The author presents a general model of teaching which encompasses both social aspects of teaching skills and coping strategies more concerned with survival and self, so allowing teachers to address the purer problems of teaching, that is, how to promote pupil learning of relevant and worthwhile skills and knowledge. The book shows a range of activities from the highly successful to the "spoiled". While the book offers a theoretical rationale for teaching at any point in time, it has particular import in the aftermath of the Education Reform Act.