The first-year teaching experiences of urban teachers were studied to conceptualize the reality faced by urban teachers and to determine the implications of the urban environment for teacher education. Subjects were four graduates of a teacher education program that gave no particular attention to the urban context beyond placement for student teaching in an urban school. Two teachers taught in urban schools (kindergarten and grade 3), and two taught in suburban schools (kindergarten and grade 3). They were observed in their classrooms throughout the school year, and semistructured interviews identified their attitudes. The basic conclusion is that teaching in an urban setting is different and that teachers have to be different to succeed in schools with high numbers of at-risk students. Urban teachers need more education about developing the social skills of students, and they need information about poverty as well as ethnic cultures. They need opportunities to get to know the parents of their students, and they need interpersonal skills that enable them to deal with rejection, discouragement, and frustration. Urban teaching appears to be very different from teaching in the suburbs. (Contains 20 references.) (SLD)