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Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice
Primary focus: Education
Many years ago, I had met with a group of Stanford University graduate students then working on their joint Masters in Business Administration (MBA) and education. Some had taught for a few years through Teach for America and were eager Continue reading
When I served as a superintendent, I fired a teacher for giving an A to every student he taught. George D. was a high school social studies teacher in Arlington (VA) when I led the district (1974-1981). In the Fall Continue reading
Public schools have been drafted again and again to fight national problems (e.,g., racial segregation, teenage pregnancy, cigarette smoking, drinking alcohol, and drug use). Americans believe that schools must be part of any solution to social problems. This idea is Continue reading
I came to Stanford University in 1981. After being in the Graduate School of Education for five years, teaching four courses each year, advising about 20 students annually, and doing research on the history of classroom teaching and technology use Continue reading
The following article appeared in The New York Times, June 8, 2026. Mr. Polakow-Suransky is President of the Bank Street College of Education in New York City Last year, I visited a seventh-grade math classroom in a public school in Continue reading
Did you ever remember a melody and could hum it but cannot, for the life of you, recall the words? That happens a lot to me. I thought of that as I read more and more about “soft skills” as Continue reading
I doubt if I am the only one who gets fatigued from the constant use of the phrase “magic bullet” in school reform. Most often the words disparagingly describe reforms that once pumped up hopes for solving serious school problems Continue reading
For those true believers and wanna-be school reformers enamored with the social-emotional learning (SEL) that students must learn if they are to be “successful” in an information-driven economy and social-media-ridden daily life, take a brief look at the self-esteem movement Continue reading
After teaching high school social studies for fourteen years, I wanted to be an urban superintendent. To do that, I had to get a doctorate. Accepted at Stanford University as a middle-aged graduate student, I arrived in 1972 with family in tow. The two years I spent at Stanford turned into a powerful intellectual experience. Continue reading
If you have ever taught, your classroom is like a second home. As a result, you decorate it to express yourself, make it livable for students for an hour or all day, and even, if so inclined, inject a bit Continue reading
