Because the attrition rate for new teachers in high-poverty schools averages between 40% and 50% over the first five years of teaching, this investigation offers practical solutions to more than 100 of the daily challenges they face.

With an emphasis on pragmatic approaches that can be accomplished in the classroom, the book argues that many of the skills necessary for teaching in urban schools are not properly taught in university programs and that most white teachers simply have to learn by experience.

Written from a black perspective and supported by real-life examples and details rather than theory, this helpful compendium of advice and expertise tackles issues of race and class while outlining the many ways in which the American school system is designed to contribute to a teacher's struggle.