The simple answer is yes there is and the first article I want to share is written by Margaret M Hutchinson who was the author of Children as Naturalists and is the first in a series about Early Days at School. Whilst some of the language used might show when it was written I believe the message still holds true and poses a point for reflection on our practice in the current education climate.

"What are our particular responsibilities, and why are we Infants teachers more priviledged than others, as I believe we are? Briefly it is our job to introduce children to school education, and to start them on a road that is ten years long at the very least.

They may travel along a straight, dull road with no undulations, no curves, no side turnings, no views - with nothing in fact, more hopeful to look forward to than the realisation that when they leave school it will end. Or they may travel winding leafy lanes, opening up vista after vista as the lane widens and changes in character. They may climb long hills with glittering panoramic views at the top and sweep down the other side and up over another hump, eager for the next breath-taking view.

There is no ending to that kind of road for it opens up a whole countryside full of possibilities that will take more than a lifetime to explore. That surely, is the road we would like all children to traverse in education; but it depends primarily on four people whether the right road is entered upon- it depends upon the parents, the child and the teacher. It is the purpose of these articles, therefore , to try to suggest how those first few years of school life may be a joyous adventure along the road of learning."

Which road do parents want their child to follow? Which road does the school/setting you work in want to follow? Which road do you want to travel along with the children you work with?