Tyack And Cuban Summary

EDF 6607 – Education in America

Dr. Scheirer

Analysis of Tyack and Cuban

Summer Anderson

1) In their book, Tyack and Cuban write on page 6, “We hope that this book, which takes a century as its time span, will contribute to the broader conversation about education reform today, for improving public schools is everybody’s business.” Throughout the text Tyack and Cuban explore different reforms for education by discussing the context of the reforms and the political motivations that brought about the reforms. The authors also discuss the ramifications, both good and bad, of different reforms, which allows the reader to conclude that reforms have been happening for a long time, and not all reforms have had lasting effects. The authors

One of the best pieces of advice I received when beginning my teaching career was take it and make it your own. What works for one teacher/school/district will not work in the exact same manner for another teacher/school/district. When teachers/schools/districts are allowed to adapt reforms to meet the needs of their students is when the reforms will be most effective. By demanding that all teachers/schools/districts implement the reform in the exact same manner, students are cheated out of getting what they need. Instead of students receiving what is best for them, individually, everyone receives what is acceptable for most students. This idea is reflected in the text. “Such a technocratic and top-down approach, however, slights the many ways in which schools shape reforms and teachers employ their “wisdom m of practice” to produce pedagogical hybrids.” (p.

“Some who promised Nirvana have been hucksters eager to sell their products. Others have been activists convinced of the need for fundamental change. A few have been politicians driven by the deadlines imposed by elections. But rarely have start-from-scratch reformers with their prefabricated innovations really understood the tenacity of the grammar of schooling or the need to adapt change to local knowledge and needs.” (p. 132). Tyack and Cuban wrote about having high goals as an essential part of any reform, but also having realistic high goals is essential. As observed in the year 2000, none of the ambitious goals of America 2000 were actually met, nor were all of the ambitious goals of No Child Left Behind met in 2014. Veteran teachers eventually become numb to the numerous reforms thrown at them, especially if the teacher is defeated before they even start with unrealistic