Despite the norms of privacy that pervade teacher culture and the assumptions of behind-closed-doors independence, teachers actually "need" their colleagues, whether they like it--and them--or not. Teachers are inherently dependent on one another since no one of them alone constitutes their students' education. Students move from teacher to…

The different ways of creating space for teaching writing and for test preparation as well the tension a teacher undergoes of implementing a writing workshop approach within a school context focused on high-test scores are described. The findings suggest maintaining teacher autonomy and surviving the high demands imposed upon teachers.