This book is designed as a springboard for teacher educators and students working together to engage in thought and dialogue about what it means to be a teacher in American society. Chapters are grouped into four sections, each of which ends with a section of suggested activities for discussion, writing, and research opportunities. Part 1 consists of an introductory chapter by Pamela Bolotin Joseph and others titled, Contemplating Images of Schoolteachers in American Culture. Part 2 examines the history of images of teaching generated by teachers and communicated through the culture of the education profession, and includes the following chapters: "Constructing and Discovering Images of Your Own Teaching" (Joseph C. Fischer and Anne Kiefer); "Reflections in a Mirror: Teacher-Generated Metaphors from Self and Others" (Sara Efron and Pamela Bolotin Joseph); "Across the Generations: Conversations with Retired Teachers" (David Hobson); "Good Women and Old Stereotypes: Retired Teachers Talk about Teaching" (Nancy Green and Mary Phillips Manke); and "A Mosaic: Contemporary Schoolchildren's Images of Teachers" (W. Nikola-Lisa and Gail E. Burnaford). Part 3 focuses on images from the popular media, and includes "A Teacher Ain't Nothin' But a Hero: Teachers and Teaching in Film" (William Ayers), "Just Fun--Dreams of Revenge: Images of Teachers in the Lyrics of Rock, Pop, and Folk-Protest" (Fletcher DuBois), and "From Our Miss Brooks to Mr. Moore: Playing Their Roles in Television Situation Comedies" (Ken Kantor). The final section looks for images of teachers in children's textbooks, textbooks written for teachers, adult fiction, and children's literature, and includes: "Teacher as Gatekeeper: Schoolteachers in Picture Books for Young Children" (Ann M. Trousdale); "Personal Memories and Social Response: Teacher Images in Literature for Older Children" (Gail E. Burnaford); "Opening and Closing the Door: Urban Teachers in American Literature, 1900-1940" (Rosalind Benjet); "The Sentimental Image of the Rural Schoolteacher" (Mary Phillips Manke); and "'The Ideal Teacher': Images of Paragons in Teacher Education Textbooks before 1940" (Pamela Bolotin Joseph). (Individual chapters contain references.) (PB)