This casebook provides candid descriptions of teachers who enter the profession with no previous teacher preparation. The cases describe how a group of novice teachers faced the problems of transforming content knowledge into accessable units of instruction for teenagers in inner-city schools. The vignettes are grouped according to specific kinds of situations and problems that confront all novices during their first year of teaching. The first chapter deals with classroom events--instructional episodes that are problematic either in their conceptions or their implementation. Chapter two deals with interactions with individual students or a small group of students who persistently were disruptive or refused to work. The third chapter examines neophytes' relationships with mentor teachers or other experienced teachers who attempted to provide assistance. Each case contains four parts: the academic background and previous experience of the trainee; a description of the classroom, school, and students; a narration of a classroom event or interaction; and some reflective thoughts about the account by experienced teachers or scholars. (An annotated bibliography of 28 items is included.) (JD)