I Used to Think???And Now I Think???

Twenty of education’s most influential thought leaders— Rudy Crew, Larry Cuban, Howard Gardner, Jeffrey Henig, Rick Hess, Marshall Smith, to name a few—gather on the pages of this HEPG volume to explain how their thinking about education and education reform has changed since entering the field. Ironically, for most, it hasn’t much. (A more apt title of the book may be I Used to Think, And Still Do—the first line in chapter one reads: “I have been arguing for theory in educational research since 1982.”) Still, among the twenty there are smart perspectives to be found and recommendations for the system to be gleaned. Larry Cuban reminds us that structural reforms are insufficient at altering traditional teaching practices. Jeffrey Henig argues that the markets and government are intricately and intractably intertwined. And Rick Hess, ever contradictory, explains that there are no real experts. Though groundbreaking shifts are absent from its pages, I Used to Think…And Now I Think does offer intelligent reflection and nuances of perspective—a unique window into the experiences that have shaped today’s educational thought leaders. And it’s a light read to boot.