--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Supposing I said there was a planet…" description: "\"Supposing I said there was a planet without schools or teachers, where study was unknown, and yet the inhabitants -- doing nothing but live and walk ab..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/163/maria-montessori-709_all-things_supposing-i-said-there-was-a-planet-with_2456940.png" --- # Supposing I said there was a planet without schools or… ![“Supposing I said there was a planet without schools or teachers, where study was unknown, and yet the inhabitants -- doing nothing but live and walk about -- came to know all things, to carry in their minds the whole of learning; would you not think I was romancing? Well, just this, which seems so…” quote by Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/163/maria-montessori-709_all-things_supposing-i-said-there-was-a-planet-with_2456940.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/163/maria-montessori-709_all-things_supposing-i-said-there-was-a-planet-with_2456940.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/163/maria-montessori-709_all-things_supposing-i-said-there-was-a-planet-with_2456940.png) > “Supposing I said there was a planet without schools or teachers, where study was unknown, and yet the inhabitants -- doing nothing but live and walk about -- came to know all things, to carry in their minds the whole of learning; would you not think I was romancing? Well, just this, which seems so fanciful as to be nothing but the invention of a fertile imagination, is a reality. It is the child's way of learning.” [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Children can intuitively learn everything through natural curiosity, even without formal schooling. **In simple terms:** Children learn naturally. Key Takeaway Cultivate curiosity in education. Themes learning curiosity natural development Mood inquisitive optimistic Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - home schooling - unschooling - early childhood programs Key Concepts Education theory cognitive development innate knowledge Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance freedom and guidance? - What role do teachers play in nurturing curiosity? A Different Perspective Lack of structure may limit depth of knowledge. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Doing nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doing-nothing/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Invention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invention/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Teacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teacher/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [I thought the best thing to do to bring me back to reality would be to have a child, and by the time I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolores-o-riordan/i-thought-the-best-thing-to-do-to-bring-me-back-to-reality-would-be/) [Dolores O'Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolores-o-riordan/) > [There were people who went for serious mind enhancement, like Jimi Hendrix or John Lennon, although I didn't really need to do that. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-sayer/there-were-people-who-went-for-serious-mind-enhancement-like-jimi/) [Leo Sayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-sayer/) > [It became known that I had a rather fertile imagination, when it came to private activities." She stared. "What sort of private activities?" This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/it-became-known-that-i-had-a-rather-fertile-imagination-when-it-came/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [The secret of good teaching is to regard the child's intelligence as a fertile field in which seeds may be sown, to grow under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/the-secret-of-good-teaching-is-to-regard-the-child-s-intelligence-as/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [Knowledge, like experience, is valid in fiction only after it has dissolved and filtered down through the imagination into reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/knowledge-like-experience-is-valid-in-fiction-only-after-it-has/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [We suffer more in imagination than in reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/we-suffer-more-in-imagination-than-in-reality/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Visualization - it's been huge for me. Your mind doesn't know the difference between imagination and reality. You can't always practice perfectly - my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-stirling/visualization-it-s-been-huge-for-me-your-mind-doesn-t-know-the/) [Lindsey Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-stirling/) > [People like us, who believe in physics, know that the distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/people-like-us-who-believe-in-physics-know-that-the-distinction/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“The entire world has arisen out of imagination (kalpna) and religion too is a form of imagination. Only reality (eternal truth) is free of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/the-entire-world-has-arisen-out-of-imagination-kalpna-and-religion/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [“We can all create through imagination, but our reality is often blocked by our doubts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mwanandeke-kindembo/we-can-all-create-through-imagination-but-our-reality-is-often/) [Mwanandeke Kindembo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mwanandeke-kindembo/) > [Mostly, I straddle reality and the imagination. My reality needs imagination like a bulb needs a socket. My imagination needs reality like a blind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/mostly-i-straddle-reality-and-the-imagination-my-reality-needs/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Imagination is Reality Lite - a useful substitute when the real pleasure is inaccessible, too risky, or too much work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/imagination-is-reality-lite-a-useful-substitute-when-the-real/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) > [The magnificent cause of being, The imagination, the one reality In this imagined world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-magnificent-cause-of-being-the-imagination-the-one-reality-in/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [“Whomever or whatever the visitors are, their activities go far beyond a mere study of mankind. They are involved with us on very deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitley-strieber/whomever-or-whatever-the-visitors-are-their-activities-go-far-beyond/) [Whitley Strieber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitley-strieber/) > [While the world of reality has its limits, the world of your imagination is without boundaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/while-the-world-of-reality-has-its-limits-the-world-of-your/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) ## More by Maria Montessori > [Plainly, the environment must be a living one, directed by a higher intelligence, arranged by an adult who is prepared for his mission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/plainly-the-environment-must-be-a-living-one-directed-by-a-higher/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [To