This provocative text offers an inside look at the hidden dimensions of teaching. Sometimes controversial, always poignant, the book examines highly debated issues fundamental to a free and open society. School reform is at a critical juncture; the portrait of the profession revealed here serves as a catalyst for change. Chapters discuss such timely and relevant topics as the preparation of teachers past and present, the daily work of teachers, and the influence of current policy on public education.

Teaching our children is a shared responsibility. The work of teaching...

Many contemporary secondary education standards call for teachers to reach across traditional disciplinary lines and create curricula and instructional techniques that are interdisciplinary in nature (as examples, for mathematics see Principles and Standards for School Mathematics; for science see National Science Education Standards; for foreign language see Standards for Foreign Language Learning; Preparing fro the 21st Century). Yet, due to the highly entrenched and fragmented administrative structure of teacher education fields, including tertiary preparation and state certification,...