Deeply Pleased. It Almost Seemed As If A Road Had Opened Up Within Their Souls That Led To All Their Latent Powers, Revealing The Better Part Of Themselves. They Exhibited A Great Affability To Everyone, Put Themselves Out To Help Others And Seemed Full Of Good Will.
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Culture And Education Have No Bounds Or Limits; Now Man Is In A Phase In Which He Must Decide For Himself How Far He Can Proceed In The Culture That Belongs To The Whole Of Humanity.
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Concentration Is A Part Of Life. It Is Not The Consequence Of A Method Of Education.
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Concentration
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To Consider The School As A Place Where Instruction Is Given Is One Point Of View. But, To Consider The School As A Preparation For Life Is Another. In The Latter Case, The School Must Satisfy All The Needs Of Life.
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Views
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Children Are Human Beings To Whom Respect Is Due, Superior To Us By Reason Of Their Innocence And Of The Greater Possibilities Of Their Future.
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Parenting
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He Who Experiments Must, While Doing So, Divest Himself Of Every Preconception. It Is Clear Then That If We Wish To Make Use Of A Method Of Experimental Psychology, The First Thing Necessary Is To Renounce All Former Creeds And To Proceed By Means Of The Method In The Search For Truth.
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We Must Clearly Understand That When We Give The Child Freedom And Independence, We Are Giving Freedom To A Worker Already Braced For Action, Who Cannot Live Without Working And Being Active.
Children
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Giving
If The Idea Of The Universe Is Presented To The Child In The Right Way, It Will Do More For Him Than Just Arouse His Interest, For It Will Create In Him Admiration And Wonder, A Feeling Loftier Than Any Interest And More Satisfying.
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If Education Is Always To Be Conceived Along The Same Antiquated Lines Of A Mere Transmission Of Knowledge, There Is Little To Be Hoped From It In The Bettering Of Man's Future. For What Is The Use Of Transmitting Knowledge If The Individual's Total Development Lags Behind?
Men
Intelligence
Use
Two Things Are Necessary, The Development Of Individuality And The Participation Of The Individual In A Truly Social Life.
Two
Individuality
Development
The Child Has Other Powers Than Ours, And The Creation He Achieves Is No Small One; It Is Everything.
Children
Creation
Achieve
If An Educational Act Is To Be Efficacious, It Will Be Only That One Which Tends To Help Toward The Complete Unfolding Of Life. To Be Thus Helpful It Is Necessary Rigorously To Avoid The Arrest Of Spontaneous Movements And The Imposition Of Arbitrary Tasks.
Education
Tasks
Arbitrary
There Must Be Provision For The Child To Have Contact With Nature; To Understand And Appreciate The Order, The Harmony And The Beauty In Nature.
Children
Order
Appreciate
At One Year Of Age The Child Says His First Intentional Wordhis Babbling Has A Purpose, And This Intention Is A Proof Of Conscious Intelligencehe Becomes Ever More Aware That Language Refers To His Surroundings, And His Wish To Master It Consciously Becomes Also Greater.subconsciously And Unaided, He Strains Himself To Learn, And This Effort Makes His Success All The More Astonishing.
Children
Years
Effort
We Must Support As Much As Possible The Child's Desires For Activity; Not Wait On Him, But Educate Him To Be Independent.
Children
Independent
Support
When 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.
Children
School
Needs
Great Tact And Delicacy Is Necessary For The Care Of The Mind Of A Child From Three To Six Years, And An Adult Can Have Very Little Of It.
Children
