Drawn from my three-year immersion for the film Let the Child Be the Guide, my research, and my Montessori teacher training (AMI), this quote is an excerpt from a thematic selection I compiled to remove the primary obstacle to education: our adult prejudices. This post presents one of the themes from this collection, designed to transform, step by step, our gaze upon the child.
“This is one of the most interesting phenomena observed in our schools. When an object is not in its place, it is the youngest child who notices and goes to put it back. He is aware of small details that go unnoticed by adults and even by older children. It seems that the sight of disorder represents a stimulus, a call to activity; but it is doubtless something more: order is one of those needs which, when satisfied, brings joy.” — Maria Montessori, The Secret of Childhood