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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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Maria Montessori
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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.
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Maria Montessori
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It is not enough for the teacher to love the child. She must first love and understand the universe. She must prepare herself, and truly work at it.
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Maria Montessori
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Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed.
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Maria Montessori
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The greatest sign of success for a teacher is to be able to say, "The children are now working as if I did not exist.
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Maria Montessori
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Establishing lasting peace is the work of education; all politics can do is keep us out of war.
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Maria Montessori
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Within the child lies the fate of the future.
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Maria Montessori
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Of all things love is the most potent.
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Maria Montessori
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No social problem is as universal as the oppression of the child
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Maria Montessori
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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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Maria Montessori
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Do not erase the designs the child makes in the soft wax of his inner life.
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Maria Montessori
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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.
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Maria Montessori (Education For A New World)
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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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Maria Montessori
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Preventing war is the work of politicians, establishing peace is the work of educationists.
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Maria Montessori
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The things he sees are not just remembered; they form a part of his soul.
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Maria Montessori
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Respect all the reasonable forms of activity in which the child engages and try to understand them.
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Maria Montessori
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To stimulate life, leaving it free, however, to unfold itself--that is the first duty of the educator.
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Maria Montessori
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The environment must be rich in motives which lend interest to activity and invite the child to conduct his own experiences.
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Maria Montessori
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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.
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Maria Montessori
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If salvation and help are to come, it is through the child ; for the child is the constructor of man.
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Maria Montessori (The Absorbent Mind)
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Finally, the fox gently pulled both ear loops outward at the same time to make a pretty bow on top of the bunny’s head. The tips of her ears, hung just at her cheek bones.
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Sybrina Durant (Cleo Can Tie A Bow: A Rabbit and Fox Story)
“
There are lots of different kinds of bows and Cleo loves them all.
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Sybrina Durant (Cleo Can Tie A Bow: A Rabbit and Fox Story)
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The bunny was thrilled that her ears no longer dragged on the ground. They would stay nice and clean.
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Sybrina Durant (Cleo Can Tie A Bow: A Rabbit and Fox Story)
“
Don’t be afraid,” the fox said, “I would never hurt you.” She smiled sweetly but the bunny was still a little scared.
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Sybrina Durant (Cleo Can Tie A Bow: A Rabbit and Fox Story)
“
The task of the educator lies in seeing that the child does not confound good with immobility and evil with activity.
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Maria Montessori
“
Such prizes and punishments are, if I may be allowed the expression, the bench of the soul, the instrument of slavery for the spirit.
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Maria Montessori (The Montessori Method Scientific Pedagogy as Applied to Child Education in 'The Children's Houses' with Additions and Revisions by the Author)
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The essence of independence is to be able to do something for one’s self.
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Maria Montessori
“
Birdy sang out, “It’s true. She’s a friendly fox.” The deer chimed in, “She’s helped us all in some way.
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Sybrina Durant (Cleo Can Tie A Bow: A Rabbit and Fox Story)
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Here’s a story that helps her tie the “bunny ear bow” exactly the same way every time.
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Sybrina Durant (Cleo Can Tie A Bow: A Rabbit and Fox Story)
“
It is true that we cannot make a genius. We can only give to teach child the chance to fulfil his potential possibilities.
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Maria Montessori
“
Great Job! Now you have a bow just like Cleo.
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Sybrina Durant (Cleo Can Tie A Bow: A Rabbit and Fox Story)
“
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.
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Maria Montessori
“
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.
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Maria Montessori (The Absorbent Mind)
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The best instruction is that which uses the least words sufficient for the task.
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Maria Montessori (The Discovery of the Child)
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Follow along at home to tie a bow just like the fox. Go find a scarf or ribbon that will fit around your waist or try these moves with your shoe laces.
