Herndon, a teacher for more than 25 years, has written a humorous and masterful answer to the recent attacks on education. His overriding concern has always been with the nature of learning, whether in the classroom or not. He reports on the problems of the current education system in the United States, from lesson plans to merit pay to tax policies, without losing grip on what education is really about: kids, teachers, administrators, and the human give-and-take that constitutes a classroom. He describes school life in all its richness, frustration, and ultimate mutual nobility -- the desire to teach, the quest for learning. He also illustrates what a "good school" really is, with a variety of alternative teaching situations and numerous case histories. ISBN 0-671-54371-7 : $15.95.