One of the tragedies of American education is that so many teachers do not understand or are unaware of educational issues and how they impact on their profession. There is a gap between teacher perceptions and reality and this book is a first step in closing that gap. Hot-Button Issues for Teachers is a timely, comprehensive book that addresses more than 100 educational issues that are facing schools, children, and especially teachers. These issues include: (1) Teacher Education; (2) Merit Pay; (3) Unions; (4) Classroom Management; (5) Textbook Selection; (6) Professional Relationships; and (7) School Safety. This book should be of interest to all of those in the teaching profession. The book contains four parts. Part I, The Teaching Profession Today, presents: (1) The Status of the Teaching Profession: Where Are We Going?; (2) Decision-Makers Influencing Educational Policy: Who Are They?; and (3) Competition in the Educational Scene Today: Is This A New Era? Part II, The Teacher and the Marketplace, continues with: (4) The Professional Preparation of Teachers: What Is the Remedy?; (5) Job Hunting and Mobility: What Should You Know?; (6) Merit Pay: Has Its Day Arrived?; (7) Teacher Unions and Collective Bargaining: What Are Your Views?; (8) Teaching Performance and Accountability: Problems or Opportunities?; and (9) Mobility in the Profession: Politics or Merit? Part III, Effective Learning and Teaching, continues with: (10) Effective Classroom Management: Can It Be Achieved?; (11) Curriculum and Textbook Selection: What Needs to Be Changed?; (12) National Standards: What Are the Dangers?; (13) Tests and Other Evaluation Tools: Are They Fair?; (14) The Grading System: How Do You Handle It?; (15) Teaching Controversial Issues: Should They Be Included in the Curriculum?; (16) Heterogeneous and Homogeneous Groupings: Which Do You Prefer?; (17) Homework: Too Little or Too Much?; and (18) Parent-Teacher-Principal Relationships: Can They Be Effective? Part IV, Evolving Issues, concludes with: (19) The Extended School Year: Are We Ready for It?; (20) Separate Schools for the Sexes and School Uniforms: Are Old Ideas Returning?; (21) Teacher Burnout: Myth or Reality?; (22) School Safety and Violence: Is There a Solution?; (23) The Middle School: Is it Effective?; (24) Political and Social Activism in the School: What Are the Pros and Cons?; (25) Liberal Arts and Teacher Preparation: Friends or Mortal Enemies?; (26) Science and Mathematics: Where Are They?; and (27) Tips for Teachers: How Can You Be an Effective Classroom Teacher?