This paper considers the discord that may arise in a teacher's thinking when there is a conflict between new technical innovations and the generally accepted aims and culture of teaching itself. Teachers share common ideas about what they do and why it is valuable; there tends to be agreement about what the collectively approved actions of teachers say about important matters in their, and their students', lives. While teachers' thinking and innovation are related (innovation is the remedy of dysfunction and teacher thinking is a way of diagnosing it), innovation introduced from the outside may cause troubling problems for the teacher. The conflict between what is considered "good teaching" and what the innovation demands then surfaces. Such a conflict is illustrated by a description of the introduction of new computer technology into the classroom of an experienced English teacher. A discussion is presented on the philosophical question of the dichotomy between what a teacher considers just or fair for students, and the rewards offered by the bureaucracy for teaching computer literacy. (JD)