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Sybrina Durant (Cleo Can Tie A Bow: A Rabbit and Fox Story)
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Our work is not to teach, but to help the absorbent mind in its work of development. How marvelous it would be if by our help, if by an intelligent treatment of the child, if by understanding the needs of his physical life and by feeding his intellect, we could prolong the period of functioning of the absorbent mind!
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Maria Montessori (The Absorbent Mind)
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The child doesn't just live in his environment, it becomes a part of him.
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Paula Polk Lillard (Montessori: A Modern Approach: The Classic Introduction to Montessori for Parents and Teachers)
“
Responsibilities because, as Dr. Montessori points out, a sponge can absorb dirty water as easily as it can clean water. A child will pick up negative experiences as easily as positive experiences.
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Simone Davies (The Montessori Toddler: A Parent's Guide to Raising a Curious and Responsible Human Being (The Parents' Guide to Montessori Book 1))
“
A method of schooling founded by the Italian educator Maria Montessori that emphasizes collaborative, explorative learning, and whose alumni include Google’s founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page; Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales; video-game designer Will Wright; Amazon’s founder, Jeff Bezos; chef Julia Child; and rap impresario Sean Combs.
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Daniel Coyle (The Little Book of Talent: 52 Tips for Improving Your Skills)
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And the plunder was not just of Prince alone. Think of all the love poured into him. Think of the tuitions for Montessori and music lessons. Think of the gasoline expended, the treads worn carting him to football games, basketball tournaments, and Little League. Think of all the time spent regulating sleepovers. Think of the surprise birthday parties, the daycare, and the reference checks on babysitters. Think of World Book and Childcraft. Think of checks written for family photos. Think of credit cards charged for vacations. Think of soccer balls, science kits, chemistry sets, racetracks, and model trains. Think of all the embraces, all the private jokes, customs, greetings, names, dreams, all the shared knowledge and capacity of a black family injected into that vessel of flesh and bone. And think of how that vessel was taken, shattered on the concrete, and all its holy contents, all that had gone into him, sent flowing back to the earth.
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Ta-Nehisi Coates (Between the World and Me)
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Needless help is an actual hindrance to the development of natural forces.
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Maria Montessori (The Montessori Method (Illustrated))
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Adults must aim to diminish their egocentric and authoritarian attitude toward the child and adopt a passive attitude in order to aid in his devleopment.
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Paula Polk Lillard (Montessori: A Modern Approach: The Classic Introduction to Montessori for Parents and Teachers)
“
Instead of opportunities for serious accomplishment in our culture, we supply our children with expensive toys, hoping that these will occupy them and keep them from disturbing us.
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Paula Polk Lillard (Montessori: A Modern Approach: The Classic Introduction to Montessori for Parents and Teachers)
“
Đứa bé chọn một mảnh giấy từ một đống rác, và nó bắt đầu đọc một câu chuyện. Thế là cuối cùng các em hiểu ra ý nghĩa của sách vở và sau đó, sách trở thành món có nhu cầu cao. Tuy nhiên nhiều đứa trẻ, khi thấy cái gì lý thú trong sách, chúng bèn xé trang đó ra và mang đi.
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Maria Montessori (The Secret of Childhood)
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The more people stared at their phones, the more money these companies made. Period. The people in Silicon Valley did not want to design gadgets and websites that would dissolve people’s attention spans. They’re not the Joker, trying to sow chaos and make us dumb. They spend a lot of their own time meditating and doing yoga. They often ban their own kids from using the sites and gadgets they design, and send them instead to tech-free Montessori schools. But their business model can only succeed if they take steps to dominate the attention spans of the wider society. It’s not their goal, any more than ExxonMobil deliberately wants to melt the Arctic. But it’s an inescapable effect of their current business model.
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Johann Hari (Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention - and How to Think Deeply Again)
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We wish the old things because we cannot understand the new, and we are always seeking after that gorgeousness which belongs to things already on the decline, without recognising in the humble simplicity of new ideas the germ which shall develop in the future.
