I Used to Think...And Now I Think

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: June 2011
ISBN-13: 978-1-934742-85-3
Price: $29.00

2011 Notable Education Book, American School Board Journal

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.

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

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About the Editor

Richard F. Elmore is the Gregory R. Anrig Professor of Educational Leadership at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE), where he is faculty cochair of the Doctorate in Education Leadership Program. Prior to joining the faculty at HGSE, he taught in the College of Education at Michigan State University and in the Graduate School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington. He is a member of the National Academy of Education and a past president of the Association for Public Policy and Management, the national organization representing graduate programs in public policy and management. He has held positions in the federal government as a legislative liaison with the U.S. Congress on education policy issues and is currently director of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education. Elmore’s ongoing research and clinical work focuses on building capacity for instructional improvement in low-performing schools. He spends at least a day a week in schools, working with teachers and administrators on instructional improvement. He is coauthor of Instructional Rounds in Education: A Network Approach to Improving Teaching and Learning (Harvard Education Press, 2009) and author of School Reform from the Inside Out: Policy, Practice, and Performance (Harvard Education Press, 2004).