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"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."

The General Assembly invited all Member States, organizations of the United Nations system and other international and regional organizations, as well as the private sector and civil society, including non-governmental organizations and individuals, to build the Culture of Peace with Love and Conscience. 

The task of the United Nations to save future generations from the scourge of war requires transformation towards a culture of peace, which consists of values, attitudes and behaviors that reflect and inspire social interaction and sharing based on the principles of freedom, justice and democracy, all human rights, tolerance and solidarity, that reject violence and endeavor to prevent conflicts by tackling their root causes to solve problems through dialogue and negotiation and that guarantee the full exercise of all rights and the means to participate fully in the development process of their society.‍

Conscious of the need for the creation of conditions of stability and well-being and peaceful and friendly relations based on respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion, the General Assembly declared 5 April, The International Day of Conscience

“The Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaims that all human beings are endowed with conscience and are free to act according to it”. UNESCO

As I try to understand these declarations from the United Nations and UNESCO, I start wondering about what the word Conscience means and look it up; among several definitions I find the following:

con·science (noun)

“An inner feeling or voice viewed as acting as a guide to the rightness or wrongness of one's behavior”.

(From Dictionary.com)

conscience /ˈkɑːnʃəns/ noun

1- the part of the mind that makes you aware of your actions as being either morally right or wrong

2- a feeling that something you have done is morally wrong

   (From: Conscience Definition & Meaning | Britannica Dictionary)

And. I also found this:

Conscience: a state of awareness, a cognitive process, or a personal sense of the moral content of one's own actions, intentions, or character. It is based on ethical or moral principles or value systems, and it leads to feelings of obligation, remorse, or guilt. It is often described as a universal faculty of moral insight that can be influenced by acculturation and instruction.

Then, I wondered about the difference between “Conscience”, the word that is used in the declaration of the United Nations, and the word “Conscious”, that would be an adjective, and clearly takes a whole different meaning depending on the context in which it is used. I looked it up…and found this in https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/conscious, for the definition of “Conscious”:‍

conscious (adjective)

   as in aware: having specified facts or feelings actively impressed on the mind‍

   as in deliberate: made, given, or done with full awareness of what one is doing

According to: conscience | Etymology, origin and meaning of conscience by etymonline, the word conscience, is from Old French conscience "conscience, innermost thoughts, desires, intentions; feelings", and directly from Latin conscientia "a joint knowledge of something, a knowing of a thing together with another person; consciousness, knowledge;" particularly, "knowledge within oneself, sense of right and wrong, a moral sense" (abstract noun);  from conscientem (nominative consciens), present participle of conscire :"be (mutually) aware”; be conscious of wrong," in Late Latin "to know well," from assimilated form of com "with," or "thoroughly" (see con-) + scire "to know," probably originally "to separate one thing from another, to distinguish" … 

I realized that they do not have the same definitions, but they are certainly related by origin; so what to write about then? About the “moral” content of our actions, or rather the “awareness”, a “knowledge of something”, acknowledging that it is there, and to distinguish it from something else”? I choose the latter….

Being “aware” implies vigilance in observing or alertness in drawing inferences from what one experiences”, kind of complicated, but it refers to that feeling of “oh, I know this”, or in other words “I am aware” of its existence. Maria Montessori brings in the concept of a prepared environment that is made available for the child; everything that is there, at the beginning, is new to the child, however with the teacher as its guide, the child will get “to know” this environment and gradually understand the purpose of it being there the way it is and how to use each and every material available to him; the child will adapt and direct its curiosity towards those materials that he “sees” around him. The child becomes more conscious (more knowledgeable) through repeated experiences in this environment"

Take for example the sensory exercises; these are created by Maria Montessori in order to “isolate the senses”, as she states:
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“If one sense is isolated, it seems to be enhanced in its power of perception. The possibility of perception is more profound. It is the concentration of the conscious mind upon that sense. The conscious mind continually receives impressions through all the doors of the senses"
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(The 1946 London Lectures, p.80, Kindle Edition). 

The Sound Cylinders (see picture) are specifically designed to refine hearing; when the child uses them, an “imprint” of the different sounds will make it to the subconscious mind and acquire the experience of “hearing the differences” between sounds; the child grows awareness of the differences, and later on will be attentive for other sounds, and include differences perceived by other senses too. This process will help to make the child aware of all the different things that encompass its environment, including other experiences with other senses, and of course its fellow students for example. 

“Consciousness develops bit by bit from the beginning. It starts out like a tiny membrane that grows in the course of time. So conscious awareness develops, and the child understands things better and better”. 

(The 1946 London Lectures, p.132, Kindle Edition)

“Place the child so that he can absorb something from the environment which will be part of him forever-so that he can have the chance of understanding afterwards” … “we must prepare [a wider] environment for childhood, if men are ever to understand each other better”. On the same page she says this: “This is the most important aspect of childhood, from a psychological point of view. We must look to the children as a vehicle for bringing change to humanity.”

“The 1946 London Lectures” (p.108)

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Doesn’t that sound a lot like the declaration and “mandate” of the United Nations declaring the 5^th of April the International Day of Conscience? ...

As we make the right environment available in the classroom, as parents we can also offer experiences that enrich the child’s knowledge; we can help the child  be aware of the process of a cocoon growing into a beautiful butterfly, it is remarkable, and the process is right there in nature to show them; we could make them aware of the fact that trees do turn carbon monoxide into oxygen to breath themselves and for us to live, which on itself maybe are just a bunch of facts that the child can memorize, but, we can turn it into an opportunity of reflection on the fact that we do have to take care of our nature in order to survive. Like this there are so many examples, but at the core, is the encouragement that we offer the child that is really important, so it ignites its curiosity and respect for the environment and the whole of its surroundings.

Recently, I was fortunate enough to attend a signing/presentation of the book “The Montessori Potential” by Paula Lillard Preschlack; in the book she refers to “The Framework that makes Montessori Work”, and this sentence caught my eye: “The Spirit of the Prepared Environment”. In the following paragraph she writes: ”the true approach of Montessori education involves more than the mechanics of implementation” … “the spiritual life of the children must be considered” … “By spiritual the Montessori educators mean the psychological, intellectual, social, and emotional aspects of the environment. Dr Montessori recognized that natural beauty attracts children’s interest” … “Children can sense and respond to the care and attention the teacher gives to the details of the room”. Yes, as Montessori teachers we are trained to follow the steps, so that we can transmit these to the students, but it is certainly of utmost importance that with the transmission of steps and knowledge we are aware of the values implicit in the Montessori Philosophy, Respect and Love for our environment, Nature and our fellow human beings. Thank you, Paula, for bringing the Spirit of Montessori Education to our awareness!

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“Consciousness comes with help, encouragement, and respect. In this way the child is able to develop normally. We cannot have a normal development of the soul of man if we do not understand and respect it. The development of the child’s soul comes through the experiences he has and the education he receives” … “In order to achieve the marvel of humanity, you [we] must look at the mysterious construction of the child” 

Maria Montessori, “The 1946 London Lectures”, pp.78-80, Kindle Edition) 

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