When I think of this special time of the month, we think of all things related to Valentines, such as hearts, lots of red and pink colors and love! I found a couple of Montessori quotes about love and the child. They are powerful and inspiring, and continue to touch us till decades later. Surprisingly Montessori wrote and spoke about love a lot. You will need to read each quote slowly to appreciate it. Here are some of my favorite quotes from Montessori on love:
“Love is more than the electricity which lightens our darkness, more than the etheric waves that transmit our voices across space, more than any of the energies that man has discovered and learned to use. Of all things love is the most potent. All that men can do with their discoveries depends on the conscience of him who uses them. But this energy of love is given us so that each shall have it in himself.” – Dr. Maria Montessori
“Whenever we touch the child, we touch love. It is a difficult love to define; we all feel it, but no one can describe its roots, or evaluate the immense consequences which flow from it, or gather up its potency for union between men. Despite our differences of race, religion, and of social position, we have felt, during our discussions of the child, a fraternal union growing up between us… Love, like that which we feel for the child, must exist potentially between man and man, because human unity does exist and there is no unity without love.” – Dr. Maria Montessori
“It is indeed a form of love that gives them the faculty of observing in such an intense and meticulous manner the things in their environment that we, grown cold, pass by unseeing. Is it not a characteristic of love, that sensibility that enables a child to see what others do not see? That collects details that others do not perceive, and appreciates special qualities, which are, as it were, hidden, and which only love can discover? It is because the child’s intelligence assimilates by loving, and not just indifferently, that he can see the invisible. This active, ardent, meticulous, constant absorption in love is characteristic of children.” – Dr. Maria Montessori
Let us learn to recognize the child for the wonderous individual they are and will be. It is shown through work and freedom, a natural love for learning emerges within the child and it becomes a part of their being. Only benefiting himself and the community because learning and love are separate yet run parallel, both patient, enjoyable, and kind. In our communities, we encourage the children to follow their hearts, gravitate towards work that interests them…just then, a natural love of learning blossoms.
Reflection by Ms. Milinh
Head of School at Cantera Montessori School of Silicon Valley
