Larry Cuban has been a professor of education at
Stanford University since 1981. his students voted him teacher of the
year six times (1984, 1987, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996) In addition, he
is actively working with Bay area teachers and administrators as a
faculty sponsor of the Stanford Teacher Education Program.
Prior to joining the faculty at Stanford, Cuban taught social studies
in inner city high schools for 14 years, and was a district
superintendent for seven years. These 21 years of
“real-world” experience provide Cuban with a unique
perspective as a college of education faculty member.
This perspective has shaped his belief system and his understanding
about the role of teachers in the classroom particularly regarding
technology.
His book, Tinkering Toward Utopia: A Century of Public School
Reform, co-authored with David Tyack was the 1995 Winner of
the Virginia and Warren Stone Prize, awarded annually by Harvard
University Press for a book on Education and Society. Tinkering
Toward Utopia [is a] brief and masterful overview of
one hundred years of school reform in the United States. No one has
done it better!” states Howard Howe, III.
His current research focus in on the history of curriculum, and uses
of technology, educational leadership, school reform and school
effectiveness. Though, I am certain many feel he is apprehensive
about the use of technology in school, which he is, he is correct in
his beliefs. In article after article, interview after interview,
Cuban stresses the need to ask the right questions. “...but we
need to ask the right questions. What are the goals of schooling? Do
we care most about literacy? Social development? Other goals? The
school community needs to reach a consensus, then ask, "Now, how
might the technology help us reach these goals?" Finally, once you
know where you want to go and how technology might help, you need to
look at the structure of the school and how time is used and see what
might need to change in order to meet the goals. The questions really
break down into:
1. What are we after?
2. How can technology help?
3. What do we have to change to make use of it? (Online Interview).
Cuban is the author (co-author) of five books and more than 40
articles. He served as president of AERA, he is a John Hay Witney
Fellow, Yale University, and is a consultant to a number of state and
national agencies.
Selected Publications