Work is activity involving mental or physical effort to achieve a result. Montessori believed human’s instinct to work was their most outstanding trait and that all work was noble, thus Montessori children learn to value and appreciate all workers. She stated that the more the capacity to concentrate is developed, the more often the profound tranquility in work is achieved and the clearer will be the manifestation of discipline within the child. (Boehnlein, Montessori, Maria)

“…man works just as he breathes and because it is a form of life… work is one of the essentials of existence, of life.” (Montessori, Maria, The Child, Society and the World, p. 83) “All work is noble, the only ignoble thing is to live without working… Intellectual work, and manual work are complementary and equally essential to a civilized existence.” (Montessori, Maria, From Childhood to Adolescence, p. 61)