A few further questions, connected with the problems of primary
education, lend themselves to discussion here.

The "open classroom" system of child-centered education is sometimes
confused with Montessori. The term itself is somewhat imprecise.
Roughly speaking, it means a break with traditional methods of whole-
class "chalk and talk" teaching, and the adoption of a more elastic
educational program, more adapted to the needs of children. Some open
classrooms reject every rule set in advance and let children learn what
they like, when they like, and only if they like, with the implication that
some children may not learn anything at all. In some others, the
"openness" consists merely of having no walls between classes, but
otherwise pursuing the conventional type of same-for-all collective
lessons.

In his book entitled The Open Classroom, Kohl conceded there is no
single model open classroom; rather there are as many variations as there
are combinations of students and teachers ⁶³. The book provided no clear
definition of open classroom teaching, but gave the impression that he
advocated a complete absence of any program imposed by the school.
Advocates of open classroom education rightly point out that as long as an
educational system is based on fear of punishment instead of voluntary
self-discipline, it is likely to break down as soon as the child ceases to feel
the watchful eye of the supervising teacher. Montessori would have
agreed whole-heartedly. But this is only half the equation, and without a

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