Teachers work hard, intensely hard, often too hard. Did they always work so arduously? What was it like to be a teacher in the early days of America? How did classrooms and instruction change between the 17th and the 21st Centuries? What if the answer to these questions was revealed by stress? Stephanie Crandall is a dedicated high school English teacher; and, like her predecessors, she works extremely hard. The good news is that her students benefit; the bad news is that her personal life suffers. However, there is another silver lining: when Stephanie's stress level is high, she receives a gift. Ms. Crandall visits the classrooms of educators from long ago. Sometimes she watches the writers she's introducing to her students. Can Stephanie learn to manage her stress? Does she even want to if it means relinquishing her gift?