RETHINKING SCHOOLS Summer 2002 Requesting Testing By Alfie Kohn One of the most disturbing educational consequences of high-stakes testing has been the diminution or even elimination of activities that are not tested. If it’s not on the exam, it doesn’t count – and so teachers feel they don’t have the luxury of holding class meetings to promote democratic decision-making, or … Read More
The Limits of Teaching Skills (*)
REACHING TODAY’S YOUTH Summer 1997 The Limits of Teaching Skills By Alfie Kohn We are in love with skills. Not any specific skill, mind you, but the very idea that children’s problems can be remedied by teaching them skills. The model is so simple and familiar to us that we do not even think of it as a model. It … Read More