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| Posted On 01-28-2012 4:11 PM |
| Your Name | : Gerald Stephens | | Email Address | : gstephens@hoover.k12.al.us | | Organization | : Bumpus Middle School | | Location | : Birmingham, AL | | How did you find our site? | : Attended Alfie Kohn presentation |
| Comment | : Mr. Kohn, wonderful presentation today in Birmingham, AL. New doors of thought and practice now opened to me. To anyone looking on, I unreservedly recommend Alfie Kohn as a presenter. |
| Posted On 01-25-2012 12:38 PM |
| Your Name | : Nicola Currie | | Email Address | : nmcurrie@hotmail.com | | Organization | : University | | Location | : Glasgow, Scotland | | How did you find our site? | : By reading Punished By Rewards |
| Comment | : I am a primary teaching student who has just finished reading Punished by Rewards. I feel a bit like I did the day I found out Santa wasn't real. Not entirely surprised or upset, but quite empty nonetheless. It makes sense, Mr Kohn, your ideas on punishing by rewards and I am very, very grateful for reading your book. But I am changed and I have to spend the next wee while working out what that change will mean practically. I look forward to the thought process and the journey! Thank you! |
| Posted On 01-20-2012 10:07 AM |
| Your Name | : Richard Sloan | | Email Address | : rasloan@me.com | | Location | : Lincolnwood, IL | | How did you find our site? | : teachers.net |
| Comment | : I just read your piece on political correctness. Thank you for writing it. You are certainly correct in labeling the "PC" epithet as a means of demeaning and discouraging questions about the social/political order. One of the problems that has plagued political and social discourse in this country for as long as I can remember (and no doubt, longer still,) is that we often avoid debate at the level of substance, preferring instead to engage in a war of bumper sticker slogans. The conservatives have always been quicker and better at labeling issues in a way that aids their side in these "debates," as can be seen in "pro-life" and "moral majority." After you come up with a label like that, what else do you need to say? And how do you make your principled argument against the substance of "pro-life" heard in the storm of emotional response to the label? [...] The debate about public education is, if possible, even more distressing. Words like "accountability" and "value added," to name just two, are thrown around with abandon, but nobody in the corporate ed reform camp, from Arne Duncan on down, ever stops to ponder what these business school terms mean in the world of education. [...] The narrowing of k-12 curricula in response to the pressure to win the NCLB game is causing our schools to produce a generation of people who have learned very little outside of the math and language arts instruction that is largely focused on how to game the tests. They haven't learned the signal skill of a good education -- how to ask questions. [...]
[edited for length] |
| Posted On 01-16-2012 3:23 AM |
| Your Name | : Dr Florentina Taylor | | Organization | : Department of Education, University of York, UK | | How did you find our site? | : literature searches on pupil motivation |
| Comment | : Just got another one of your books in the post and felt an irresistible urge to THANK YOU for everything you have written. The world is a better place, and there is still hope for the younger generation, because of people like you. |
| Posted On 01-15-2012 7:14 AM |
| Your Name | : steve hein | | Email Address | : eqi.org at gmx.com | | Organization | : eqi.org |
| Comment | : i have created a page on alfie
www.eqi.org/kohn.htm
many of our ideas are very similar, so if u like alfie's ideas, you might like mine |
| Posted On 01-14-2012 3:45 PM |
| Your Name | : Tracy | | Email Address | : tracy@shanahoe.com | | Location | : Sydney, Australia | | How did you find our site? | : Searching for information on non-competitive play |
| Comment | : I cannot find the words to express how relieved I am to find a site like this and to read so many comments from people who can see the benefit of removing competition from the lives of our children. I am a mother of three young children and have studied and worked in education. For years i have had this uncomfortable feeling about the way we teach our children and the way we encourage them to play and interact. I have felt like I am pushing against a mountain. I was starting to feel like I was the only person who thought the current system is flawed and, to my mind, insanity. I started to avoid parties because I could not bear another round of musical chairs and sad little faces. Thank you Alfie Kohn. |
| Posted On 01-14-2012 2:33 PM |
| Your Name | : Chelsea | | Email Address | : chelseawainright@hotmail.com | | Location | : Ontario, Canada | | How did you find our site? | : google |
