Crucial to the public debate about schools, curriculum, testing, academic standards, and teacher training are the voices of successful teachers, like Kathy Greely, who speak to the dangers of an overemphasis on standardized testing and a punitive, back-to-basics approach. This work is a chronicle of a year in the life of a school classroom. The author provides an alternative model of education and shows how a strong and supportive community is essential in helping students reach their highest potential. Included in this account are: specific projects that explain in detail critical practices in the classroom; class discussions that show efforts to interweave academic study with personal awareness; excerpts from student journals; and descriptions of daily failures and frustrations, as well as successes and victories.