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I Used to Think . . . And Now I Think . . . Twenty Leading Educators Reflect on the Work of School Reform

Edited by Richard F. Elmore
paper, 200 Pages
Pub. Date: Jun 2011
ISBN-13: 978-1-934742-85-3
Price: $21.95

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cloth, 200 Pages
Pub. Date: Jun 2011
ISBN-13: 978-1-934742-86-0
Price: $39.95

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This book’s title, I Used to Think . . . And Now I Think . . ., is borrowed from an exercise often used at the end of teacher professional development sessions, in which participants write down how what they’ve learned has changed their thinking. The resulting essays model the ongoing process of reflection and growth among those deeply committed to this work.

Notable Education Book of 2011, American School Board Journal

Praise

I used to think that our best education researchers, policy analysts, policy makers, and practitioners were too busy with their own work to indulge in honest and reflective reconsideration of their positions and opinions. And now I think, thanks to this extraordinary volume, that our field is blessed with scholars and educators whose honesty, modesty, and capacity for self-correction establish ever stronger foundations for optimism about the future of our work and its relevance to the future of our schools.       — Michael J. Feuer, dean, Graduate School of Education and Human Development, George Washington University
Reflection and learning from experience can change the ways educators think in real time about how to improve the work of school reform. A must-read for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers.       — Thomas W. Payzant, professor of practice, Harvard Graduate School of Education

About the Editor

Richard F. Elmore is the Gregory R. Anrig Professor of Educational Leadership at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Comments

I used to be a stand​ards guy; now I'm a ​curriculum guy. Sure​, good standards and​ measures help, but ​educational success ​ comes down to engag​ing kids about thing​s that they and soci​ety believe are impo​rtant. That requires​ great teachers and ​great curricula. Get​ting in the way of b​oth is the factory m​odel design that pre​dominates our high s​chools and even midd​le schools. To put i​t bluntly, the facto​ry model has never b​enefited half the ki​ds, and trying to pe​rfect it is a waste ​of time and resource​s. Tomorrow's challe​nge will be developi​ng variations of ble​nded classroom-onlin​e curricula and desi​gning schools where ​kids remain with a s​mall group of teache​rs long enough to ge​t something done (li​ke interscholastic s​ports teams do).​

— Barry Stern

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