Years
Mind
Love And The Hope Of It Are Not Things One Can Learn; They Are A Part Of Life's Heritage.
Heritage
Parts Of Life
... The First Thing His Education Demands Is The Provision Of An Environment In Which He Can Develop The Powers Given Him By Nature. This Does Not Mean Just To Amuse Him And Let Him Do What He Likes. But It Does Mean That We Have To Adjust Our Minds To Doing A Work Of Collaboration With Nature, To Being Obedient To One Of Her Laws, The Law Which Decrees That Development Comes From Environmental Experience.
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Independent
Law
The Development Of The Mind Comes Through Movement
Mind
Movement
Development
The Needs Of Mankind Are Universal. Our Means Of Meeting Them Create The Richness And Diversity Of The Planet. The Montessori Child Should Come To Relish The Texture Of That Diversity.
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The First Idea That The Child Must Acquire, In Order To Be Actively Disciplined, Is That Of The Difference Between Good And Evil.
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Children Display A Universal Love Of Mathematics, Which Is Par Excellence The Science Of Precision, Order, And Intelligence.
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Teach By Teaching, Not By Correcting
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Correcting
We Shall Walk Together On This Path Of Life, For All Things Are A 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.
Children
Ideas
Unity
The Child, In Fact, Once He Feels Sure Of Himself, Will No Longer Seek The Approval Of Authority After Every Step.
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Steps
Scientific Observation Then Has Established That Education Is Not What The Teacher Gives; Education Is A Natural Process Spontaneously Carried Out By The Human Individual, And Is Acquired Not By Listening To Words But By Experiences Upon The Environment.
Teacher
Giving
Listening
But An Adult If He Is To Provide Proper Guidance, Must Always Be Calm And Act Slowly So That The Child Who Is Watching Him Can Clearly See His Actions In All Their Particulars.
Children
Adults
Action
I Have Studied The Child. I Have Taken What The Child Has Given Me And Expressed It And That Is What Is Called The Montessori Method.
Children
Taken
Given
A 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.
Teacher
Thinking
Tasks
Mental Development Must Be Connected With Movement And Be Dependent On It. It Is Vital That Educational Theory And Practice Should Be Informed By That Idea.
Educational
Practice
Ideas
The Greatness Of The Human Personality Begins At The Hour Of Birth.
Change
Greatness
Personality
Joy, Feeling One’s Own Value, Being Appreciated And Loved By Others, Feeling Useful And Capable Of Production Are All Factors Of Enormous Value For The Human Soul.
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Soul
Feelings
Freedom Without Organization Of Work Would Be Useless. The Child Left Free Without Means Of Work Would Go To Waste, Just As A New-born Baby, If Left Free Without Nourishment, Would Die Of Starvation.the Organization Of The Work, Therefore, Is The Cornerstone Of This New Structure Of Goodness [in Education], But Even That Organization Would Be In Vain Without The Liberty To Make Use Of It.
Baby
Children
Mean
The Greatness Of The Human Personality Begins At The Hour Of Birth. From This Almost Mystic Affirmation There Comes What May Seem A Strange Conclusion: That Education Must Start From Birth.
Education
Greatness
Personality
Play Is The Work Of The Child.
Children
Play
Children Playing
Supposing I Said There Was A Planet Without Schools Or Teachers, Where Study Was Unknown, And Yet The Inhabitants -- Doing Nothing But Live And Walk About -- Came To Know All Things, To Carry In Their Minds The Whole Of Learning; Would You Not Think I Was Romancing? Well, Just This, Which Seems So Fanciful As To Be Nothing But The Invention Of A Fertile Imagination, Is A Reality. It Is The Child's Way Of Learning.
