Drawing on an idea of Martin Luther King Jr.’s, Kohl argues for “creative maladjustment” in the classroom and anywhere else that student’s intelligence, dignity, or integrity are compromised by a teacher, an institution, or a larger social mindset.

This volume also includes “The Tattooed Man,” Kohl’s autobiographical essay about “hopemongering,” which Kohl finds essential for all effective teaching in these difficult times.