After almost 5 decades of working in and around public schools, Larry Cuban invites us to think along with him about why it is so hard to get good schools. He offers these reflections because his contact with tens of thousands of public school participants--teachers, policymakers, researchers, parents, and students--has convinced him that "I am not alone in coping with these thorny dilemmas...as each of us muddles toward the kinds of 'good' schooling that we seek for children." Providing a strong counter voice to today's standards-based reform, "Why Is It So Hard to Get Good Schools?:

Larry Cuban is Professor Emeritus of Education at Stanford University. In addition to How Teachers Taught, his books include Teachers and Machines, Frogs into Princes: Writings on School Reform, Why Is It So Hard to Get Good Schools? and How Can I Fix It? Finding Solutions and Managing Dilemmas.