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Rewards and punishments, to speak frankly, are the desk of the soul, that is, a means of enslaving a child's spirit, and better suited to provoke than to prevent deformities.

— Maria Montessori The Discovery of the Child (1948)

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More quotes by Maria Montessori

The children are now working as if I did not exist.

The Absorbent Mind (1949)

To stimulate life, leaving it free, however, to unfold itself, that is the first duty of the educator.

The Discovery of the Child (1948)

If help and salvation are to come they can only come from the children, for the children are the makers of men.

The Absorbent Mind (1949)

He is a serene and pleasant man where he is powerful through being efficient, but is domineering where he is served.

The Montessori Method (1912)

To prepare teachers in the method of the experimental sciences is not an easy matter.

The Montessori Method (1912)

All Maria Montessori quotes →

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Maria Montessori (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.