Was school better in the past than it is today? Are students forced into an inhumane learning pace? Do female students essentially do nothing? Can students neither write, read, nor calculate? Can teachers neither write, read, nor calculate? A thousand questions swirl around the school, a thousand judgments drawn from our own past, a thousand prejudices. Fabio Pusterla confronts them. Starting from smaller and larger events in his daily teaching life, he reflects openly on why some things succeed while others do not. He talks about necessary provocations, the importance of challenging and being a role model, the academic demands, and human relationships. Pusterla's reflections on school resonate because they are shaped by a deep human commitment to the development of young people.