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Children
School
How Can We Speak Of Democracy Or Freedom When From The Very Beginning Of Life We Mould The Child To Undergo Tyranny, To Obey A Dictator? How Can We Expect Democracy When We Have Reared Slaves? Real Freedom Begins At The Beginning Of Life, Not At The Adult Stage. These People Who Have Been Diminished In Their Powers, Made Short-sighted, Devitalized By Mental Fatigue, Whose Bodies Have Become Distorted, Whose Wills Have Been Broken By Elders Who Say: "your Will Must Disappear And Mine Prevail!"-how Can We Expect Them, When School-life Is Finished, To Accept And Use The Rights Of Freedom?
Children
Real
School
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.
Children
Light
Desire
There Is In Every Child A Painstaking Teacher So Skillful That He Obtains Identical Results In All Children In All Parts Of The World. The Only Language Men Ever Speak Perfectly Is The One They Learn In Babyhood, When No One Teaches Them Anything.
Teacher
Children
Learning
Children Have An Anxious Concern For Living Beings, And The Satisfaction Of This Instinct Fills Them With Delight. It Is Therefore Easy To Interest Them In Taking Care Of Plants And Especially Of Animals. Nothing Awakens Foresight In A Small Child Such As This. When He Knows That Animals Have Need Of Him, That Little Plants Will Dry Up If He Does Not Water Them, He Binds Together With A New Thread Of Love Today's Passing Moments With Those Of The Morrow.
Children
Animal
Dry Up
Conventions Which Camouflage A Man's True Feelings Are A Spiritual Lie Which Help Him Adapt Himself To The Organized Deviations Of Society.
Spiritual
Lying
Men
The Real Preparation For Education Is The Study Of One's Self.
Real
Self
Preparation
To Stimulate Life, Leaving It Then Free To Develop, To Unfold, Herein Lies The First Task Of The Teacher.
Teacher
Appreciation
Educational
Respect All The Reasonable Forms Of Activity In Which The Child Engages And Try To Understand Them.
Children
Trying
Form
Giving Children The Opportunity To Stir Up Life And Leave It Free To Discover.
Children
Opportunity
Giving
It Is Not In Human Nature For All Men To Tread The Same Path Of Development, As Animals Do Of A Single Species.
Animal
Men
Path
The First Thing Required Of A Teacher Is That He Be Rightly Disposed For His Task.
Teacher
Tasks
Firsts
What We Need Is A World Full Of Miracles, Like The Miracle Of Seeing The Young Child Seeking Work And Independence, And Manifesting A Wealth Of Enthusiasm And Love.
Children
Miracle
Independence
The Child Builds His Inmost Self Out Of The Deeply Held Impressions He Receives.
Children
Self
Impression
He Who Is Served Is Limited In His Independence.
Independence
Environment Is Undoubtedly A Secondary Factor In The Phenomena Of Life; It Can Modify In That It Can Help Or Hinder, But It Can Never Create.
Helping
Environment
Hinder
Free The Child's Potential, And You Will Transform Him Into The World.
Education
Children
Parenting
Any Child Who Is Self-sufficient, Who Can Tie His Shoes, Dress Or Undress Himself, Reflects In His Joy And Sense Of Achievement The Image Of Human Dignity Which Is Derived From A Sense Of Independence.
Children
Self
Shoes
The Child Is Much More Spiritually Elevated Than Is Usually Supposed. He Often Suffers, Not From Too Much Work, But From Work That Is Unworthy Of Him.
Children
Teaching
Suffering
If Children Are Allowed Free Development And Given Occupation To Correspond With Their Unfolding Minds Their Natural Goodness Will Shine Forth.
Children
Shining
Mind
Of All Things Love Is The Most Potent.
Love Is
Parental
All Things
If We Really Want Children To Grow Into Independent And Resourceful Adults, We Should Stop Pouring Their Milk As Soon As They Have Learned To Pour It Themselves And Stop Fastening Their Buttons As Soon As They Can Fasten Them Without Help.
Children
Independent
Buttons
Bring The Child To The Consciousness Of His Own Dignity, And He Will Be Free. We See No Limit To What Should Be Offered To The Child, For His Will Be An Immense Field Of Chosen Activity.
