ontact

The War as an example of moral insensibility

Insensibility distinguished from death of the soul

Spiritually, man must either ascend or die

Morality and religion.

Conversion, the sudden establishing of moral order

The spirit enslaved by sentiments hostile to love

The religious sentiment in children.

Crises of conscience and spontaneous religious feeling

Some original observations by Dr. Montessori

* * * * *

SPONTANEOUS ACTIVITY
IN EDUCATION

I

A SURVEY OF THE CHILD'S LIFE

=The general laws which govern the child's psychical health have their
parallel in those of its physical health=.--Many persons who have asked
me to continue my methods of education for very young children on
lines that would make them suitable for those over seven years of age,
have expressed a doubt whether this would be possible.

The difficulties they put forward are mainly of a moral order.

Should not the child now begin to respect the will of others rather
than his own? Should he not some day brace himself to a real effort,
compelling him to carry out a necessary, rather than a chosen, task?
Finally, should he not learn self-sacrifice, since man's life is not a
life of ease and enjoyment?

Some, taking certain practical items of elementary education, which
present themselves even at the age of six, and must be seriously
envisaged at seven, urge their objection in this form: Now we are face
to face with the ugly specter of arithmetical tables, the arid mental
gymnastics exacted by grammar. What do you propose? Would you abolish
all this, or do you admit that the child must inevitably bow to these
necessities?

It is obvious that the whole of the argument revolves round the
interpretation of that "liberty" which is the avowed basis of the
system of education advocated by me.

Perhaps in a short time all these objections will provoke a smile, and
I shall be asked to suppress them, together with my commentary on
them, in future editions of this work. But at the present time they
have a right to exist, and to be dealt with, although indeed it is not
very easy to give a direct, clear and convincing answer to them,
because this entails the raising of questions on which everybody has
firmly rooted convictions.

A parallel may perhaps serve to save us a good deal of the work.
Indirectly, these questions have been answered already by the progress
made in the treatment