About "Public School Teachers Using Machines in the Next Decade" by Larry Cuban

The article “Public School Teachers Using Machines in the Next Decade” by Larry Cuban addresses how schools will be using technology in the classroom in ten years. He gives three possible scenarios that can occur. He believes the elementary schools will change more than the secondary schools. The different possibilities are “The Technophile’s Scenario,” “The Preservationist’s Scenario,” and “The Cautious Optimist’s Scenario.” The first scenario is where there are plenty of computers, software, and equipment for classrooms and the teacher is more of a coach or facilitator. The second is where technology is put in place, but does not change the teacher’s role. The third scenario is where technology in the schools will slowly change the role of the teacher and their methods.

Of these three Cuban thinks “The Technophile’s Scenario” is the least likely to take place. His reasoning for this is that “technophiles often underestimate the influence of the age-graded school organization in shaping teachers’ workplace routines” and “they often minimize the power of social beliefs that have endured for centuries and perform important functions in society.” He claims it will be difficult to change the thinking of the teachers on how schools are to be operated. He also thinks that during the 1960s and 1970s the administrators making decisions have been cautious when it comes to different types of technologies.

Cuban believes the other two possibilities are more likely to happen, but that they are very different. Because elementary and secondary schools are very different, the elementary school is more likely to be like the cautious optimist’s scenario and the high school like the preservationist’s scenario. He claims this is because in the elementary school teachers are with their students all day and in the high school teachers are with their students for about fifty minutes a day.