Children
Limits
Fields
In The Psychological Realm Of Relationship Between Teacher And Child, The Teacher's Part And Its Techniques Are Analogous To Those Of The Valet; They Are To Serve, And To Serve Well: To Serve The Spirit.
Teacher
Children
Technique
When Dealing With Children There Is Greater Need For Observing Than Of Probing
Children
Needs
Probing
The Best Instruction Is That Which Uses The Least Words Sufficient For The Task.
Tasks
Use
Instruction
The Child Who Concentrates Is Immensely Happy
Children
Montessori
To Let The Child Do As He Likes When He Has Not Yet Developed Any Powers Of Control Is To Betray The Idea Of Freedom.
Children
Ideas
Likes
No Social Problem Is As Universal As The Oppression Of The Child
Children
Problem
Oppression
Within The Child Lies The Fate Of The Future.
Children
Lying
Future
In The Vivid Description Of The Gospel, It Would Seem That We Must Help The Christ Hidden In Every Poor Man, In Every Prisioner, In Every Sufferer. But If We Paraphrased The Marvelous Scene And Applied It To The Child, We Should Find That Christ Goes To Help All Men In The Form Of The Child.
Children
Men
Vivid
An Adult Who Does Not Understand That A Child Needs To Use His Hands And Does Not Recognize This As The First Manifestation Of An Instinct For Work Can Be An Obstacle To The Child's Development
Children
Hands
Firsts
The Greatest Triumph Of Our Educational Method Should Always Be This: To Bring About The Spontaneous Progress Of The Child.
Children
Educational
Progress
Adults Have Not Understood Children Or Adolescents And They Are, As A Consequence, In Continual Conflict With Them.
Children
Adults
Conflict
Deceit Is A Kind Of Garment That Conceals The Soul. It Might Even Be Compared To A Whole Wardrobe, So Many Are Its Guises.
Soul
Deception
Deceit
The Child Is Essentially Alien To This Society Of Men And Might Express His Position In The Words Of The Gospel: My Kingdom Is Not Of This World
Children
Men
World
When Mental Development Is Under Discussion, There Are Many Who Say, 'how Does Movement Come Into It? We Are Talking About The Mind.' And When We Think Of Intellectual Activity, We Always Imagine People Sitting Still, Motionless. But Mental Development Must Be Connected With Movement And Be Dependent On It. It Is Vital That Educational Theory And Practice Should Be Informed By That Idea.
Educational
Thinking
Talking
Except When He Has Regressive Tendencies, The Child's Nature Is To Aim Directly And Energetically At Functional Independence.
Children
Independent
Independence
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.
Generosity
Unity
Together
A Child Is An Eager Observer And Is Particularly Attracted By The Actions Of The Adults And Wants To Imitate Them. In This Regard An Adult Can Have A Kind Of Mission. He Can Be An Inspiration For The Child's Actions, A Kind Of Open Book Wherein A Child Can Learn How To Direct His Own Movements. But An Adult, If He Is To Afford Proper Guidance, Must Always Be Calm And Act Slowly So That The Child Who Is Watching Him Can Clearly See His Actions In All Their Particulars.
Children
Inspiration
Book
The Child Can Only Develop Fully By Means Of Experience In His Environment. We Call Such Experience 'work'.
Children
Mean
Independent
The Child Will Reveal Himself Through Work.
Children
Montessori
A Child Needs Freedom Within Limits.
Children
Limits
Needs
We Do Not Believe In The Educative Power Of Words And Commands Alone, But Seek Cautiously, And Almost Without The Child's Knowing It, To Guide His Natural Activity.
Children
Believe
Knowing
Solicitous Care For Living Things Affords Satisfaction To One Of The Most Lively Instincts Of The Child's Mind. Nothing Is Better Calculated Than This To Awaken An Attitude Of Foresight.
Children
Attitude
Mind
The Children Are Now Working As If I Did Not Exist.
Education
Teacher
Children
Work Is Necessary; It Can Be Nothing Less Than A Passion; A Person Is Happy In Accomplishment.
Passion
Accomplishment
Persons
Do Not Erase The Designs The Child Makes In The Soft Wax Of His Inner Life.
Children
