Depicted variously as heroes, villains, or victims, America's teachers find themselves at the center of a sometimes nasty policy debate. Yet, while politicians, reformers, and pundits contribute to the cacophony that serves as our national conversation about education, those who teach our children everyday are barely heard over the noise.

This beautifully written book highlights working teachers speaking on many key educational problems under debate as well as many of the controversial solutions put forth, including revamped teacher evaluations, curricular standardization, and increased testing and data collection. Anthropologist Catherine Lutz and high school teacher Anne Lutz Fernandez traveled the country to meet a wide range of educators on the frontlines of teaching across diverse contexts from traditional public schools to charters to the home school; early in careers and near retirement; in city, town, suburb, and country. What they learned about teaching and learning provides critical insights not just for educators but for anyone interested in American education.