"An honest and almost brutally frank revelation of the humiliations and confusions that strew the path of school change. . . . What enabled this author, along with most of her fellow teachers, to deal day in and day out with the anger and sometimes thinly disguised contempt of some powerful parents and not give up?"

–From the Afterword by Deborah Meier

Hong provides a portrait of change within the unique context of the elementary school while suggesting issues and complexities inherent in any significant institutional change. Especially important, this book transforms theory into the everyday struggle currently preoccupying so many teachers, parents, and principals across the country. It specifically demonstrates the ineluctable interrelatedness of curriculum, the nature of decisionmaking, the roles of teachers and principal, parental involvement, and school culture.