"We see how an authentic teacher builds a caring, loving community of learners. Every page, every incident and observation Birdsey relates, is a gentle but firm repudiation of technocratic schooling . . . A Room for Learning shows exactly what 'something closer to the heart' looks like in education. Birdsey sees each of his students as whole persons, with their own challenges, inclinations, learning styles, quirks and insecurities. Most of them . . . are afraid of ridicule and rejection, suspicious of adults who judge them and peers who band together in cliques to exercise power. They are reluctant to open themselves to others, to test their own limits or pursue their deepest dreams. Birdsey tells how he created a safe, nurturing space in which these young teens could find and test their best, authentic selves . . . Ultimately, what really matters to Birdsey and his students is a community where everyone feels cared for, a community rooted in love. This . . . is what people are for."—Ron Miller, author of What Are Schools For?, Vermont Commons

"Birkerts' argument is persuasive, not only in its content but in its manner. His writing, which questions and muses at the leisurely pace of human speech, and which evinces both intelligence and feeling, reveals a complex individual personality, providing that vertical kind of connectedness that a thousand e-mail messages cannot."—San Francisco Chronicle

"Brad Cohen's story is a triumph of hope, determination, will, and relentless good humor. His approach to living with Tourette syndrome proves how much is possible when you expect the best of everyone, especially yourself.”—Peter J. Hollenbeck, Ph.D., Professor and Associate Head of Biological Sciences, Purdue University

"Carefully considered treatment of a troubling subject that will be particularly useful to educators and policymakers."—Kirkus Reviews