The Absorbent Mind

Introduction

“The Absorbent Mind” appeared in English at Adyar near Madras in 1949; the Italian edition, “La mente del bambino”, followed in 1952. It grew out of lectures Montessori gave in India, where she lived and trained teachers during the Second World War. Its subject is the first six years of life: the young child, she argues, does not learn as adults do, but absorbs language, movement and the culture of its surroundings unconsciously and without effort, guided by “sensitive periods”. Education therefore begins at birth and should protect this process of self-construction rather than direct it. The book links observations of development with wider claims about humanity, work and peace and became a central text of Montessori education; its psychological theses have since been compared with later developmental research.

Connections

Builds on

• The Montessori Method1909 · Maria Montessori

More works by Maria Montessori

• 1909The Montessori Method