This book examines the idea of 'good education' which is thought to include a scientific and technical component, a mathematical component, a writing component, and an ethical and aesthetic component. Bunn proposes a new three-way intersection in these teachings: the basic sciences and mechanics of levering on a seesaw, the basic formulations of patterning an algebraic equation, and the basic rules for writing a sentence in English. In all three forms of inquiry, balance is the mainstay through which problems in US middle school education are brought together and analyzed.