This book is a tell-all guide to the euphoric highs and unimaginable lows of teaching. Mahoney and Purr present the naked truth of their own blunder-laden first few years in order to help new teachers, those who think they might want to become teachers, and those in the business of training and hiring new teachers, see the realities that cannot be conveyed through college classes. Through their stories, tips, and administrative analyses, the authors hope not only to save new teachers from making the same rookie mistakes, but also to make administrators, college professors, and teacher trainers aware of the practical knowledge beginning teachers need before the first day of school. This book is divided into the following chapters: (1) Why Am I Reading This Book?; (2) Understanding the Mind-set; (3) Only 175 Days to Go...How to Survive the First Week of School; (4) Have Your Seen My Grade Book? Getting Organized so You Never Have to Ask That Dreaded Question; (5) Behave Yourself! Discipline and the New Teacher; (6) Hello, Mother; Hello, Father (Hello, Nanny; Hello, Legal Guardian): Dealing with Parents; (7) Camaraderie, Competition, Calumny and Coffee Talk: The Politics of the Teachers' Lounge; (8) And in This Corner School Violence and the New Teacher; and (9) Don't Bring Me Down.