A deep admiration for others’ abilities or achievements is a characteristic exhibited by Montessori children and is fostered in the Montessori environment with its mixed ages, by the modeling of the teacher who respects the child’s need for freedom of choice, and the modeling of grace and courtesy in all relations to the children by the guide and to each other by the children who are encouraged to help one another. (Boehnlein)

“The child in the Montessori school is not isolated. He is in a microcosm of human society. The ideal reality of this society lies in unity and coherence, respect, and love…In their diligence in working together and helping each other, and also in their joy in play, [the children] demonstrate ‘we’ as a reality within which each person is responsible to all others.” (F.J.J. Buytendijk “Gelebte Frelheit und sittliche Freheit im Bewusstein des Kindes” in Montessori, Reihe der forschung, vol. 200, Darmstadt 1970, pp. 282-303; quoted by Montessori in The Child, Society and the World, pp. 19-20)