“The adult must be to [the children] not merely a guide but a real reanimator; one who, as an educator, has a real personality, a feeling heart, and takes keen interest in her pupils; one in whom children recognize a source of inspiration and upon whom they can rely...The teacher should be felt by the pupils to be a person of intelligence, full of life, rich in knowledge and experience. Given such a teacher, her educative success depends upon the child acting for himself and unfolding his powers spontaneously. Morally too the figure of the teacher is of the greatest importance; it is a real moral support to the child if he can trust his teacher; and if that teacher's actions do not correspond to his teaching, the clash between practice and precept leads to distress and mental conflict on the part of the child. What has been said about programs applies also to the teachers as such. Teachers are not to be abolished; they are to be transformed; instead of frustrating the learner's eager desire for work, as they so often do today, they are to become the aiders and furthers of enthusiasm in study; so that the eagerness of the young workers may develop into a fine enthusiasm about life itself - enthusiasm being an expression of personality and the clearest possible indication of progress” (Kay Baker, “Some Thoughts about the Spiritual Development of the Teacher,” NAMTA Journal, Vol 18, No 1, p102-103).
Love:
“I have seen that children can do much for the community. In the child is much knowledge, much wisdom. If we do not profit from it, it is only because of neglect on our part to become humble and to see the wonder of this soul and learn what the child can teach. Because you know if the child can teach us something it is not really just the child, but it is the power of love that constructs the man, and this love is placed there by God. The child has this power directly from God, and again and again and again I have seen it demonstrated that it is not only a physical power, but also an intellectual power, so that in the intellectual field also we can learn from the child something of the laws that govern us, that are very important to know, because we have from him the revelation of the manner in which God has created every personality, the revelation of the manner in which the incarnation of a soul takes place” (Maria Montessori, "Reconstruction in Education," p5).
It is love itself which nourishes and sustains all of the virtues. Love is instinctive especially when confronted by the child, but it must also be remembered in relation to parents and other adults. It must be noted that while love can be an instinctive emotion it must also, and more importantly, be an act of the will. "Psychologically speaking, love is the will to be and act for the good of whom we love; therefore, it requires the capacity to recognize what is good within them" (A.M. Joosten, “The Spiritual Preparation of the Adult,” p2). Love, then, requires knowledge. Hinderance of children is often caused by a lack of knowledge in the application of love. Therefore, the love of a child based on knowledge is the point of departure.
“Our teachers penetrate the secret of childhood, and have a knowledge far superior to that of the ordinary teacher who becomes acquainted only with the superficial facts of the children's lives. Knowing the child's secret, she has a deep love for him, perhaps for the first time understanding what love really is. It is on a different level from the personal love that is shown by caresses, and the difference has been brought about by the children, who by their revelations of spirit have profoundly moved their teacher, bringing her to a level of which she had not known the existence; now she is there and she is happy. Her happiness before was perhaps to draw as high a salary as she could get, and do as little as she need for it; some satisfaction there was for her in her exercise of power and influence, and her hope was to become a headmistress or an inspectress. But there is no real happiness in this, and one would readily leave it all to feel the greater spiritual happiness which the child can give, for ‘Of such is the Kingdom of Heaven’” (Montessori, Education for a New World, p89).
As we prepare to enter into Holy Week, a week of pondering the most intense, visible act of love by the One who loved us first, let us ask for open hearts to recognize, open, and enjoy that love that He has for each one of us. Only then will we be better able to share His incomprehensible love with those whom we serve.