I hear and I forget,
I see and I remember,
I do and I understand.
- “One of the golden maxims of the Montessori system, one which parents as well as teachers should take to heart is this: Every useless aid arrests development. Or we adults should always act toward the child in such a way as to answer his unspoken prayer, HELP ME TO DO IT MYSELF.”
- “EDUCATION is not something which a directress or parent 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 central idea of the Montessori system, on which every smallest bit of apparatus, every detail of technique rests solidly, is full recognition of the fact that no human being is educated by anyone else. He must do it himself or it is never done.”
- “To coax and push a child into activities which are NOT truly his/her own and for which he/she is not ready, is a temptation every Montessorian (parent or teacher) is bound in conscience to resist, even if it is a disappointment to the parent who wants to see items the child has made to take home to show.
- “Catching the excitement inherent in his/her own discoveries (no matter how small), and knowing deep-down that he/she did it himself/herself because of the felt need to understand a problem, is worth far more to a child’s self-image (and far healthier for his development) than to respond to never-ending teacher or parent direction – even if the latter does show quicker results.”
- “Will your child move on his/her own or will he/she always need someone to push and prod?"
Maria Montessori believed in a “natural unfolding of the child’s intelligence”, not the attempt by adults to force the intellectual development of the child. 