The Child

By Maria Montessori (1870 - 1952).

20 Pages | Reprinted from The Theosophist 1941, 10th reprint 1986 | Booklet | The Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 8170590302.

We all know that the age of development is the most important period of the whole life. Moral malnutrition and intoxication of the spirit are as fatal for the Soul of man as physical malnutrition is for the health of his or her body. Therefore, child-education is the most important problem of humanity.

From page 18:

" Certainly here is the key to all pedagogy: to know how to recognize the precious instinct of concentration in order to make use of it in the teaching of reading, writing and counting and, later on, of grammar, arithmetic, foreign languages, science, etc. After all, every psychologist is of the opinion that there is only one way of teaching, that of arousing in the student the deepest interest and at the same time, a constant and vivacious attention. So the whole thing resolves itself in this, to make use of those intimate and hidden forces of the child for his or her education. "