The fifth edition of the best-selling Teach by Janice Koch aims to help students answer the question, "Is teaching the right career for me?" Via a concise but wide-ranging exploration of the American public education system, Teach asks readers to imagine themselves in the classroom and develop their own ideas of what it means to be a teacher. Real-life classroom stories from teachers themselves help readers see themselves as teachers. Chapters feature the latest edTPA and InTasc Standards to structure learning, as well as learning outcomes and journal prompts to give readers clear goals and ways to build their teaching skills. This new edition features major emerging issues in education, including developments in technology in the classroom, with both positive and negative implications; more on the STEM, STEAM, and maker movements; school choice and homeschooling; sexual orientation and gender identity; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and the importance of personal wellness in teacher success. Throughout the text, the author references and contextualizes the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, where appropriate, to reflect the ways students, teachers, and classrooms have been altered by this historic event. Combining historical and contemporary perspectives, this text helps future teachers examine the ways in which society and culture shape schools and the ways in which schools shape society and culture.