Happiness is not the whole aim of education. A man must be independent in his powers and character; able to work and assert his mastery over all that depends on him.

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.

The child who has felt a strong love for his surroundings and for all living creatures, who has discovered joy and enthusiasm in work, gives us reason to hope that humanity can develop in a new direction.

A child is mysterious and powerful; And contains within himself the secret of human nature.

Order is ... the true key to rapidity of reaction.

in nature everything is transformed but nothing destroyed.

Except when he has regressive tendencies, the child's nature is to aim directly and energetically at functional independence.