Preface
前言

The process remained mysterious until, aided by the intuition of one who loves truly, Dr. Maria Montessori penetrated into the hiddenrealm of the child's psyche and revealed it. The children who made this revelation possible came from the lowest strata of society; they were tearful, frightened and shy, yet greedy, violent, possessive and destructive. Gradually, as their psychic needs were fulfilled, they underwent such an extraordinary transformation that the press of the time wrote of "converted children." The witnessing of this spiritual phenomenon changed Dr. Maria Montessori's life. It is true that the children learned writing spontaneously at four and a half years, but what was really important was their changed behavior. Man is not made of culture alone; there is something much more essential. If this part continues to be disregarded and emphasis put only on culture, the more advanced man becomes, the more dangerous he will be. Man has discovered flight, he has discovered atomic energy, but he has failed to discover himself.
借助于玛利亚·蒙台梭利博士的直觉，这个过程才不显得那么神秘化了。蒙台梭利真正地热爱儿童，洞察和揭示了儿童的整个心灵。使得这种揭示成为可能的儿童来自社会的最低层；他们眼泪汪汪、胆战心惊、畏畏缩缩，却又贪婪、粗暴、怀有占有欲并具有破坏性。渐渐地，当他们心灵的需要得到满足时，他们经历了一种极不寻常的变化，时间在他们身上打上了“皈依了的儿童”的印记。对这种精神现象的目睹，改变了蒙台梭利博士的生活。儿童确实在4岁半时就自发地学习写字，但真正重要的是他们行为的改变。人并不仅仅是由文化构成的；在人身上存在着某种更本质的东西。如果这部分东西仍然被忽视，而仅仅强调文化，那么，人越是进步，他将越是危险。人已经发明了飞行，发现了原子能，但他还未能发现自己。

Here in lies the real value of Dr. Maria Montessori contribution. To illustrate the radiance of the emerging souls of the children, she undertook a campaign that lasted all her life. After her death the Association Montessori Internationale continued her task with congresses and study conferences,by establishing Montessori societies and training courses. If children are to be given the aid they need,people must be trained. As time went on training centers were established in Ceylon, Denmark, England, Eire, France, Germany, India, Italy, Pakistan, Switzerland, and the United States. The people trained spread out to all continents, to the old and the new nations.
这里有着蒙台梭利博士所作的真正有价值的贡献。为了揭示儿童正在形成的心灵的光辉，她发动了一场毕其终生的运动。在她去世后，国际蒙台梭利协会通过建立蒙台梭利学会和开设训练班，利用各种大会和研讨会继续她的工作。如果要给予儿童所需要的帮助，人们必须受到训练。随着时间的流逝，在锡兰、丹麦、英国、爱尔兰、法国、德国、印度、意大利、巴基斯坦、瑞士和美国建立了蒙台梭利训练中心，受过训练的人们分布在世界各国。

But Dr. Montessori's books remain the most effective instrument of the Association, and this first American translation of The Secret of Childhood is a very welcome addition indeed-for our work in all the English speaking countries, but especially in the United States. For here a number of schools use Montessori only as a teaching method. Here also, many people maintain that this is what Dr. Montessori meant. They disregard what she most valued: the contribution the child can give humanity. I have often thought this notion should be refuted because of the confusion it causes, but where can one find a person to speak with sufficient authority?
但是，蒙台梭利博士的著作仍然是国际蒙台梭利协会的最有效工具；《童年的秘密》这本美国最早的译本，在所有的英语国家里，尤其在美国确实是很受欢迎的一本书。这里有一些学校仅仅把蒙台梭利作为一种教学方法在使用。这里也有很多人认为这就是蒙台梭利博士的本意。他们忽视了蒙台梭利最看重的东西：儿童所能给予人类的贡献。我常想到，应该批驳这种看法，因为它引起混乱。但是，在哪里才能找到一个说话有足够权威的人呢？

Here is the answer. Let Maria Montessori speak for herself.
答案就在这里。让玛利亚·蒙台梭利为自己辩护吧！

Mario M.Montessori
马里奥·M·蒙台梭利

Director General, Association Montessori International
国际蒙台梭利协会总干事

【海蓝点评】

《童年的秘密》的前言就全部在这了。这是马里奥（儿子）为蒙台梭利（母亲）写的，从中我们看到很多的蒙台梭利培训机构在各国建立。另外概括出两点：

第一文章中说到：只有经过训练才可以去帮助儿童。可见蒙氏教师是需要严格把关的。

第二蒙台梭利的精髓不是简单的作为教学方法，而是：儿童所能给予人类的贡献。