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Maria Montessori (The Montessori Method (Illustrated))
“
You all right?" he asked.
I felt dizzy. "Yeah. Lots of blood, though..."
"The head always bleeds a lot," Luke told me. "Remember when I fell from the chandelier?"
I smiled through my nausea. "Yeah."
"And from that third-story window?"
"Yeah."
"And from the flagpole of our Montessori school?"
"I remember." I managed a small laugh. "But I'm surprised you do.
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Flynn Meaney (Bloodthirsty)
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Only through freedom and environmental experience is it practically possible for human development to occur.
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Maria Montessori
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The child must be given activities that encourage independence, and he must not be served by others in acts he can learn to perform himself.
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Paula Polk Lillard (Montessori: A Modern Approach: The Classic Introduction to Montessori for Parents and Teachers)
“
Children become like the things they love.
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Maria Montessori
“
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.
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Maria Montessori (Dr. Montessori's Own Handbook)
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What is generally known as discipline in traditional schools is not activity, but immobility and silence. It is not discipline, but something that festers inside a child, arousing his rebellious feelings.
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Maria Montessori (Creative Development in the Child: The Montessori Approach, Volume One)
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My experiences as a Montessori teacher have led me to realize that our goal as educators is not to impart facts to children as though they were empty vessels to be filled, but to open their eyes so they can exclaim joyfully, "Wow, look at what I am becoming! I've got to know more!" (from Walking in Wonder)
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Elizabeth White
“
you do not exist, you cannot hope to grow. That is the tremendous step the child takes, the step that goes from nothing to something.
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Maria Montessori (The Absorbent Mind)
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adult’s role is to “teach children limits with love or the world will teach them without it.
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Paula Polk Lillard (Montessori from the Start: The Child at Home, from Birth to Age Three)
“
The environment acts more strongly upon the individual life the less fixed and strong this individual life may be.
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Maria Montessori
“
To assist a child we must provide him with an environment which will enable him to develop freely.
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Maria Montessori
“
We serve the future by protecting the present.
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Maria Montessori (The Absorbent Mind: A Classic in Education and Child Development for Educators and Parents)
“
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 damp 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 as it wakes every living creature that divides its day between waking and sleeping.” —Dr. Maria Montessori, The Discovery of the Child
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Simone Davies (The Montessori Toddler: A Parent's Guide to Raising a Curious and Responsible Human Being (The Parents' Guide to Montessori Book 1))
“
If the child shows through its conversation that the educational work of the school is being undermined by the attitude taken in his home, he will be sent back to his parents, to teach them thus how to take advantage of their good opportunities.
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Maria Montessori (The Montessori Method Scientific Pedagogy as Applied to Child Education in 'The Children's Houses' with Additions and Revisions by the Author)
“
If you’ve told a child a thousand times, and the child still has not learned, then it is not the child who is the slow learner.” —Walter B. Barbe
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Simone Davies (The Montessori Toddler: A Parent's Guide to Raising a Curious and Responsible Human Being (The Parents' Guide to Montessori Book 1))
Maria Montessori (The Absorbent Mind)
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After you have demonstrated a practical-life exercise, and once your child has begun to use it with concentration, you must take care not to interrupt him.
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Paula Polk Lillard (Montessori from the Start: The Child at Home, from Birth to Age Three)
“
Montessori called the child under six years old "a sensorial explorer" and based her educational approach for the child's early years upon the child's learning through the senses.
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Paula Polk Lillard (Montessori from the Start: The Child at Home, from Birth to Age Three)
“
Montessori is about a kid with a stick, digging a hole in the mud—hands dirty, engaged, fascinated, uninterrupted.
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Trevor Eissler (Montessori Madness! A Parent to Parent Argument for Montessori Education)
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The small child walks to develop his powers, he is building up his being. He goes slowly. He has neither rhythmic step nor goal. But things around him allure him and urge him forward.
