The timing of reading the end of this book aligned with a recent conversation I had with a friend. They were telling me about a book club they had attended, and the book discussed was The School I Deserve: Six Young Refugees and Their Fight for Equality in America by Jo Napolitano. Their brief summary of the book and retelling of the nature of conversations had at the book club made me think of this part of The Enduring Classroom. Chapter 6 opens telling of the 1968 Mexican American walkout “revolution” in an LA school. There are obvious differences in these two events: timeframe (1960s, 2010s), ethnicities of students (Mexican, Sudanese), citizenship status (American citizens, immigrants) etc. However, the main common thread between them are more notable, particularly when viewed through the lens of Cuban’s book.
Despite all of the drastic changes, not much has really changed because teacher-centered instruction is at the foundation.
These chapters also outline some of the stabilities and changes in schools that took place during the COVID-19 pandemic. The happenings that Cuban details are similar to some of the information covered in the podcast interviews I conducted. Districts provided devices to students without home computers, teachers were responsible for adapting lesson plans for virtual instruction on the fly, teachers taught blended classes with some students learning virtually from home and others in person socially distanced, etc. While it seems like everything changed, again, nothing substantial changed because the dominant teacher-centered instruction remained.
While this seems like a very basic element of the school system, Cuban does make a valid point. The dominant teaching style is the only thing that has yet to change. It does make one wonder what schools would look like if they really, truly changed how teachers taught.
Overall, the book did not seem to follow a logical progression. Cuban had an occasional side bar tangent that did not really connect to the point at hand. The classroom observations were adequately detailed but just felt plopped in the middle of the chapters without much context. The book ended abruptly as well; Cuban is in the middle of a comparison between public schools and charter schools and just ends the discussion with a case study. And than tacks on a less than one full page wrapped up the whole book in the conclusion. Not very well structured, in my opinion.
While some solid points were made, and I did learn some things, Cuban’s overall message did not quite land enough for me. I am not sure the content or claims warranted this type of book. A collection of shorter stand alone essays may have been more appropriate.
In true Goodreads fashion, I always rate books on a five star scale. I give Larry Cuban’s The Enduring Classroom ★★★.
Despite the average rating, I will give this book credit for inspiring some thoughts around my philosophy of educational technology.