Children have real understanding only of that which they invent themselves, and each time that we try to teach them too quickly, we keep them from reinventing it themselves.
Jean PiagetRead
During the first few months of an infant's life, its manner of taking the breast, of laying its head on the pillow, etc., becomes crystallized into imperative habits. This is why education must begin in the cradle.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Early habits formed in infancy influence lifelong learning and development.
Jean Piaget emphasizes the importance of early childhood experiences and education, suggesting that the habits and behaviors formed during infancy set the foundation for future learning. By stating that education must begin in the cradle, he advocates for a proactive approach to nurturing and educating infants to shape their cognitive and social development.
Themes
EducationInfancyHabitsLearningDevelopment
In practice
Example use cases
In a parenting workshop, this quote could be used to stress the importance of early childhood education.
More from Jean Piaget
All quotes →Logical activity is not the whole of intelligence. One can be intelligent without being particularly logical.
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Children's games constitute the most admirable social institutions. The game of marbles, for instance, as played by boys, contains an extremely complex system of rules - that is to say, a code of laws, a jurisprudence of its own.
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Everyone knows that at the age of 11-12, children have a marked impulse to form themselves into groups and that the respect paid to the rules and regulations of their play constitutes an important feature of this social life.
Jean PiagetRead
Play is the work of childhood.
Jean PiagetRead
The goal of education is not to increase the amount of knowledge but to create the possibilities for a child to invent and discover, to create men who are capable of doing new things.
Jean PiagetRead
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