This article reflects on my 28-year tenure editing "The Elementary School Journal" ("ESJ"). During my tenure as editor, the educational system was in constant reform, from a Nation at Risk to No Child Left Behind. Considerable evidence suggests that these various reforms, which consumed vast resources, were not successful in raising the achievement of American students on standardized tests. As we move to a new reform era (A Race to the Top), I offer several reasons to explain past failures. Finally I advocate for the conceptualization of reform as a series of small, incremental wins. I believe that reform efforts have failed because they do not respect the wisdom of practice, do not build upon previous research, and ask too much of teachers too quickly. (Contains 1 note.)