The needs of mankind are universal. Our means of meeting them create the richness and diversity of the planet. The Montessori child should come to relish the texture of that diversity.

Discipline must come through liberty.

Our goal is not so much the imparting of knowledge as the unveiling and developing of spiritual energy.

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."

The only language men ever speak perfectly is the one they learn in babyhood, when no one can teach them anything!

The teacher must derive not only the capacity, but the desire, to observe natural phenomena. The teacher must understand and feel her position of observer: the activity must lie in the phenomenon.

The fundamental basis of education must always remain that one must act for oneself. That is clear. One must act for him or herself.