In this book, Gail Thompson asked the students in a low performing school to be candid about their high school experiences. Using this information and relying on data from questionnaires and focus groups, Thompson discovered a huge gap in perception between how teachers and students view their experience of school. The book explores this disparity, and uncovers some of the reasons for students' low achievement, apathy, and frustration. Most importantly, she offers vital lessons for transforming schools--especially for underachieving kids and students of color. After an Introduction, this book is divided into three parts. Part One: In the Classroom, which contains the following chapters: (1) "You Can Tell If They Care": Why Students Need Caring and Highly Qualified Teachers; (2) "It Would Be Nice to Learn Something About My Culture": A Plea for a Culturally Relevant and More Interesting Education; (3) It Don't Make No Sense to Give Us All These Tests": Student Effort, Achievement, and Attitudes About Standardized Tests; and (4) "They Just Think We're Loud": How Discipline Policies and Practices Can Affect Students Attitudes About School. Part Two: On the Schoolyard, contains: (5) "We Just Can't Seem to Get Along": Race Relations on Campus; (6) "You Don't Know If They're Gonna . . . Bust a Columbine on Everybody": Why Schools Won't Ever Be Entirely Safe; (7) Everybody's Intimidated by Us": A Candid 179 Conversation with African American Males; and (8) "This Place Is Nasty": How the School's Physical Environment Can Contribute to Student Apathy. Part Three: Out in the World: Beyond the Classroom and the Schoolyard, contains the final chapters: (9) "Yes! They Do Care About My Education": Parent Involvement in Schools; (10) "They Should Worry More About Our Future": Why America's Stepchildren Need a College Preparatory Curriculum; and (11) The Truth Can Set Us Free! Seven Lessons I've Learned About School Reform in America. Appended are the following: (1) Teacher Demographics; (2) Student Demographics; (3) Additional Information about the Student Questionnaire Respondents; (4) Teacher Questionnaire Results; (5) Student Questionnaire Results; (6) Classroom Management Exercise 1; and (7) Classroom Management Exercise 2. An Index is included.