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Paula Polk Lillard (Montessori: A Modern Approach: The Classic Introduction to Montessori for Parents and Teachers)
“
Chúng ta phải hoàn hảo trong tư tưởng, bởi vì tư tưởng của chúng ta biến thành lời nói, và lời nói thành hành động, và hành động thành thói quen và thói quen thành cá tính; và trong cuộc đời này, tất cả cái ta có là cá tính bởi chính cá tính quyết định vận mệnh của chúng ta.
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Maria Montessori (The Secret of Childhood)
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The purpose of life is to obey the hidden command which ensures harmony among all and creates an ever better world. We are not created only to enjoy the world, we are created in order to evolve the cosmos.
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Maria Montessori (The Absorbent Mind: A Classic in Education and Child Development for Educators and Parents)
“
Anthropologist and teacher Margaret Mead said in Redbook magazine in 1963, “If one cannot state a matter clearly enough so that an intelligent twelve-year-old can understand it, one should remain within the cloistered walls of the University and laboratory until one gets a better grasp of one’s subject matter.
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Carol Garhart Mooney (Theories of Childhood: An Introduction to Dewey, Montessori, Erikson, Piaget & Vygotsky)
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Even so those who teach little children too often have the idea that they are educating babies and seek to place themselves on the child's level by approaching him with games, and often with foolish stories. Instead of all this, we must know how to call to the man which lies dormant within the soul of the child.
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Maria Montessori (The Montessori Method (Illustrated))
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Nhà giáo không nên tưởng tượng rằng chỉ đơn thuần bằng việc học tập và trở thành con người có văn hóa là họ đã được chuẩn bị đầy đủ cho nhiệm vụ của mình. Trước hết, họ phải trau dồi một số kỹ năng đạo đức cho bản thân.
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Maria Montessori (The Secret of Childhood)
“
Our schools are no closer in connecting the education of children to their development as human beings: each child as an individual with a unique contribution to make to the world. Until this is done, our schools will fail to help children become active learners, connected to their society, and empowered to accomplish things within it.
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Paula Polk Lillard (Montessori Today: A Comprehensive Approach to Education from Birth to Adulthood)
“
As a rule, however, we do not respect our children. We try to force them to follow us without regard to their special needs. We are overbearing with them, and above all, rude; and then we expect them to be submissive and well-behaved, knowing all the time how strong is their instinct of imitation and how touching their faith in and admiration of us.
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Maria Montessori (Montessori's Own Handbook)
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If one cannot state a matter clearly enough so that an intelligent twelve-year-old can understand it, one should remain within the cloistered walls of the University and laboratory until one gets a better grasp of one’s subject matter.
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Carol Garhart Mooney (Theories of Childhood: An Introduction to Dewey, Montessori, Erikson, Piaget & Vygotsky)
“
Who knew that parenting would become an almost spiritual journey? And what a journey it is. Sometimes I wish I had known all of this before I became a parent. Yet, we only know what we know. So I think of how I've grown up alongside my children - that they see me trying and geting it wrong and trying again ad getting a bit better, constantly learning and growing.
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Simone Davies (The Montessori Toddler: A Parent's Guide to Raising a Curious and Responsible Human Being)
“
I succeeded in teaching a number of the idiots from the asylums both to read and to write so well that I was able to present them at a public school for an examination together with normal children. And they passed the examination successfully.
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Maria Montessori (The Montessori Method Scientific Pedagogy as Applied to Child Education in 'The Children's Houses' with Additions and Revisions by the Author)
“
A child will pick up negative experiences as easily as positive experiences. They can even pick up our feelings and attitudes, for example, when we drop something and get frustrated with ourselves (as opposed to forgiving ourselves) or if we have a fixed mind-set that we are bad at drawing (as opposed to a growth mind-set where we might show that we can always keep improving our skills).