Design
Erase
The Teacher’s First Duty Is To Watch Over The Environment, And This Takes Precedence Over All The Rest. It’s Influence Is Indirect, But Unless It Be Well Done There Will Be No Effective And Permanent Results Of Any Kind, Physical, Intellectual Or Spiritual.
Spiritual
Teacher
Intellectual
We Cannot Create Observers By Saying 'observe,' But By Giving Them The Power And The Means For This Observation And These Means Are Procured Through Education Of The Senses.
Philosophy
Mean
Medicine
It Follows That At The Beginning Of His Life The Individual Can Accomplish Wonders Without Effort And Quite Unconsciously.
Effort
Wonder
Individual
A Child's Work Is To Create The Person She/he Will Become.
Children
Persons
Never Help A Child With A Task At Which He Feels He Can Succeed.
Family
Children
Parenting
It Is True That We Cannot Make A Genius. We Can Only Give To Teach Child The Chance To Fulfil His Potential Possibilities.
Children
Giving
Genius
Education Demands, Then, Only This: The Utilization Of The Inner Powers Of The Child For His Own Instruction.
Children
Demand
Instruction
The Concept Of An Education Centered Upon The Care Of The Living Being Alters All Previous Ideas. Resting No Longer On A Curriculum, Or A Timetable, Education Must Conform To The Facts Of Human Life.
Ideas
Care
Curriculum
How Does He Achieve This Independence? He Does It By Means Of A Continuous Activity. How Does He Become Free? By Means Of Constant Effort. We Know That Development Results From Activity. The Environment Must Be Rich In Motives Which Lend Interest To Activity And Invite The Child To Conduct His Own Experiences.
Children
Mean
Effort
The Child's Conquest Of Independence Begins With His First Introduction To Life. While He Is Developing, He Perfects Himself And Overcomes Every Obstacle That He Finds In His Path. A Vital Force Is Active Within Him, And This Guides His Efforts Towards Their Goal. It Is A Force Called The 'horme', By Sir Percy Nunn.
Children
Independent
Goal
The Child’s Progress Does Not Depend Only On His Age, But Also On Being Free To Look Around Him.
Children
Progress
Being Free
The Prize And Punishments Are Incentives Toward Unnatural Or Forced Effort, And, Therefore We Certainly Cannot Speak Of The Natural Development Of The Child In Connection With Them.
Children
Punishment
Effort
To Assist A Child We Must Provide Him With An Environment Which Will Enable Him To Develop Freely.
Children
Environment
Montessori
The First Essential For The Child’s Development Is Concentration. The Child Who Concentrates Is Immensely Happy.
Children
Essentials
Development
The Fundamental Basis Of Education Must Always Remain That One Must Act For Oneself. That Is Clear. One Must Act For Him Or Herself.
Fundamentals
Clear
Bases
The ‘absorbent Mind’ Welcomes Everything, Puts Its Hope In Everything, Accepts Poverty Equally With Wealth, Adopts Any Religion And The Prejudices And Habits Of Its Countrymen, Incarnating All In Itself. This Is The Child!
Children
Mind
Prejudice
The Work Of Education Is Divided Between The Teacher And The Environment.
Teacher
Environment
Divided
No One Can Help Us To Achieve The Intimate Isolation By Which We Find Our Secret Worlds, So Mysterious, Rich And Full. If Others Intervene, It Is Destroyed. This Degree Of Thought, Which We Attain By Freeing Ourselves From The External World, Must Be Fed By The Inner Spirit, And Our Surroundings Cannot Influence Us In Any Way Other Than To Leave Us In Peace.
Solitude
Secret
Degrees
Whatever Is Presented To Him Must Be Made Beautiful And Clear, Striking His Imagination. Once This Love Has Been Kindled, All Problems Confronting The Educationist Will Disappear.
Beautiful
Children
Problem
A Child Is A Discoverer. He Is An Amorphous, Splendid Being In Search Of His Own Proper Form.
Children
Splendid
Form
Our Goal Is Not So Much The Imparting Of Knowledge As The Unveiling And Developing Of Spiritual Energy.
Spiritual
Teaching
Goal
The Hand Is The Prehensile Organ Of The Mind.
Hands
Mind
Organs
