In the context of today's turbulent university life, public education debates, and highly charged political milieu, the phrase "middle school teacher education" might be said to describe a less-than-quiet target of opportunity for a whole host of groups who despise the values, meanings, and the central goals of the middle school movement and anyone associated with it. Furthermore, high ranking officials of the government accused traditional teacher education programs for their failure to produce highly qualified teachers that the "No Child Left Behind Act" requires. In this article, the author affirms that the so-called failure of school reform is the fault, not primarily of teachers and principals, nor a socialist system, or even education professors, but of those politicians, bureaucrats, and corporate CEOs who lack the will to provide the leadership and resources required for permanent improvement.