“Children, as we have said, solve their own problems, but we have not 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 their 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, The Absorbent Mind, page 228.
This is one of my favorite passages from Dr. Montessori's writings, and I think it really conveys her deep love for children (which felt appropriate for Valentine’s Day). Every day in my classroom, I witness the rich, deeply social lives children live when they get to be in a community with one another in an environment designed with their development in mind. I watch them care for themselves, each other, and their environment. Dr. Montessori witnessed this, too, more than a century ago. Maria Montessori was a brilliant woman—the first female physician in Italy, a scientist, and an innovative educator. But I think her brilliance came from her knowledge of the rich lives of children. And she didn't learn about it in medical school but in her observation chair.