This collection of six original essays, written over a period of several years, brings together Philip Jackson's reflections and insights on the practice of teaching. He emphasizes the "deceiving simplicity of teaching" and aims to uncover the complexity of the craft by addressing the uncertainties teachers face, the inherent difficulties of defining what is "teaching," and the apparent duality of the craft as embodied in the two dominant outlooks on educational thought and practice: the "conservative" and the "liberal."