Chapter 4: Richard E. Gross: Addressing Controversial Issues in the Classroom¹

Richard E. Gross (1921-2004) was a big man with a big personality and presence. Many of his former students at Stanford University (where he was a professor of social studies education from 1955 to 1990) speak of him in superlatives, noting that he loved teaching, helped them make significant connections within the field of the social studies, and supported those who aspired to make a significant contribution to the field. During his career, the man who became well known as “Mr. Social Studies,” had 100 doctoral students and approximately 700 masters’ students. Robinson and Nelson (2007) assert that “These doctoral and masters’ students, ultimately spread across the United States and around the world, positioning themselves in universities, state departments of education, and schools where they helped shape the development of history and social studies curriculum and instruction, frequently in significant ways” (pp. 221-222).