| Comment | : Great site. I came across it on Google. I have a 7-year-old son and every night he is in tears over his homework and my husband and I are ready to pull our hair out. We live in a neighbourhood where many parents are obsessed with standardized testing scores and the teachers have followed suit. My son's teacher tells me that according to the Ontario Ministry of Education, they are allowed to assign 20 minutes of homework per night for 7 year olds but it's never 20 minutes. It takes time for us to explain the lesson, provide guidance and then ensure that it gets done. My son's teacher assigns it every single night including Friday and it's due the next day. If it's not done, she puts a circle around it in red marker to "chastise" the parents. I've asked her about the value and she always just hides behind academic gobbledygook and says that she's "within the ministry guidelines" which is just so depressing and soul-sucking. There's nothing I can do about it but I loved reading your articles on homework as they made me feel a bit better about my instincts that it was worthless. |
| Posted On 01-14-2012 8:09 AM |
| Your Name | : Brandy | | Email Address | : brandyantor@hotmail.com | | Organization | : stay at home mom | | Location | : USA | | How did you find our site? | : Unconditional Parenting book |
| Comment | : While searching for books with answers to my discipline issues, I came across the attractive title UNCONDITIONAL PARENTING. The title grabbed my attention and seemed consistent with my mission. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for writing this book and articulating what I only could feel on a visceral, gut level. The last few months of my son "being four" have been fraught with negativity, hurt feelings and exhaustion on both our accounts. Though I have adopted an attachment parenting approach, I somehow wasn't prepared for him growing up a bit; so taken off-guard was I that I began reacting. So much of how I handled conflicts with my son sickened me, but I did it anyway because I had never heard otherwise. I get a lot of well-meaning advice from people who truly care enough to tell me that I'm doing things "wrong", and somehow I began to believe them. As a rebel at heart, I felt defeat and conformity were going to do me in and I would just be like every other mom. It occured to me that the disciplinary measures, the time-outs with a confused hug afterward, the spankings, the consistency approach, that was all a part of being a mom and nobody liked it but it was a maturity thing and sometimes you just do things you don't want to do as a grown up with kids. I cannot express enough how your book has allowed me to take a deep breath once again. My next thought is "WHY THE H-E-double bendy straw IS THIS NOT IN EVERY PARENTING MAGAZINE AND EVERY DOCTORS OFFICE PAMPHLET IN THE FREE WORLD???". I happened upon it by chance or divine intervention and will always feel relief that it happened before I completely lost my sense of rebellion. What can I do to help other parents get this information? It isn't for the faint of heart or the rigid by any means, only for those with an awareness that things could be better.
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| Posted On 01-14-2012 12:00 AM |
| Your Name | : Carol Walker | | Email Address | : carolwalker@onelittleschool.com | | Organization | : The Little School | | Location | : San Diego | | How did you find our site? | : bookmarks :) |
| Comment | : I heard you speak last night at USD; just wanted to say thank you. You said it all so simply and yet passionately; I hope EVERYONE heard you. Happy to see so many public schoolteachers attending, and parents as well. I do what I can in my tiny bit of the world, but you made me realize I need to advocate even more...and it IS overwhelming!
Thank you for the work you do on behalf of children and the world. Still can't figure out how you condensed all that information in to a couple of humorous hours...Good Job!!!(hahaha) |
| Posted On 01-12-2012 9:24 AM |
| Your Name | : Diana |
| Comment | : I am reading your book, The Schools Our Children Deserve. I wholeheartedly agree!!!! I am homeschooling my girls, because I cannot stomach the way they treat education in the public schools and cannot afford to send them to private school. I found out about all you are saying the hard way. For some dumb reason, I had the notion that schools were supposed to teach kids. Wow was I wrong! All they seemed to do was judge my kids on what I was teaching them at home. I was tired of being the tyrant, making my kids do meaningless work and forcing them to endure "factory-style education." [...] Why is it you don't poke at liberals for their part in these "no child left behind" sort of failures? You keep poking at far right extremists, but liberals are just as guilty, if not more-so for the mess we are in. [...] Thank you for your book. It took me too long to pick it up and read it. I have owned it for 10 years. I've been too busy trying to facilitate learning (or create an environment for learning) for my kids I guess. God bless!
