The author, a former middle school teacher and now an associate professor at The University of Minnesota, was asked to write an essay for the inaugural issue of this journal that: (1) advanced the call for a more diverse dialogue in the field of middle grades education; and (2) addressed the question, "Why do we need more provocative debate in the field of middle grades education?" The author begins by painting a brief contextual picture of educational policy today. He then discusses an opportunity the middle grades movement missed over the past 20 years. The author also discusses some of the more recent research on the theoretical foundation of the middle grades movement (e.g., Brown & Saltman, 2005; Lee & Vagle, 2010; Lesko, 2001, Vagle, 2012).