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_THE
ADVANCED MONTESSORI METHOD_
SPONTANEOUS ACTIVITY
IN EDUCATION
BY
MARIA MONTESSORI
AUTHOR OF "THE MONTESSORI METHOD," "PEDAGOGICAL
ANTHROPOLOGY," ETC.
TRANSLATED FROM THE ITALIAN BY
FLORENCE SIMMONDS
[Illustration: company logo]
NEW YORK
FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PUBLISHERS
_Copyright, 1917, by_
FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
_All rights reserved, including that of translation into
foreign languages_.
Printed in the U.S.A.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
A SURVEY OF THE CHILD'S LIFE
Laws of the child's psychical life paralleled by those of its physical.
Current objections to a system of education based upon "liberty"
Hygiene has freed the infant from straps and swaddling clothes
and left it free to develop
Education must leave the soul free to develop
Principle of liberty in education not a principle of abandonment
The liberty accorded the child of to-day is purely physical.
Civil rights of the child in the twentieth century.
Removal of perils of disease a step toward physical liberation
Supplying the child's physical needs is not sufficient
Child's social rights overlooked in the administration of
orphan asylums
Poor child's health and property confiscated in the custom
of wet nursing
We recognize justice only for those who can defend themselves
How we receive the infants that come into the world.
Home has no furnishings adapted to their small size
Society prepares a mockery for their reception in the shape
of useless toys
Child not allowed to act for himself
Constant interruption of his activities prevents psychical growth
Bodily health suffers from spiritual neglect
With man the life of the body depends on the life of the spirit.
Reflex action of the emotions on the body functions
Child's body requires joy as much as food and air