This collection of essays reflects the notion that perceptions of children and childhood shape approaches to education and child rearing. The essays include: (1) "The Child Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow," on how children have been regarded throughout recorded history; (2) "Piaget and Montessori in the Classroom," examining the different ways these renowned figures in early childhood education viewed the development and education of young children; (3) "Work Is Hardly Child's Play," on children's play and how it has been conceptualized by different investigators; (4) "Development in Early Childhood," summarizing contemporary scientific knowledge about child growth and development; (5) "Humanizing the Curriculum," on educational reform; (6) "We Can Teach Reading Better," about better understanding of the process of reading; (7) "Resistance to Developmentally Appropriate Practice: A Case Study in Educational Inertia," on the relationship between educational change and educational philosophy; (8) "The Hurried Child: Is Our Impatient Society Depriving Kids of Their Right To Be Children?" about early academic pressure on children; (9) "Overwhelmed at an Early Age," a further discussion of the effects of hurrying children academically; and (10) "Questions Parents Ask," providing answers to frequently asked questions. Eight of the essays include references. (TJQ)