The educational idealogy and administration of the person-oriented English Infant School and the object-oriented traditional American primary school are contrasted in this paper. The English Infant School movement is a contemporary model of open education. Development of opern educational systems in America should emphasize transfer of the spirit of the English Infant School, rather than its physical attributes alone. Direct importation is questionable, for English Infant Schools have developed as a unique reflection of English society and child welfare concerns. Attempts to develop open educational opportunities here should be teacher-oriented. Rather than imposing an outside model on teachers, the model should be provided and teachers helped to understand it. Teachers who accept the model should be given support and resources to help them develop open classrooms. This support involves not only specific techniques, but reinforcement of teacher's belief in the child and in the autonomy of the classroom as a legitimate goal. An increasing polarization of educational systems in this country to serve different segments of society is seen as a trend in the future. (NH)