Competition vs. Excellence

NEW YORK TIMES April 26, 1991 Competition vs. Excellence By Alfie Kohn Even before we examine each provision of President Bush’s new proposal to make our educational system more competitive, we should challenge the premise of his plan. The trouble with our schools is that they are already much too competitive. The very word “competitiveness,” lately a favorite of educators, economists, … Read More

Group Grade Grubbing versus Cooperative LEARNING

  EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP March 1991 Group Grade Grubbing versus Cooperative Learning By Alfie Kohn Even before the recent surge of interest in cooperative learning (CL), researchers and practitioners were already staking out positions on precisely what the term denotes and how the idea should be implemented.  Constructive controversies (or, less charitably, factional disputes) have arisen with respect to almost every aspect … Read More

Caring Kids: The Role of the Schools (*)

PHI DELTA KAPPAN March 1991 Caring Kids The Role of the Schools By Alfie Kohn “Education worthy of the name is essentially education of character,” the philosopher Martin Buber told a gathering of teachers in 1939.(1) In saying this, he presented a challenge more radical and unsettling than his audience may have realized. He did not mean that schools should … Read More

How to Make the Least of Your College Years

INDEPENDENT SCHOOL February 1981 How to Make the Least of Your College Years By Alfie Kohn In the face of mounting evidence that college is an inherently broadening experience, it seems almost impossible to complete those four years without growing a little.  Twenty-two-year-olds have been known to emerge from their chosen institution of higher learning dogged by greater perspective and … Read More