Educational reform is a complex issue; it's not enough, Wood proclaims, to install metal detectors in the schools and insist on higher scores on standardized tests. Real reform has to take into account the fact that school schedules and curricula haven't changed much since the early 1900s. Wood, a school principal, former education professor, and author of 'Schools That Work' (1992), advocates reforming schools so that they promote connections between students and teachers and the community. He provides general guidelines to make better use of the 5,000 hours the average U.S. youth spends in high school, gives detailed accounts of how that time is currently spent, and suggests practical ways to improve education. The suggestions include reducing class sizes, reducing the numbers of classes per day, and increasing student involvement in selecting courses of study. The ideas aren't new, but the fact that Wood has actually executed the reforms at his own school--Federal Hocking High School in Stewart, Ohio--and got favorable results lends credence to his ideas.