This essay describes the image of the child in educational theory and argues that the image of the child redeemer is, in its emphasis on isolation from others and from the surrounding world, a spurious image for reform. It suggests that we attend to the redeeming lies of our daughters instead of the pronouncements of our innocent sons. It argues, however, that both innocence and deceit are properties of relations, not of individual persons. Curriculum and teaching must acknowledge the child's experience rather than constraining it in innocence or labeling it a lie.
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