In the past, many social scientists were content to study teaching from a distance, borrowing concepts mainly from psychology and sociology to explain what teaching was like. Increasingly, students of teaching have come to value the insider's viewpoint and to rely on teachers as informants. This paper brings together research about the meaning of teaching to teachers and the origins of those meanings. It is organized around three questions: (1) What is known about the cultures of teaching? (2) What is known about the origins of those cultural patterns? and (3) What is known about how teachers acquire a cultural repertoire in teaching? Also discussed are obstacles to studying the cultures of teaching and implications for teacher education and policy. (Author/JD)