Elizabeth Peabody, a radical feminist, used early 19th-century ideas of the "woman's sphere" to suggest that a career in early childhood education was "the ideal solution to the problem of what educated American women should do with their lives," and she credited Froebel's "genius" in identifying a way in which women could "assume a useful... role in society" (Beatty, 1995, p. 61.) This field has come a long way. While some of the field's old ideas and traditions may no longer be in the children's or the field's best interests, others ought not be so easily dismissed. This commentary is the authors' ongoing reflections on how early childhood educators might better conduct their business.