This book is about educational reform, focusing on the role of teachers. Chapter 1 explores the reasons behind the chronic shortage of good teachers. Chapter 2 presents a brief history of teaching in America to explain the structure and organization of schools, the feminization of teaching, the qualifications of those who choose to go into teaching, and the impact of those developments on teaching and school culture. Chapter 3 expresses the weaknesses of teacher preparation programs and reveals how inadequate teaching training and lack of followup professional development affect the quality of classroom teaching. Chapter 4 describes the professional work life of the teacher and shows how the culture of schools and schooling defeats good teachers and obstructs education reform. Chapter 5 identifies the most popular of today's education reforms and analyzes why each of them fails to achieve its purpose. This chapter also describes the role of unions in education reform. Chapter 6 proposes the authors' solution to the dysfunctions of public education in the form of what they call the "Millennium School." This chapter describes the components and features of the Millennium School, how it is structured, staffed, and operated. (Author/WFA)