ABSTRACT
We realized early on that real school reform and the movement for small and personalized schools could not succeed unless we confronted Ownership Society culture and politics. is was a di cult course for us and many others to take, not only because of the vindictive nature of the system of patronage that rewards, through its control over grants and contracts, obedience, loyalty, and acquiescence but because many of our colleagues are still persuaded by the rhetoric and promises of No Child Le Behind (NCLB), and we ran the risk of political isolation in a big city that o en feels like a small town.
