Rousmaniere, Kate. Citizen Teacher: The Life and Leadership of Margaret Haley. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2005. 271 pp.

by Nancy Niemi

There are few big names in education. Many people could probably name John Dewey or Maria Montessori, and they would recognize Anne Sullivan as Helen Keller's teacher. A few more might recognize Jonathan Kozol or Ted Sizer. But even among educators, almost no one knows about Margaret Haley, the founder of the first American teachers' union. Margaret Haley not only understood the grand view of schooling in America, but she tried almost single-handedly to will public education into the forefront of American civic consciousness.