Nearly three-fourths of public school teachers are women, yet the majority of the 132 people who sat on the 6 major school reform panels of the 80s were non-teachers and men. Women in education are, as President Bush would have said, "out of the loop," because positions of power belong to men. This book examines the status of K-12 teaching in the United States from the practitioner's point-of-view. The book's purpose is: (1) to demonstrate that reform in education is futile without the redefinition of teachers grades 1-12; (2) to show how the present status of teachers not only cripples their work but also denies parents and students real impact on education in the schools; and (3) to sift the major criticisms of the schools and respond to them from the viewpoint of a school teacher. Chapters include: (1) "Out of the Loop"; (2) "Raising Hell"; (3) "History Repeats Itself"; (4) "Indentured Servants"; (5) "Where Ignorance Was Cheaper"; (6) "Acorns in the Schoolyard"; (7) "Team Spirit"; (8) "My Student Myself"; (9) "Schoolhouse Keepers"; (10) "Beyond the PTA"; and (11) "Children Should Be Seen and Not Hushed." (EH)