These essays face squarely the problems of teachers who do not want to teach, and of students who do not want to learn, of racism and sexism in the classroom, and of the gift of freedom that is, for Hooks, the teacher's most important goal. Raising many concerns central to the field of critical pedagogy, Hooks connects them to feminist thought, an area that continues to be underrepresented in work on teaching. At the same time, she also reshapes feminist thinking, bringing to it a vigorous engagement with race and class.