Quote collection
321 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.
"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."
"Discipline must come through liberty."
"The fundamental basis of education must always remain that one must act for oneself. That is clear. One must act for him or herself."
"Children are not only sensitive to silence, but also to a voice which calls them ... Out of that silence."
"The social rights of children must be recognized so that a world suited to their needs may be constructed for them. The greatest crime that society commits is that of wasting the money which it should use for children on things that will destroy them and society itself as well."
"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!"
"Bring the child to the consciousness of his own dignity and he will feel free."
"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."
"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?"
"Children must grow not only in the body but in the spirit, and the mother longs to follow the mysterious spiritual journey of the beloved one who to-morrow will be the intelligent, divine creation, man."
"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."
"The greatness of the human personality begins at the hour of birth."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"This then is the first duty of an educator: to stir up life but leave it free to develop."
"It follows that at the beginning of his life the individual can accomplish wonders without effort and quite unconsciously."
"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."
"A vital force is active in every individual and leads it towards its own evolution."
"We must therefore turn to the child as to the key to the fate of our future life."