The book tracks co-author Paul Weinberg during his first year of teaching as he is introduced to the daily tribulations of an urban Los Angeles high school. Paul's father Carl Weinberg, who fifty years earlier himself began his career in education an urban secondary school teacher, shares his experiences side-by-side with those of his son. Together they reveal parallels between Carl's former problems in the urban classroom and the problems his son faces. Though some things have changed, there have not been nearly as many changes as one might have expected. Interwoven with the father-son anecdotes of personal experience in teaching is a scholarly examination of the areas of social and cultural disorganization that the new teacher confronts with students, teachers, administrators, policy makers, and parents as he or she navigates through urban schooling. Thirteen chapters include: (1) Autobiographical Note from Paul; (2) Incoming; (3) Making Decisions; (4) Dealing with Failure; (5) Collegiality and Social Class; (6) Loosening Up and Seeing the Social Problems; (7) The New Year; (8) Second Semester: Old Patterns, New Insights; (9) Visions of Failure; (10) April Flowers and Doubters; (11) Emersion; (12) They Smell Summer; and (13) Conclusion.