Blacksmiths and their craft have changed with the times, and as times change for teachers, they too should be forgers of links. Teacher-to-teacher links should extend beyond the faculty lounge to support systems and active groups of individuals concerned about each other. Another personal link can be made by developing a grade level, system-wide swap of ideas and materials and by encouraging teachers to write for other teachers. Parental links must be forged at the system-wide and the individual teacher levels. The simple device of communicating in writing about a program can make the program more effective. To forge professional links, those involved in professional groups need to reach out to others in related groups and to teachers now uninvolved with a professional organization. They must also help elementary teachers see themselves as specialists. To forge promotional links, teachers need to be more active in telling their stories to others through articles and media presentations, and in monitoring state legislative activity. As teachers seek to disseminate knowledge affecting classroom practice, they forge a practitioner link. It is clearly incumbent on researchers to design studies that reflect classroom realities, and to report results in ways that make their research more accessible to teachers. Conversely, teachers must be more aggressive consumers of research. (HTH)