Richard Locke began his first full-time job teaching seventh grade social studies at Francis W. Parker School in Chicago a quarter of a century before writing this article. Here he writes that as a young inexperienced teacher just out of college he was filled with enthusiasm and convinced that education could play a progressive role in society.…

Describes a first-year teacher's experience teaching unruly seventh graders and how she has learned, to a degree, to smile and to be patient, and find consolation in those students who have written to her to express how much she has helped them through her teaching and counseling. (TB)

Explores what constitutes an explanation for a science teaching event, noting conceptual-analysis-of-teaching and task-analysis approaches. Examples of various categories and distinctions are provided, drawing on data from pre- and postlesson discussions of an experienced teacher's seventh grade science lesson. The Science Teacher Thinking…

Presents an account of a teacher's first year of teaching, focusing on her central metaphors for teaching. The metaphor "teacher is buddy" represented a driving force in her thinking about teaching and working in the classroom. The article discusses the benefits of using metaphors as windows into beginning teachers' thinking and…