The Fire Within

Violence-ridden Church Junior High School is the setting for a hard look into the world of "education," a world filled with hatred and deception, boredom and indoctrination, generously financed by government decree.

The central character is Anne Harte, a white do-gooder with a dream, a dream she carries into an inner-city black school where she must confront the violence and choose between the black man she loves and the black students she teaches. An idealist, Anne teaches by igniting the fire within for knowledge. Her commitment to the fire within places her in direct conflict with the system, especially Loretta Daniels, her principal.

What results is a fast-paced look at "education." Caught up in the conflict are the other teachers and the real victims the students.

The current edition of The Fire Within is a revision of the 1981 nationally acclaimed novel that had Americca talking. David who taught for 14 years is the author of four books on education. Two of them, Teacher of the Year and The Fire Within, made university reading lists.