assist a child we must provide him with an environment which will enable him to develop freely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/to-assist-a-child-we-must-provide-him-with-an-environment-which-will/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [Imitation is the first instinct of the awakening mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/imitation-is-the-first-instinct-of-the-awakening-mind/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [The undisciplined child enters into discipline by working in the company of others; not being told he is naughty.” “Discipline is, therefore, primarily a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/the-undisciplined-child-enters-into-discipline-by-working-in-the/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [When you have solved the problem of controlling the attention of the child, you have solved the entire problem of its education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/when-you-have-solved-the-problem-of-controlling-the-attention-of-the/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [It is exactly in the repetition of the exercises that the education of the senses exists; not that the child shall know colors, forms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/it-is-exactly-in-the-repetition-of-the-exercises-that-the-education/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [Adults look upon a child as something empty that is to be filled through their own efforts, as something inert and helpless for which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/adults-look-upon-a-child-as-something-empty-that-is-to-be-filled/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [The observation of the way in which the children pass from the first disordered movements to those which are spontaneous and ordered -- this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/the-observation-of-the-way-in-which-the-children-pass-from-the-first/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [The teacher's task is not a small easy one! She has to prepare a huge amount of knowledge to satisfy the child's mental hunger.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/the-teacher-s-task-is-not-a-small-easy-one-she-has-to-prepare-a-huge/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [Education is a work of self-organization by which man adapts himself to the conditions of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/education-is-a-work-of-self-organization-by-which-man-adapts-himself/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [The possibility of observing the developments of the psychical life of the child as natural phenomena and experimental reactions transforms the school itself in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/the-possibility-of-observing-the-developments-of-the-psychical-life/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [Never help a child with a task that they feel they can complete themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/never-help-a-child-with-a-task-that-they-feel-they-can-complete/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [It is not the child as a physical but as a psychic being that can provide a strong impetus to the betterment of mankind.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/it-is-not-the-child-as-a-physical-but-as-a-psychic-being-that-can/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [By the age of three, the child has already laid down the foundations of his personality as a human being, and only then does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/by-the-age-of-three-the-child-has-already-laid-down-the-foundations/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [Rewards and punishments, to speak frankly, are the desk of the soul, that is, a means of enslaving a child's spirit, and better suited…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/rewards-and-punishments-to-speak-frankly-are-the-desk-of-the-soul/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) [Explore all 397 Maria Montessori quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) ## More All things quotes > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [To explicate the uses of the Brain seems as difficult a task as to paint the Soul, of which it is commonly said, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-willis/to-explicate-the-uses-of-the-brain-seems-as-difficult-a-task-as-to/) [Thomas Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-willis/) > [A tree is a self: it is 'unseen shaping' more than it is leaves or bark, roots or cellulose or fruit ... What this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/a-tree-is-a-self-it-is-unseen-shaping-more-than-it-is-leaves-or-bark/) [Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/) > [Dear God, I trust that no matter what happens in my life, it is for my highest good. And no matter what happens in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/dear-god-i-trust-that-no-matter-what-happens-in-my-life-it-is-for-my/) [Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/) > [Moderation, honey, in all things but love and chocolate. That's my motto.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-bretton/moderation-honey-in-all-things-but-love-and-chocolate-that-s-my-motto/) [Barbara Bretton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-bretton/) > [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/) James Nayler > [What greater weakness can there be than not to know what is the source of one's being, of one's life, of one's senses, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/what-greater-weakness-can-there-be-than-not-to-know-what-is-the/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [When I was in my teens I had a series of intensely religious experiences. They deepened my sense of God as the creator of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-linzey/when-i-was-in-my-teens-i-had-a-series-of-intensely-religious/) [Andrew Linzey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-linzey/) > [It is more than a little ironic that "capital accumulation" once a rather tendentious Marxian view of a supposed capitalist obsession, should have become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kuttner/it-is-more-than-a-little-ironic-that-capital-accumulation-once-a/) [Robert Kuttner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kuttner/) > [The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, as it pleases him, for he can do all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/the-lord-gives-and-the-lord-takes-away-as-it-pleases-him-for-he-can/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Time, which wears down and diminishes all things, augments and increases good deeds, because a good turn liberally offered to a reasonable man grows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/time-which-wears-down-and-diminishes-all-things-augments-and/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Standing as a witness in all things means being kind in all things, being the first to say hello, being the first to smile,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-d-nadauld/standing-as-a-witness-in-all-things-means-being-kind-in-all-things/) [Margaret D. 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