Wagner and Larson have written a book long overdue, a book whose ideas I have already called upon several times since receiving it for review.

—Educational Leadership

In this book, Wagner and Larson give teachers a chance to practice strategies through "virtual reality." Each chapter opens with a vivid situation drawn from real-life experience, offering readers the opportunity to think about how they would or do respond to difficult day-to-day dilemmas, such as the student who reveals in her journal that she and a friend are doing drugs or the parent who accuses the teacher of racial bias because of the books she assigns.

The best of current theory and practice comes together here. Although the perspectives represent the leading edge of the profession, they do not ignore the very real constraints teachers face.

Situations will be useful to secondary English teachers who find themselves frustrated by idealistic or theoretical texts that seem out of touch with the problems of today's classroom -- problems wholly unlike those known even a decade ago. Preservice teachers will also enjoy this book because of its down-to-earth presentation.

Contents:
I. Focus on the Teacher
1. Defending a Grade
2. Under Siege
3. Getting the Interpretation Right
4. The Tough Grader
5. The Disaffected Teacher
6. The Lesson That Flops
7. The Paper Load
II. Focus on the Curriculum
8. The Mandated Language Proficiency Test
9. The Book They Have Read Before
10. But Is It Shakespeare?
11. The Writing Competency Test
12. Inherit the Wind
13. Diversity of Heritage
14. Schedules and Serendipity
15. From Grammar to Writing?
16. Untracking, with Marilyn J. Hollman
III. Focus on the Students
17. Genius in the Classroom
18. Sports Hero
19. Stealing Papers from Computers
20. Teacher-Student Conference
21. The Somersaulter
22. The Concrete Thinker
23. Second-Language Learners, with Kristin Lems
IV. Focus on the School
24. Drawing the Line
25. The Abused Student, with Brenda M. Landau
26. Student Complaints About Another Teacher
27. An Attack on the Teacher's Competence
28. Underwater Welder
29. Privacy of Student Writing
30. Equity in Computer Access
Appendixes:
A. California Reading and Writing Assessment
B. Memo to the English Department
C. Abridged Transcript of Teacher-Student Literature Conference
D. Assignment for Reader's Notebook
E. Sample Student Work
F. Matrix of Purposes, Processes, and Genres