Peace Is What Every Human Being Is Craving For, And It Can Be Brought About By Humanity Through The Child.
Children
Humanity
Craving
It Is The Child Who Makes The Man, And No Man Exists Who Was Not Made By The Child He Once Was.
Children
Men
He Man
Our Aim Is Not Merely To Make The Child Understand, And Still Less To Force Him To Memorize, But So To Touch His Imagination As To Enthuse Him To His Innermost Core.
Children
Imagination
Force
If We Try To Think Back To The Dim And Distant Past... What Is It That Helps Us Reconstruct Those Times, And To Picture The Lives Of Those Who Lived In Them? It Is Their Art... It Is Thanks To The Hand, The Companion Of The Mind, That Civilization Has Arisen.
Art
Past
Thinking
The Study Of Love And Its Utilization Will Lead Us To The Source From Which It Springs, The Child.
Children
Spring
Study
The Human Hand Allows The Mind To Reveal Itself.
Hands
Mind
Humans
Watch The Unending Activity Of The Flowing Stream Or The Growing Tree. See The Breakers Of The Ocean, The Unceasing Movements Of The Earth, The Planets, The Sun And The Stars. All Creation Is Life, Movement, Work.
Stars
Ocean
Tree
Movement, Or Physical Activity, Is Thus An Essential Factor In Intellectual Growth, Which Depends Upon The Impressions Received From Outside. Through Movement We Come In Contact With External Reality, And It Is Through These Contacts That We Eventually Acquire Even Abstract Ideas.
Reality
Ideas
Intellectual
Preventing War Is The Work Of Politicians, Establishing Peace Is The Work Of Educationists.
War
Politician
Preventing
Order Is One Of The Needs Of Life Which, When It Is Satisfied, Produces A Real Happiness
Real
Order
Needs
Joy Is The Evidence Of Inner Growth.
Joy
Growth
Evidence
The Child Becomes A Person Through Work.
Children
Persons
The Essence Of Independence Is To Be Able To Do Something For One’s Self. Adults Work To Finish A Task, But The Child Works In Order To Grow, And Is Working To Create The Adult, The Person That Is To Be. Such Experience Is Not Just Play... It Is Work He Must Do In Order To Grow Up.
Children
Growing Up
Self
Freedom In Intellectual Work Is Found To Be The Basis Of Internal Discipline.
Discipline
Intellectual
Found
No One Can Be Free Unless He Is Independent.
Independent
Practical Life
Montessori
The Child Should Live In An Environment Of Beauty.
Children
Environment
Should
It Is Necessary, Then, To Give The Child The Possibility Of Developing According To The Laws Of His Nature, So That He Can Become Strong, And, Having Become Strong, Can Do Even More Than We Dared Hope For Him.
Strong
Children
Law
Under The Urge Of Nature And According To The Laws Of Development, Though Not Understood By The Adult, The Child Is Obliged To Be Serious About Two Fundamental Things ... The First Is The Love Of Activity... The Second Fundamental Thing Is Independence.
Children
Independent
Law
Do Not Offer The Child The Content Of The Mind, But The Order For That Content.
Children
Order
Mind
The Environment Must Be Rich In Motives Which Lend Interest To Activity And Invite The Child To Conduct His Own Experiences.
Children
Environment
Rich
Childhood Constitutes The Most Important Element In An Adult's Life, For It Is In His Early Years That A Man Is Made.
Men
Years
Childhood
The More The Capacity To Concentrate Is Developed, The More Often The Profound Tranquility In Work Is Achieved, Then The Clearer Will Be The Manifestation Of Discipline Within The Child.
Children
Profound
Discipline
The Whole Of Mankind Is One And Only One, One Race, One Class And One Society.
Class
Race
Mankind
A Vital Force Is Active In Every Individual And Leads It Towards Its Own Evolution.
Evolution
Individual
Force
My Vision Of The Future Is No Longer Of People Taking Exams And Proceeding From Secondary School To University But Of Passing From One Stage Of Independence To A Higher, By Means Of Their Own Activity And Effort Of Will.
School
Mean
Visions Of The Future
The Child, Making Use Of All That He Finds Around Him, Shapes Himself For The Future.
Children
Use
Shapes
Understanding Quotes: Their Essence and Application

