THIS BOOK COULD not have been written without the help of many people. I first want to thank the several hundred people, only some of whom are named in the book, that took the time to answer my questions—often in interviews that took an hour or more. Particular thanks go to the unnamed education leaders of the three school systems I profile in Chapter 2 for their courage and honesty—you know who you are. I am also grateful to the teachers, students, and administrators named in Chapter 6 for allowing me to share their important work.
I especially want to thank several people who helped in invaluable ways. Kirsten Olson—critic, friend, and thought-partner—planted a seed for the idea of this book and read and commented on drafts of every chapter. I am very grateful to Esmond Harmsworth, my literary agent, and to Joanne Wykoff, who works with Esmond at Zachary Shuster Harmsworth. Esmond was an early believer in the book, and both he and Joanne gave me invaluable assistance in the development of the book proposal and critiqued drafts of chapters as I produced them. Particular thanks also go to Amanda Moon, my editor at Basic Books, who did a wonderful job of pushing me to better explain my thinking; to Whitney Casser, her able assistant, who managed all the moving parts of this project; and to Christine Arden, for her fine work copyediting the manuscript. Two others who helped me think through some of the ideas in the book and read very early drafts of the initial chapter are Dwight Gertz and Stan Sharenson. Richard Hersh was also a valuable thought-partner. Ken Kay, president of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, was enormously helpful in contacting key individuals for interviews, as were Jean Johnson and Ruth Wooden at the Public Agenda Foundation. I also want to acknowledge my collegues at the Change Leadership Group: Bob Kegan, Lisa Lahey, Deborah Helsing, Richard Lemons, and Kati Livingston; my collegues at the Small Schools Project: Rick Lear, Jude Garnier, Harriette Rasmussen, and Kyle Miller; and Steve Seleznow at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Our regular meetings and ongoing work together have been an invaluable source of new ideas and constructive criticism.
Finally, I thank my wife PJ Blankenhorn, who has been my first reader, strongest supporter, and best friend. More than two years ago, she handed me Thomas Friedman’s The World Is Flat and told me that I had to read it—and she was right, as usual. Since then, PJ has put up with many weekends that were taken up with my research and work on the manuscript, as well as a few postponed or cancelled vacations, without complaint. Most important, she has helped me clarify key ideas and find better ways of expressing them. It is she to whom this book is dedicated.