This book is about learning--about one educator's experiences learning to teach, to observe, and to make choices. It is a portrayal of a life in action and of the intertwining of professional work and personal experiences. The educator portrayed in the book has explored many aspects of education, searching for where she might make the most difference, as a teacher, a teacher of teachers, a school board member, a researchers, and a writer. Her passion for the countryside, her experiments as a composer of music, and her lifelong relationship with writing are revealed. Collected for the first time are some of her best essays, including ones previously unpublished, which extend the notions of reading, writing, and researching in surprising directions. These deeply questioning essays are both personal and scholarly. (Contains samples of students' work and 97 references.) (CR)