[edited for length] |
| Posted On 01-12-2012 12:03 AM |
| Your Name | : Lora Head | | Email Address | : loradionne68@yahoo.com | | Organization | : Colegio Americano de Torreon | | Location | : Torreon, Coahuila, MX | | How did you find our site? | : I've been reading Kohn's work for a while now...and naturally, googled him |
| Comment | : Ran across this article today in a Facebook post and am curious on Kohn's take on this commentary. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/12/opinion/kristof-the-value-of-teachers.html?_r=1 I've drastically changed my grade 12 English course in part because of the realizations I've made in reading _Feel Bad Education_ and _What Does it Mean to be Well Educated_ . Lately I feel like I'm constantly looking for the loopholes that will allow me to provide real learning in my classroom, while still meeting the demands of an increasingly exigent administration. Thanks to Kohn's work, I find there is still energy after 20 years of teaching well, but not THAT well, to search for and use those loop holes. Thanks for the continued inspiration. (My students have enjoyed reading his work, too, and the reading has given them a new found freedom with at least one instructor, in a positive way. I couldn't be more tickled to be talking to them about education. Today, one student said to us (me and his classmates), "This reading has been good because the only thing we've done for the last 14 years is education, but no one ever really talks to us about it." Thanks again. LD |
| Posted On 12-31-2011 4:46 AM |
| Your Name | : Eileen W. | | Email Address | : eileenvideo@yahoo.com | | Organization | : retired educator | | Location | : Massachusetts | | How did you find our site? | : google after seeing you on tv |
| Comment | : Hurrah for the work you do. I sure hope Massachusetts gets rid of MCAS. It is expensive, time wasting, and definitely harmful. Years ago, former Governor Weld suggested denying driviers license to students who would fail standardized test. Thank God no one has implemented that idiotic idea. One of the perks of retirement for me is not having to witness kids who are good workers and very capable law-abiding drivers leave high school because of MCAS. Meanwhile, Massachusetts can claim that scores are going up. USA has the potential to have good schools. But they have to get out of the testing frenzy. Let colleges and employers test before accepting or hiring. Meanwhile, let the teachers teach. |
| Posted On 12-30-2011 3:19 AM |
| Your Name | : Mark J. Lovas | | Email Address | : mlovas@hotmail.com | | Organization | : unemployed | | Location | : currently El Paso, Texas--but I hate it here | | How did you find our site? | : reference to book on competition in Ben Ze\'Ev Emotion Book |
| Comment | : Man! I don't have time to read your stuff. But I used to be a high school teacher in Eastern Europe in a so-called "American "International School. And just a brief glance at what you are saying sounds like a description of everything that was wrong with the school: Overemphasis upon rewards and punishments---at every possible level. A truly offensive and insensitive and intrusive overall culture that disrespected both teachers and students. It sounds to me that, broadly speaking, you are moving in the right direction! Maybe someday, I'll manage to read one of your books. But, in the meantime, I'll just stop and say: Bravo! |
| Posted On 12-28-2011 9:36 PM |
| Your Name | : Mukmak | | Email Address | : runescapewarofdragons@gmail.com | | Location | : Boston | | How did you find our site? | : read |
| Comment | : Hello, I was wondering if I could find an answer here to a question that I had on structural competition. It is one thing to say that is is harmful, and one can also say that it is not necessary for humanity. However, there are some situations where I do not see an easy way to avoid it. I am thinking of competition for college slots and jobs. In both these cases, there are a limited number of positions available, and mutually exclusive goal attainment is present; in order for Joe to get a job, Bob must have worse credentials than Joe. Is there away to avoid this competitive situation? I have thought for a bit on this, and I see no easy answer. |
| Posted On 12-20-2011 5:27 AM |
| Your Name | : Christina Emrick | | Location | : Minnesota | | How did you find our site? | : searched |
| Comment | : Your books have been eye opening and very valuable to me and my family. Thank You Alfie Kohn. |
| Posted On 12-01-2011 12:01 AM |
| Your Name | : Pamela Beere Briggs | | Email Address | : pbeerebriggs@gmail.com | | Location | : Los Angeles | | How did you find our site? | : The Homework Myth |
| Comment | : I just referred to my copy of "The Homework Myth" for the umpteenth time, not just to look up a golden morsel of information, but for a steady dose of affirmation. This book helped give us the courage to "skip middle school" and home school our daughter for two years during 7th and 8th grade. During that time, we had no homework and no tests. Every evening there was time for reading, talking and playing. Not only did our daughter rediscover her love of learning, she is healthy and happy, and thriving in a traditional high school this year. I've written a book about our adventure which I hope will be published soon: TWO IN THE MIDDLE: Living, Loving & Learning in Middle School & Middle Age. |
| Posted On 11-29-2011 9:29 AM |
| Your Name | : Judith Carlisle | | Email Address | : jcarl1099@aol.com | | Organization | : Navy | | Location | : Virginia/DC/Maryland | | How did you find our site? | : googled it |
| Comment | : Hope I get to hear you again when you come back to Virginia! Thanks for all you do.
