The long-anticipated death of print has two new late-September heralds: First, the imminent demise of the New York Sun, which may fold this week unless a deep-pocketed sponsor, un-scarred by market woes, leaps into the newsprint fray. And the ongoing contraction of education reportingat the Times continues, with dwindling ranks of education writers -- exeunt, Sam Freeman, Will Okun -- and the disappearance of the Education column.

For a dose of first-person prose by six teachers wrestling with issues of culture, instruction, and the life of the classroom, visit this Times blog. It's not hard news -- but the voices are as real as they get, and reveal much about the challenges and occasional successes inside the nation's schools.