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Simone Davies (The Montessori Toddler: A Parent's Guide to Raising a Curious and Responsible Human Being (The Parents' Guide to Montessori Book 1))
“
I was more than an elementary teacher, for I was present, or directly taught the children, from eight in the morning to seven in the evening without interruption. These two years of practice are my first and indeed my true degree in pedagogy. From the very beginning of my
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Maria Montessori (The Montessori Method Scientific Pedagogy as Applied to Child Education in 'The Children's Houses' with Additions and Revisions by the Author)
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Rather than issuing commands—“Put the orange peel in the bin, please”—we can give information instead: “The orange peel goes in the bin.” Then they can figure out for themselves that they need to take it to the bin. It becomes something they choose to do rather than another order from the adult.
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Simone Davies (The Montessori Toddler: A Parent's Guide to Raising a Curious and Responsible Human Being (The Parents' Guide to Montessori Book 1))
“
A teacher simply assists him at the beginning to get his bearings among so many different things and teaches him the precise use of each of them; that is to say, she introduces him to the ordered and active life of the environment. But then she leaves him free in the choice and execution of his work.
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Maria Montessori (The Discovery of the child: formerly entitled "The Montessori Method", based on the original archives by M. Montessori, in partnership with AMI - ASSOCIATION ... (The Montessori Series Book 2))
“
We give the name scientist to the type of man who has felt experiment to be a means guiding him to search out the deep truth of life, to lift a veil from its fascinating secrets, and who, in this pursuit, has felt arising within him a love for the mysteries of nature, so passionate as to annihilate the thought of himself.
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Maria Montessori (The Montessori Method (Illustrated))
“
How are we to help? We need to become aware of all the ways in which we hold the child back from becoming a fully functioning human being: the sink and counter that she cannot reach, the mirror that is too high for her to see herself, the chair that is too big for her to sit comfortably in...the pants that are too tight for her to pull up and down...
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Paula Polk Lillard (Montessori from the Start: The Child at Home, from Birth to Age Three)
“
Children love to polish brass and silver, then move on to polishing their own shoes.
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Tim Seldin (How To Raise An Amazing Child the Montessori Way)
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Effort is pleasurable; it puts one in a good mood. It “furnishes energy” and brings “life and enthusiasm.
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Trevor Eissler (Montessori Madness! A Parent to Parent Argument for Montessori Education)
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nor can we expect exactly similar results from children whose heredity and experience make them at once more sensitive, more active, and less amenable to
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Maria Montessori (The Montessori Method Scientific Pedagogy as Applied to Child Education in 'The Children's Houses' with Additions and Revisions by the Author)
“
...Montessori decided her teachers must each write their own textbook based on their own understanding of Montessori education... her own personal guidebook to refer to, revise, and add to throughout her teaching career.
...By writing her own guidebook, the Montessori teacher is forced to think through her personal approach to the materials and the children on a deeper level than if she were merely handed someone else's answers. This policy of asking each teacher to state her own understanding of Montessori philosophy is consistent with a philosophy and method of education that asks children to discover their own answers, instead of expecting to appropriate and substitute someone else's experiences for their own.
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Paula Polk Lillard (Montessori: A Modern Approach: The Classic Introduction to Montessori for Parents and Teachers)
“
...it is interesting to consider research on mastery versus performance goals in learning (Dweck 1999), discussed more in chapter 5. People with mastery orientations, in brief, are people who are interested in learning in order to master a topic. They tend to like challenges, and they persist at them. People with performance goals, in contrast, tend to like to do easy jobs that make them look good. They want to be judged positively. Although these two different orientations appear to characterize two different people, the same person can adopt different orientations under different environmental conditions. And it ends up that the particular conditions under which people are more apt to adopt mastery goals bear striking similarities to Montessori environments (Ames, 1992, see chapter 5).
