“Another child remained absolutely inert. He sat at a table and did not take part in any work at all. He only looked around, with great timidity, to see what everyone was doing. It was believed that he could not talk. One day, the teacher saw this child get up in order to go and fetch an object. She said: “Oh, how glad I am! What a good little boy!” The child looked at the teacher, and scuttled back to his seat. For one whole month he did not do anything else. It was necessary for the suppressed courage which was being born, arising from his personality, to be left alone to act, without anybody taking notice of it. When after one month, the child again got up and started to do something, nobody paid the slightest attention. He worked and worked for a long time. The child who had never talked before, began to talk and work.” Maria Montessori, Creative Development in the Child (Montessori-Pierson Publishing)
‘Good job,’ ‘Good work,’ ‘Good boy’ — even well-meant praise can interrupt a child’s growth. Sometimes what’s needed most is just a little space.
#selfdevelopment #courage #alittlespace
