Why Teach? Fourth-year stop-gap teacher William Able has dreams to chase and a hometown to leave. In the aftermath of a favorite student's death, with the high school's administration banning books and the richest rewards of an American life bestowed on those pursuing less noble careers, William is forced to wonder: if people like him keep leaving, who will teach the children?

In a world where the test scores can measure everything but what matters most, Why Teach? is a master class on why teaching matters, why reading matters, and what we risk losing when we pursue paths leading us away from our best selves.