“Let Us Forget the Problems and Concentrate on the Person!”

In her speech, Montessori warned that:
“In my opinion there is only one remedy by which future generations can be protected against the woe which burdens us: let us forget the problems and concentrate on the person!”
She goes on to say that “The child population is the only population without rights. The child is the neglected citizen.”
But as Montessori suggests in The Discovery of the Child (foreword), “our principles have only been confirmed, and along with them our conviction that mankind can hope for a solution to its problems, among which the most urgent are those of peace and unity, only by turning its attention and energies to the discovery of the child” (2017, p. 9, Kindle version).
Montessori Europe continues to remain committed to connect Montessorians across Europe and beyond, to consider how education can be reimagined to help guide our children to cope with the complexities and uncertainties of the modern world in the 21st Century. Our 2023 Annual Congress will take place in Gdansk, Poland, where the theme will be:
Promoting Solidarity and Social Justice in Montessori Education
The aim of the Congress is to explore how solidarity and social justice are promoted in Montessori classrooms across the planes of development with a focus on inclusion, identity and children’s rights. Gdansk is rich with history and the word ‘Solidarity,’ or Solidarność as it is in Polish, is synonymous with the city. More preliminary information about the Congress can be found on our website. We hope you might join us there so we can explore together how we might continue to turn our attention to the discovery of the child.
Resources
Maria Montessori’s Speech at the Governing Board of the UNESCO Institute of Education