I was very sad to learn, via a note posted on Facebook by Gene V. Glass that David C. Berliner has died.

David was one of the most honored research psychologists in the nation. You can open his resume online and see the many times he has received awards or served in prestigious positions. I won’t recite his bio.

Instead I want to praise him as a wise and insightful friend. I learned from him and was very happy that we forged a strong bond in the past few years.

David was an acerbic critic of the past two+ decades of what was called “education reform.” David laughed at the nonsensical but heavily funded plans to “reform” education by imposing behaviorist strategies on teachers, as if they were robots or simpletons.

David had no patience with the shallow critics of America’s public schools. He respected the nation’s teachers and understood as few of the critics did, just how valuable and under-appreciated they were.

But he did have patience with me. He appreciated my change of views and offered encouragement. Knowing that he had my back made me fearless.

I will miss my friend. So will everyone else who cares about the future of American education, not as a business venture, but as our most important civic responsibility. .