There are good reasons to press President Obama and his education advisors right now to both rethink the direction of educational reform as well as to reignite the national conversation regarding school change. A second-term president faces a moment where it's natural to analyze past practices and decide to either "stay the course or to change directions." While the dialogue concerning the course of school change will always and necessarily be lively and contested, today the old orthodoxy is rapidly dying, and every candid observer who considers the evidence urges reconsideration. In this article, Bill Ayers, observes that reconstituted schools, school closings and state take-overs, charters and vouchers, alternative routes and enhanced standards--not one of these has proven to be the quick fix or miracle cure that various advocates promised. The article encourages this second term president to "get real, and talk about change." Presented are three proposals to create a force for change that are believable: (1) Refuse to tie reforms or to reward or punish teachers, students, schools, or districts based on the results of high stakes standardized tests; (2) Oppose privatization; and (3) Support the independent voice of teachers. Some concluding thoughts presented are these: (1) There is no shame in having taken risks and fallen short; and (2) Now is a time to get real, to learn from and admit the failed approaches to reform, and (3) to recommit to the fundamental principles of education in and for democracy.