We cannot create observers by saying 'observe,' but by giving them the power and the means for this observation and these means are procured through education of the senses.

When children come into contact with nature, they reveal their strength.

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

A child needs freedom within limits.

A great deal of time and intellectual force are lost in the world, because the false seems great and the truth so small and insignificant.

No one can help us to achieve the intimate isolation by which we find our secret worlds, so mysterious, rich and full. If others intervene, it is destroyed. This degree of thought, which we attain by freeing ourselves from the external world, must be fed by the inner spirit, and our surroundings cannot influence us in any way other than to leave us in peace.

A teacher, therefore, who would think that he could prepare himself for his mission through study alone would be mistaken. The first thing required of a teacher is that he be rightly disposed for his task.