Play remains a topic for discussion, debate, and research within the education community. In this article, the authors argue for a broader view of education in line with Plato's observation (gender not withstanding) that "The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future life" (Jowett, 1874, p. 249). The authors begin with a short overview of the potential and traditional developmental and academic benefits of play. Their argument then focuses on a less common consideration of the holistic benefit of play: they explore teachers' cultural reflections about the nature and worth of play through their personal accounts of playful childhood in Armenia, Great Britain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United States of America. Finally, they provide recommendations for the value of play as part of a whole child education.