The impetus for Teaching from the Middle of the Room surfaced in mid-October 2006. As a consultant, I had observed fourteen ninth-grade teachers all standing at the front of the room talking at their students, no conversation, no questions, no discussion. That night I wrote them a letter disparging their practice, and the next morning began to write.

I address the inadequacy of traditional methods to stimulate learning, offer effective teaching strategies to activate thinking, bring ideas from beyond the classroom to improve teaching, and explore ways for teachers to find meaning in their work.  

In each chapter, I provide "Points to Pursue" and "Reflections" from Dan Hilliard, the book's protagonist, to encourage teachers to step into the middle of the room. I include "A Teaching Manifesto" for teachers to sign committing them to invitational practices.