...we discovered that education is not something which the teacher 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 teacher's task is not to talk, but to prepare and arrange a series of motives for cultural activity in a special environment made for the child.

The child, in fact, once he feels sure of himself, will no longer seek the approval of authority after every step.

The child is truly a miraculous being, and this should be felt deeply by the educator.

This then is the first duty of an educator: to stir up life but leave it free to develop.

Peace is what every human being is craving for, and it can be brought about by humanity through the child.

With younger children the greatest reward is to be able to pass on to a new stage in each subject. It is a punishment to a young child not to be allowed to use the apparatus but to sit still and do nothing.

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?