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| Posted On 11-18-2011 7:16 PM |
| Your Name | : James Sheldon | | Email Address | : queerpedagogue@gmail.com | | Organization | : San Francisco State University | | Location | : San Francisco, CA |
| Comment | : I'm working on creating a collaborative study group for Kohn's book Beyond Discipline through the free Peer-to-Peer University and wanted to invite anyone interested to join us: http://p2pu.org/en/groups/beyond-discipline-from-compliance-to-community-study-group/ We'll be reading through the book chapter by chapter and sharing our thoughts. |
| Posted On 11-17-2011 12:44 PM |
| Your Name | : A DeCiantis | | Email Address | : abr2105@columbia.edu | | Organization | : stay-at-home mom | | Location | : Virginia |
| Comment | : As a teacher, I had read several of your books/articles and once about ten years ago heard you speak in Rochester, NY. I have long respected your work. Now, as the parent of a preschooler and toddler, I am thrilled to have recently found "Unconditional Parenting". I've read my fair share of parenting books, but this one is the first that truly jives with my instincts as a parent. I so often hear of parents using time-out, sit-downs, etc. I've always felt uneasy about using time out with my own children-my gut seemed to tell me not to! Thank you for your research. This will be a book I come back to over and over. |
| Posted On 11-17-2011 12:00 PM |
| Your Name | : Karen Fogle | | Email Address | : karenfogle@gmail.com | | Organization | : Chrysalis School | | Location | : Woodinville, WA | | How did you find our site? | : I have read your books. |
| Comment | : After reading your article in Indpendent Schools,2008, I've come to realize that our school is indeed a "progressive" school.We meet every descriptor in the article. We've never really called it a progressive school but everyone wants to know what kind of school we are. We are a school for children, one they want to come to. The experience here is different for every child. We have had 200-300 students a year K-12 for 30 years. Our students have been in the Olympics, have gone to top tier colleges or pursued the careers they were interested in. Our goal is to help young people meet their goals. It is highly individualized where traditional group classes are available but not required. Students are not at the school everyday. Thinking that young people have to be in school everyday keeps people from really looking at the possibilities. I'm always looking for ways to help parents transition from the traditional school experience. The kids do it in a heartbeat! |
| Posted On 11-16-2011 5:55 AM |
| Your Name | : Melinda Abrams | | Email Address | : melindakabrams@gmail.com | | Location | : New Rochelle, NY | | How did you find our site? | : Washington Post article |
| Comment | : Valarie Struass reprinted one of your recent articles/blogs in the Washington Post about the importance and value of play. As a parent of three public school children, two of whom are in elementary school, I had a specific set of questions. During inclement weather, the our children's elementary school options during recess are limited, and the majority of children watch movies on television screens or in the auditorium. Occasionally, other options are offered: coloring, games and (on a rotating basis), a visit to the school library. My question is about the missed opportunity/detrmintal effect of indoor recess that is not encouraging imaginative or free play but rather has children watch TV. Of course there are budget issues here, but putting the political and budget issues aside for a moment, are we missing important opportunities for the growth, development of the elementary school children by not offering more enriching and physical activities that might enhance their attention and learning in the afternoon (clearly I have a bias here)? What do you think of watching non-educational movies/videos during the elemenatry school day? Any books, data, studies you could recommend on this, or related, topics would be greatly appreciated.
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| Posted On 11-12-2011 12:44 PM |
| Your Name | : Jeff Nichols | | Email Address | : jwnichols@post.harvard.edu | | Organization | : City University of New York | | Location | : New York City | | How did you find our site? | : recommended by Dorothy Siegel |
| Comment | : Just discovered your work and this site. Already grateful! Public elementary education has been taken over by people who seem to think children are small adults and who are doing everything possible to alienate them from school, so every clear voice describing how they really think and feel is absolutely vital right now! |
| Posted On 11-12-2011 4:15 AM |
| Your Name | : Jane Evans | | Email Address | : janeevans61@hotmail.co.uk | | Location | : South west England, UK | | How did you find our site? | : google |
| Comment | : I do parenting work with women who have experienced domestic violence and are traumatised as are their children. I have incorporated many of the ideas Alfie promotes as it is the only approach to take in these circumstances. Thank you for coming into my life when I was searching for evidence and backing for what I instinctively felt to be the right way to go. It has revolutionised what I do and the lives of the chlldren I come into contact with.
Is Alfie likely to come to the UK in the future as I would love to be able to meet him and discuss indepth the benefits of a non-confrontational approach like this for traumatised children (as well as all other chlldren on the planet!)? |
| Posted On 11-11-2011 7:56 PM |
| Your Name | : Joshua M. Truman | | Email Address | : mudpuppies607@gmail.com | | Organization | : Little Arrows Schools | | Location | : San Anselmo, CA 94960 | | How did you find our site? | : Google'd after buying Unconditional Parenting |
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| Posted On 10-30-2011 8:48 AM |
| Your Name | : Pam Elwood | | Email Address | : pelwood @ghaea.org | | Organization | : Kent State Student and EC Consultant | | Location | : Southwest Iowa | | How did you find our site? | : Searching for research on the value of letter grades for Adults as formative assessment |
| Comment | : Interesting and motivating. I am interested in your research. I am a Early Childhood Consultant for an Area Education Agency and a student at Kent State in an online but highly synchronous PhD program in Early Childhood Special Education. So I am a constructivist learning about behaviorism. smile! Enjoy your thoughts and am looking for the "empirical evidence" behind them. Will continue to look through your materials. Thanks |
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