EDUCATION WEEK September 3, 2019 The Crucial Steps Are Those We May Have Skipped By Alfie Kohn [This is an expanded version of the published article, which was given a different title.] One of the most important lessons I’ve learned in my career is that the best way to respond to a question is not always to offer an answer. … Read More
Can Everyone Be Excellent?
NEW YORK TIMES June 16, 2019 Can Everyone Be Excellent? By Alfie Kohn [This is an expanded version of the published article, which was titled “Why Can’t Everyone Get an A?”] I was having dinner with Deborah Meier, the eminent educator, when our conversation turned, as it often does, to school reform. For a generation now, that phrase has come … Read More
It’s Not About Behavior
EDUCATION WEEK September 5, 2018 It’s Not About Behavior By Alfie Kohn Plenty of policies and programs limit our ability to do right by children. But perhaps the most restrictive virtual straitjacket that educators face is behaviorism — a psychological theory that would have us focus exclusively on what can be seen and measured, that ignores or dismisses inner experience … Read More
“…And I Turned Out Just Fine!”
March 21, 2018 “. . . And I Turned Out Just Fine!” By Alfie Kohn If you’re going to question people’s thinking, it’s helpful to give them a couple of options: a gentle challenge in case they’re easily unsettled and a more pointed challenge for those who don’t mind really digging into their assumptions. Consider, for example, an announcement that … Read More
When “Big Data” Goes to School
March 7, 2018 When “Big Data” Goes to School By Alfie Kohn Here’s a rule of thumb for you: An individual’s enthusiasm about the employment of “data” in education is directly proportional to his or her distance from actual students. Policy makers and economists commonly refer to children in the aggregate, apparently viewing them mostly as a source of numbers … Read More
Transformation by Degrees
September 25, 2017 Transformation by Degrees By Alfie Kohn Three concepts emerged independently in different fields: quantum leaps (in particle physics), punctuated equilibrium (in evolutionary biology), and paradigm shifts (in the history of science). All of these converge on the revelation that change doesn’t always take place incrementally. Sometimes things stay pretty much the same for a long time, and … Read More
Raising an UnTrump
SALON August 27, 2017 Raising an UnTrump By Alfie Kohn When the words “Trump” and “children” appear in the same sentence, it’s often because the writer is trying to figure out how to protect the latter from the former. How do we shield our offspring not only from what this man does (particularly if the youngsters in question are at … Read More
“Free-Range Kids”? It Depends…
February 7, 2017 “Free-Range Kids”? It Depends… By Alfie Kohn Not long ago, the New York Times Magazine published an article about a Silicon Valley entrepreneur who turned his backyard into an elaborate play space for neighborhood kids so they could “take risks and play rough and tumble” without adult supervision. No doubt many readers smiled and nodded to hear … Read More
The Case for Abolishing Class Rank
December 12, 2016 The Case for Abolishing Class Rank By Alfie Kohn When students are rated with letter or number grades, research shows they’re apt to think in a shallower fashion – and to lose interest in what they’re learning – as compared with students who aren’t graded at all. Alternative methods for reporting student progress are not only less … Read More
The Bonus Effect
September 27, 2016 The Bonus Effect One Kind of Interest that Rewards Don’t Kill By Alfie Kohn For nearly half a century, research has raised troubling questions about the practice of dangling rewards in front of people to get them to do what we want. It doesn’t matter whether the people in question are male or female, children or adults. … Read More