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Angeline Stoll Lillard (Montessori: The Science behind the Genius)
“
What seems to be a lack of flexibility (“I can’t eat breakfast without my favorite spoon!”) is actually an expression of their strong sense of order. What looks like a battle of wills is actually your toddler learning that things don’t always go their way. What looks like repeating the same annoying game over and over is actually the child trying to gain mastery. What appears to be an explosive tantrum is actually the toddler saying, “I love you so much, I feel safe to release everything that I’ve been holding on to all day.” What seems to be intentionally going slowly to wind us up is actually them exploring everything in their path.
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Simone Davies (The Montessori Toddler: A Parent's Guide to Raising a Curious and Responsible Human Being (The Parents' Guide to Montessori Book 1))
“
When the teacher shall have touched, in this way, soul for soul, each one of her pupils, awakening and inspiring the life within them as if she were an invisible spirit, she will then possess each soul, and a sign, a single word from her shall suffice; for each one will feel her in a living and vital way, will recognise her and will listen to her. There will come a day when the directress herself shall be filled with wonder to see that all the children obey her with gentleness and affection, not only ready, but intent, at a sign from her. They will look toward her who has made them live, and will hope and desire to receive from her, new life.
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Maria Montessori (The Montessori Method (Illustrated))
“
Think of all the love poured into him. Think of the tuitions for Montessori and music lessons. Think of the gasoline expended, the treads worn carting him to football games, basketball tournaments, and Little League. Think of the time spent regulating sleepovers. Think of the surprise birthday parties, the daycare, and the reference checks on babysitters. Think of World Book and Childcraft. Think of checks written for family photos. Think of credit cards charged for vacations. Think of soccer balls, science kits, chemistry sets, racetracks, and model trains. Think of all the embraces, all the private jokes, customs, greetings, names, dreams, all the shared knowledge and capacity of a black family injected into that vessel of flesh and bone. And think of how that vessel was taken, shattered on the concrete, and all its holy contents, all that had gone into him, sent flowing back to the earth. Think of your mother, who had no father. And your grandmother, who was abandoned by her father. And your grandfather, who was left behind by his father. And think of how Prince's daughter was now drafted into those solemn ranks and deprived of her birthright — that vessel which was her father, which brimmed with twenty-five years of love and was the investment of her grandparents and was to be her legacy.
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Ta-Nehisi Coates
“
I withdrew from active work among deficients, and began a more thorough study of the works of Itard and Séguin. I felt the need of meditation. I did a thing which I had not done before, and which perhaps few students have been willing to do,—I translated into Italian and copied out with my own hand, the writings of these men, from beginning to end, making for myself books as the old Benedictines used to do before the diffusion of printing.
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Maria Montessori (The Montessori Method Scientific Pedagogy as Applied to Child Education in 'The Children's Houses' with Additions and Revisions by the Author)
“
Parents in the early half of the twentieth century were primarily concerned with the development of character in their children. They wanted to be certain that their children were ready to cope with adversity, for it was surely coming to them one day whether in personal or national life. The development of character involves self-discipline and often sacrifice of one's own desires for the good of self and others. Montessori education, developed in this historical period, reflects this emphasis on the formation of the child's character. However, parents today are more likely to say their primary wish for their children is that they be happy. In pursuit of this goal they indulge their children, often unconsciously, to a degree that is startling to previous generations. All parents need to remember that true happiness comes through having character and discipline, and living a life of meaningful contribution -- not by having and doing whatever you wish.
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Paula Polk Lillard (Montessori from the Start: The Child at Home, from Birth to Age Three)
“
Because the materials selected for a specific purpose such as food preparation are set on a tray in order and sequence of use, from left to right and top to bottom, the child mentally incorporates this precise order it becomes part of his functional intelligence
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Paula Polk Lillard (Montessori from the Start: The Child at Home, from Birth to Age Three)
“
the fundamental phrase which sums up Séguin's whole method,—"to lead the child, as it were, by the hand, from the education of the muscular system, to that of the nervous system, and of the senses." It was thus that Séguin taught the idiots how to walk, how to maintain their equilibrium in the most difficult movements of the body—such as going up stairs, jumping, etc., and finally, to feel, beginning the education of the muscular sensations by touching, and reading the difference of temperature, and ending with the education of the particular senses.
