The passing of Dr. David C. Berliner, Professor Emeritus at Arizona State University and member of the National Academy of Education, in September 2025, reverberated across the educational landscape. To so many who knew him or were influenced by him, his passing marked the loss of one of the most vocal, passionate defenders of public education we have seen. The goals of this essay are to reopen and reflect on one of Berliner’s most cited contributions to the field and to pay homage to the man, the scholar, the mentor, and friend.
Nichols et al. (Thu,) studied this question.