This book relates Dr. Lancer's teaching approach with many memorable students. It is her hope that her love for her students and for teaching shines through her words.

She describes the changes in education over her years in the public school system, and she decries the "robotic" transformation of teachers by current education methods. She has taught students who were emotionally disturbed, learning disabled, autistic, intellectually disabled, and gifted. She chronicles the development of special education in her district and gives poignant stories about her many individual students.