The goal of The Field Guide to Teaching: A Handbook for New Teachers is to provide very specific and practical guidance for those who are entering the teaching profession. The book offers guidelines, hints and fundamental information geared to help the novice teacher avoid common pitfalls and to make a start on the road to becoming a professional educator. It is written from the point of view that those who read the book are unfamiliar with the profession beyond the training they have or will receive in their college teacher preparation program or other alternate route program.

The book also includes:

• Brief and practical format.
• Voices in the Classroom features are comments and anecdotes from teachers, administrators, and parents about their experiences with education.
• Legal Sidebar features highlight court cases and laws that impact teachers.
• Stating the Facts features provide statistical data from databases, or sociological and psychological research.
• Do and Don't features at the end of each chapter.