An urban school in Columbus, Ohio, had in place a program of surprisingly explicit training of young children for the modern marketplace. Starting in kindergarten, children in the school were asked to think about the jobs they might choose when they grew up. The posters that surrounded them made clear which kinds of jobs they were expected to select--management positions. This article describes a noted child advocate's laments on the redefinition of learning in proprietary terms. Childhood is not merely basic training for utilitarian adulthood. It should have some claims not for its future value to the economic interests of competitive societies, but for its present value as a perishable piece of life itself. They should be exposed to an array of options that would permit them to make a well-informed decision. The choice of a career means virtually nothing if they do not know what choices they may actually have.