Joseph Featherstone—along with John Holt, Robert Coles, and Charles Silberman—stands at the forefront of those calling for a humane, new education for our children.

He was the first critic of American educational practices to champion the British primary system as a model of reform.

This book contains all of Featherstone's ideas on sound educational procedures and the "open-classroom concept" and takes a profound look at our current educational crisis. First he examines the English primary schools, carefully analyzing their informal approach which, he finds, has enabled ordinary teachers working with many different kinds of children to achieve impressive results. He then describes the varieties of sound educational practice—schools that are organized learning environments for children—finding common threads of freedom, a new conception of the teacher's role, and an implicit understanding that a full childhood is the best preparation for life.