Follows veteran teacher James Nehring deep inside the workings of one school to offer an insider's perspective of what happens when research-driven models of school reform meet up with the messy, human reality of school. Nehring is a high school teacher, reporting from the front lines. Writing in a very personal, often funny, and uniquely down-to-earth style, Nehring follows the lives of teachers, students, and administrators as they try to implement change and break through institutional barriers.