Quotes, or quotations, are powerful tools in communication, encapsulating ideas, emotions, and wisdom in concise expressions. They serve various purposes across different contexts, from academic writing to everyday conversation.

1. Defining Quotes

A quote is a repetition of someone else's statement or thoughts. It can be a direct replication of words spoken or written by another individual, often used to support arguments, provide evidence, or convey profound insights.


2. The Importance of Quotes

2.1. Enhancing Credibility

Incorporating quotes from authoritative sources can bolster the credibility of your work. By referencing experts or primary sources, you demonstrate thorough research and a solid foundation for your arguments.


2.2. Providing Evidence

Quotes serve as concrete evidence to support claims. In academic and professional writing, they validate points made, offering readers a basis to trust the information presented.


2.3. Conveying Emotions and Perspectives

Quotes can encapsulate emotions and perspectives succinctly. They allow writers to express complex feelings or viewpoints through the words of others, often more eloquently than paraphrasing.


3. Types of Quotes

3.1. Direct Quotes

Direct quotes involve copying the exact words from a source, enclosed in quotation marks. They are used when the original wording is significant or particularly well-expressed.


3.2. Indirect Quotes (Paraphrasing)

Indirect quotes restate the original message in your own words. While not enclosed in quotation marks, they still require proper attribution to the original source.


3.3. Block Quotes

Block quotes are lengthy direct quotations, formatted as a separate block of text. They are typically used for quotes exceeding a certain length, varying by citation style. For instance, in APA style, quotes longer than 40 words are formatted as block quotes.



4. Proper Usage of Quotes


4.1. Contextual Relevance

Ensure that the quote you choose is relevant to the topic and adds value to your content. Avoid inserting quotes solely for decorative purposes.


4.2. Integration into Your Writing

Seamlessly integrate quotes into your writing. Introduce them appropriately and follow up with analysis or commentary to connect them to your main points.


4.3. Attribution and Citation

Always attribute quotes to their original authors and provide proper citations according to the required style guide (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).


5. Common Mistakes to Avoid


5.1. Overusing Quotes

Relying too heavily on quotes can overshadow your voice. Use them sparingly to support your arguments, not replace them.


5.2. Lack of Analysis

Presenting a quote without analysis or explanation can leave readers questioning its relevance. Always follow up with your interpretation or discussion.


5.3. Misquoting or Taking Out of Context

Ensure that quotes are accurate and not taken out of context, as this can mislead readers and undermine your credibility.



6. Quotes in Different Contexts


6.1. Academic Writing

In academic writing, quotes are used to support arguments, provide evidence, and engage with existing literature. Proper citation is crucial to avoid plagiarism.


6.2. Journalism

Journalists use quotes to provide firsthand accounts, add authenticity, and present multiple perspectives within a story.


6.3. Literature and Creative Writing

In literature, quotes can be used to convey character voices, themes, and stylistic elements. They enrich narratives and provide depth to storytelling.



7. Punctuation and Formatting


Understanding the correct punctuation and formatting of quotes is essential:


Quotation Marks: Always enclose direct quotes within quotation marks.


Punctuation Placement: In American English, periods and commas are placed inside quotation marks, while colons and semicolons are placed outside.


Block Quotes: For longer quotes, format them as block quotes without quotation marks, and indent the entire block.



8. Ethical Considerations


Ethical use of quotes involves accurate representation, proper attribution, and respect for intellectual property. Misuse can lead to plagiarism, which carries serious academic and professional consequences.

9. Tools for Managing Quotes


Utilize tools like citation generators and plagiarism checkers to manage quotes effectively. These tools help ensure proper formatting and originality in your writing.



Conclusion


Quotes are invaluable in enriching content, providing evidence, and conveying complex ideas succinctly. When used appropriately, they enhance the quality and credibility of your writing. Always ensure relevance, proper integration, and ethical usage to maximize their impact.


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