The 10 best phrases of María Montessori

María Montessori is one of the great minds of the 20th century. She was a doctor, psychologist, psychiatrist, philosopher, anthropologist, biologist, pedagogue and scientist. Her background was impressive. In fact, she was the first Italian woman to receive a professional degree in medicine.

Maria Montessori revolutionized education. His ideas and his conclusions impacted pedagogy around the world. Today many of his precepts are used daily, although those who apply them do not always know their origin.

Many of the ideas she put forward regarding education are captured in María Montessori’s phrases. His approach was loving and respectful towards the child. She hit the game a very important value and autonomy a central place. These are some of his most memorable statements.

Phrases by María Montessori about help

One of María Montessori’s phrases says the following: “The person who is served, instead of being helped, is hindered in the development of his or her own independence. . This concept is the foundation of man’s dignity. The child cannot be served because he does not want to be important”.

The concept of help in María Montessori always warns about the consequences of not clarifying what is support and what is not. Making things easier for the child, unnecessarily, instead of helping them only serves to stagnate them. This is very well defined in another of her phrases: “Any unnecessary help is an obstacle to development”.

The meaning of education

María Montessori establishes a close relationship between education and freedom. She is taught and learned to be more independent and autonomous. To avoid manipulations and be able to act conscientiously and without pressure. Hence one of María Montessori’s phrases says: “So development is an impulse towards ever greater independence; It resembles the arrow that is shot from the bow and flies straight, sure and strong.”.

The teacher is a guide in this process towards autonomy. He cannot, nor should he, seek to make his students subordinate to him. On the contrary, his objective is that they need him less and depend on him less and less. This is very well captured in one of María Montessori’s beautiful phrases: “The greatest sign of a teacher’s success is being able to say: now the children work as if I did not exist.”.

Education changes everything

Montessori was certain that education was a key factor in changing the world. He thought that this was the area, par excellence, to give a better direction to the history of humanity. One of María Montessori’s phrases says: “If help and salvation are to come, it can only be through children. Because children are the creators of humanity”.

In the same way, another of María Montessori’s phrases points out: “Education from the beginning of life could truly change the present and future of society”. Both in the previous postulate and in this one, emphasis is placed on the value of the child as a builder of new realities. In the determining role of education as the area that makes these great changes possible.

The physical and the mental

Much of María Montessori’s pedagogical method is based on facilitating the child’s interaction with his reality. Not to observe it, but to come into contact with it, to explore it and learn from that experience.. She did not see a sharp division between the physical and the mental. On the contrary, she found that these two dimensions were perfectly complementary.

This precept is expressed in a sharp phrase: “If we consider physical life on the one hand and mental life on the other, we break the cycle of relationships and man’s actions remain separated from the brain.”.

How to transmit education to a child

For María Montessori, education is a comprehensive process. It not only serves to form intellects, but also people. That is why teaching is not just transmitting knowledge. It is also an ethical act, of respect and love. He makes a big difference between education and instruction in the following phrase: “The best teaching is the one that uses the fewest words necessary for the task”.

One of the most beautiful phrases by María Montessori says the following: “If you criticize a child a lot, he will learn to judge. If you praise your child regularly, he will learn to value”. It is a very lucid assessment in which it is clear that, finally, the child will reflect what the adult provides him.

The Montessori method is one of the most lucid and intelligent in pedagogy.. Its impact is incalculable. Almost a century after its appearance it is still valid. And it remains that way because it is the result of deep sensitivity and overwhelming clarity.

You might be interested…