One year out of college, James Nehring landed "accidentally" in teaching and soon discovered his love for the profession. But he was surrounded by a school system consumed with order, efficiency, rules, and punishment. He wanted to change the system. So began a quest that became a career. Why Teach? Notes and Questions from a Life in Education is a journey inside American education and a story of self-discovery. Why Teach? is the perfect introductory text for an aspiring teacher, a source of reflection for fellow educators, and a compelling insider critique of the system from pre-school to graduate school. In an age dominated by social science, Why Teach? makes the case for a humanistic approach to schooling.

AcknowledgmentsAbout the AuthorForewordDebbie MeierIntroductionPart I: EntryChapter 1Ditch of DistinctionTime to Move OnHolding Kids HostageReflection QuestionsSuggested ReadingChapter 2Teaching and TellingStudent Will Be Able To...Real StudentsReflection QuestionsSuggested ReadingPart II: BeginnerChapter 3What Are Kids Like?Losing My WayFinding My Way BackChoosing Who to BecomeReflection QuestionsSuggested ReadingChapter 4Teaching and CoachingTwo BoysThree GirlsReflection QuestionsSuggested ReadingChapter 5A Pleasant RoutineHow Do You Ask a Question?A Life Raft AppearsPretty Much ItReflection QuestionsSuggested ReadingChapter 6Mystery and ResultsPitching StoriesUnmapped TerritoryReflection QuestionsSuggested ReadingPart III: ResistChapter 7Uppity TeacherPhoto Shoot and Phone JackCopy Room EncounterHall Duty DebateReflection QuestionsSuggested ReadingChapter 8Scheduling Will Not Be a ProblemGo Bigger, Not SmallerReady, Set, Go! Sort of...Reflection QuestionsSuggested ReadingChapter 9Circuit TestOur Scary VisitorA Reason They Call Us Lab RatsBack to CampLearning "A Lesson"A Rainbow AppearsReflection QuestionsSuggested ReadingPart IV: Deeper LearningChapter 10Born for this JobFirst DayOne TumbleweedA Day in the LifeA Role Model, Please?Reflection QuestionsSuggested ReadingChapter 11Listening and ReloadingThe Art of Thinking TogetherMediatingCollision with ZYou Can't Make MeA Culture of "Yeah, but..."Reflection QuestionsSuggested ReadingChapter 12Six Months LaterA Dream Coming TrueGrowing Into Your Own True SelfCafé WednesdayUnnatural BehaviorStandardized ChildrenChew Gum and Don't Stay with the GroupReflection QuestionsSuggested ReadingChapter 13A Backyard CookoutBad ReviewLiferReflection QuestionsSuggested ReadingPart V: EvolveChapter 14Twenty-Six AgainRookieSix Years LaterMy New SchoolingReflection QuestionsSuggested ReadingChapter 15It's Okay to Ask a QuestionAnguished EnglishWhatever you say, ProfReflection QuestionsSuggested ReadingChapter 16Skillful TeachingBeing BluntThe Idealist RealistMigrating Online with Video and AudioReflection QuestionsSuggested ReadingChapter 17Messing with Peoples' BeliefsBeliefs Fight BackThree Steps ForwardTwo Steps BackReflection QuestionsSuggested ReadingChapter 18TroubleNot on the TestReflection QuestionsSuggested ReadingPart VI: Big PictureChapter 19Beat Goes OnSchool as Contested SpaceDo the MathReflection QuestionsSuggested ReadingChapter 20Corner BarEndless Fields of CornBalance?Reflection QuestionsSuggested ReadingChapter 21Ladder Up a WallReady EnoughAnxiety DreamReflection QuestionsSuggested Reading