NUMBER 69 • 18 JULY 2002 • NOT HELPING
INDEX OF QUOTES
Children, as we have said, solve their own problems, but we have not as yet explained how. If we watch them without interfering we see something apparently very strange. This is that they do not help one another as we do. If a child is carrying something heavy, none of the others run to his aid. They respect one another’s efforts, and give help only when it is necessary. This is very illuminating because it means they respect intuitively the essential need of childhood which is not to be helped unnecessarily.
— MARIA MONTESSORI
Montessori, M. (1984) The Absorbent Mind. New York: Laurel, p.226