The past two decades have proven that bold, single-factor reform ideas have little power to change the face of education. Pundits and policymakers would have schools and school systems make grand changes to accommodate the reform idea du jour--and then profess the incompetence of schools and teachers when those changes prove less than effective. What is needed now is something completely different. The boldest idea now needed in education is an end to bold ideas in education. This article opines that schools should get a reprieve from political, corporate, and philanthropic activists who promote cliche-driven reforms, which they justify by exaggerating educational failure.