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Maria Montessori (The Montessori Method Scientific Pedagogy as Applied to Child Education in 'The Children's Houses' with Additions and Revisions by the Author)
“
There does exist, however, an external prize for man; when, for example, the orator sees the faces of his listeners change with the emotions he has awakened, he experiences something so great that it can only be likened to the intense joy with which one discovers that he is loved. Our joy is to touch, and conquer souls, and this is the one prize which can bring us a true compensation. Sometimes there is given to us a moment when we fancy ourselves to be among the great ones of the world. These are moments of happiness given to man that he may continue his existence in peace.
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Maria Montessori (The Montessori Method (Illustrated))
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After you have planned each detail of an activity, organized a tray of materials, and practiced with them, you can model a cycle of activity with the child. Do so very slowly and methodically, pausing briefly after each step. Your child wants to imitate you but his thinking skills are limited. He relies on habit, pattern and repetition.
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Paula Polk Lillard (Montessori from the Start: The Child at Home, from Birth to Age Three)
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As parents and grandparents, we think that we are showing children that we love them by giving them things. In fact such practice, in and of itself, may send them the wrong message. Children may conclude that if people give you things, they love you. If receiving things tells you that you are loved, the next logical step is to measure self-worth by what you have, not by what you are. The reality is that very young children can only truly love one doll, one stuffed animal, and a few toys at a time. This experience provides a basis for adult life where one must learn to cherish one spouse, one family, one life, instead of fantasizing that it is possible to “have it all.” What
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Paula Polk Lillard (Montessori from the Start: The Child at Home, from Birth to Age Three)
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To prepare any activity for the child, it is necessary for the parent to think through every detail ahead of time. For example, is the cracker stiff enough to spread the peanut butter on or does it crumble with the pressure of spreading?...All of these difficulties become apparent in the preliminary practice period by the adult prior to a presentation to the child.
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Paula Polk Lillard (Montessori from the Start: The Child at Home, from Birth to Age Three)
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Montessori classrooms emphasize self-directed learning, hands-on engagement with a wide variety of materials (including plants and animals), and a largely unstructured school day. And in recent years they’ve produced alumni including the founders of Google (Larry Page and Sergey Brin), Amazon (Jeff Bezos), and Wikipedia (Jimmy Wales). These examples appear to be part of a broader trend. Management researchers Jeffrey Dyer and Hal Gregersen interviewed five hundred prominent innovators and found that a disproportionate number of them also went to Montessori schools, where “they learned to follow their curiosity.” As a Wall Street Journal blog post by Peter Sims put it, “the Montessori educational approach might be the surest route to joining the creative elite, which are so overrepresented by the school’s alumni that one might suspect a Montessori Mafia.” Whether or not he’s part of this mafia, Andy will vouch for the power of SOLEs. He was a Montessori kid for the
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Erik Brynjolfsson (The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies)
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Æsthetic and moral education are closely related to this sensory education. Multiply the sensations, and develop the capacity of appreciating fine differences in stimuli and we refine the sensibility and multiply man’s pleasures. 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. The æsthetic harmony of nature is lost upon him who has coarse senses. The world to him is narrow and barren. In life about us, there exist inexhaustible fonts of æsthetic enjoyment, before which men pass as insensible as the brutes seeking their enjoyment in those sensations which are crude and showy, since they are the only ones accessible to them. Now, from the enjoyment of gross pleasures, vicious habits very often spring. Strong stimuli, indeed, do not render acute, but blunt the senses, so that they require stimuli more and more accentuated and more and more gross.
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Montessori Maria (The Montessori Method)