467 Quotes by Maria Montessori

A man is not what he is because of the teachers he has had, but because of what he has done

One who has drunk at the fountain of spiritual happiness says good-by of his own accord to the satisfactions that come from a higher professional status ... What is the greatest sign of success for a teacher thus transformed? It is to be able to say, "The children are now working as if I did not exist.

The greatness of the human personality begins at the hour of birth.

The first idea that the child must acquire, in order to be actively disciplined, is that of the difference between good and evil; and the task of the educator lies in seeing that the child does not confound good with immobility, and evil with activity.

It is necessary for the teacher to guide the child without letting him feel her presence too much, so that she may always be ready to supply the desired help, but may never be the obstacle between the child and his experience.

A humankind abandoned in its earlier formative stage becomes its own greatest threat to survival.

The child is an enigma… He has the highest potentialities, but we do not know what he will be.

Plainly, the environment must be a living one, directed by a higher intelligence, arranged by an adult who is prepared for his mission.

The work of education is divided between the teacher and the environment.