The article deals with the work of Eduard Dmitrievich Dneprov who initiated the process of overcoming the crisis in the Russian school in the mid-1980s. The article represents the stages of the reformer’s life and shows his attitude to pedagogy and education: constructive criticism and the appeal to strengthen the standards and creativity in the pedagogical science, the search for new pedagogic thinking and the mechanisms for restructuring of secondary education, faith in teachers, etc.