Jonathan Kozol is a teacher, activist, and author of numerous books discussing the American education system from a progressive left perspective. Kozol graduated from Harvard in 1958, and later became a teacher in the Boston Public Schools system. He received a National Book Award in 1968 for his book Death at an Early Age and a Puffin/Nation Prize for Creative Citizenship in 2005 for his socially responsible work that challenges the status quo in American public education.

The letters that comprise Letters to a Young Teacher are expanded versions of actual letters that Kozol wrote to a new teacher who was reaching out for advice about real concerns about the challenges she faces in the classroom. This book is an opportunity for Kozol to distill his decades of experience as a teacher and activist into one practical volume.