No one can be free unless he is independent. Therefore, the first active manifestations of the child’s individual liberty must be so guided that through this activity he may arrive at independence.
Order is one of the needs of life which, when it is satisfied, produces a real happiness.
Freedom in intellectual work is found to be the basis of internal discipline.
The exercises of practical life are formative activities, a work of adaptation to the environment. Such adaptation to the environment and efficient functioning therein is the very essence of a useful education.
We do not believe in the educative power of words and commands alone, but seek cautiously, and almost without the child’s knowing it, to guide his natural activity.
The child endures all things.
In nature nothing creates itself and nothing destroys itself.
Children must grow not only in the body but in the spirit, and the mother longs to follow the mysterious spiritual journey of the beloved one who to-morrow will be the intelligent, divine creation, man.
The more perfect the approximation to truth, the more perfect is art.
The child is essentially alien to this society of men and might express his position in the words of the Gospel: My kingdom is not of this world.
Mental development must be connected with movement and be dependent on it. It is vital that educational theory and practice should be informed by that idea.
The child has other powers than ours, and the creation he achieves is no small one; it is everything.
Independence is not a static condition; it is a continuous conquest, and in order to reach not only freedom, but also strength, and the perfecting on one’s powers, it is necessary to follow this path of unremitting toil.
Except when he has regressive tendencies, the child’s nature is to aim directly and energetically at functional independence.
Discipline must come through liberty.
Concentration is the key that opens up to the child the latent treasures within him.
The child seeks for independence by means of work; an independence of body and mind.
The child who concentrates is immensely happy.
Social grace, inner discipline and joy. These are the birthright of the human being who has been allowed to develop essential human qualities.
Sometimes very small children in a proper environment develop a skill and exactness in their work that can only surprise us.