The contexts within which teachers engage in personally meaningful discourse about teaching and learning are explored. Connections are drawn between the perspectives and experiences of teachers and the organizational structure of the workplace. Methodology involved a pattern analysis of responses to an open-ended survey administered to 90 K-12 public school teachers. Five themes emerged from the data, which include issues of reciprocity, personal work-oriented benefits, confirmation in one's work role, perceptions of expertise, and probability of future interaction. Data indicate that minimal significant discourse about teaching occurs during formally structured situations and that the most meaningful exchange takes place during informal interaction. The finding suggests a need for rethinking how schools function as work settings and understanding the conditions under which teachers' voices are heard. (21 references) (LMI)