Posted by: Larry Cuban Posted on: May 17, 2001 at 9:44 AM Message: The comments I have read about the keynote and on teacher leadership and sustainability and funding are both thoughtful and provocative. There is a danger, however, that we will talk past one another, particularly for those folks who have worked for a number of years in projects. The generic commitment to build norms that foster collaboration and learning is strong. Who would dispute such a commitment? Although those who push for such norms seldom point out that projects that have developed such cultures often reside in larger organizations where the norms are hostile to such a learning climate. The belief that projects seeking sustainability should evolve--who would argue against that? Although those who argue for the importance of evolution seldom specify precisely what should continue and what should be abandoned. Beyond a culture of learning and the importance of evolution in a project are key issues that have to be considered. For example, size of district, whether the district is urban/suburban/rural, the stability in leadership at the top and within schools, and broad- or narrow-based coalition of support for project's goals--just to identify a few such issues--go beyond the safe statements of the importance of a culture of learning or that projects should evolve.These are issues with practical consequences that have to be considered for each project nested within the unique features of a particular district. Balancing generic advice with an awareness of many contextual factors is tough to do. The danger in focusing too much on contexts is that everything seems unique when there are clearly common factors that cross projects (e.g.,leadership, access to resources, professional development). The danger in giving generic advice for all projects is that such advice commonly overlooks contextual details that matter to the survival of the effort. So I believe we have to walk a difficult tightrope in these exchanges.