Drawing on interviews with former education ministers and senior policy advisers from eight countries, this paper argues that the central obstacle to education transformation is not a lack of evidence or professional will — it is a structural misalignment between the long timeframes required for genuine reform and the short-term incentives of political life. Hannon and Mackay frame the challenge as a contest between two paradigms: a 20th-century model built on economic sorting and academic delivery, and an emerging 21st-century model oriented toward human flourishing, learner agency and real-world capability. Drawing lessons from the climate movement, the paper calls for a new politics built on broad coalitions, smarter public narratives, trusted convenor roles and the active civic engagement of educators themselves.