SALON March 28, 2016 Trumped What You-Know-Who’s Success Says About Our Country’s Addiction to Competition By Alfie Kohn There is one overriding story this election season, and it concerns how Donald Trump has confounded pundits who assumed he was the kind of joke people would laugh at rather than vote for. It’s the story of how the media cover him … Read More
Down With Homework
INSTRUCTOR September 2006 Down With Homework By Alfie Kohn After spending most of the day in school, students are given additional assignments to be completed at home. This is a rather curious fact when you stop to think about it, but not as curious as the fact that few of us ever stop to think about it. It’s worth asking … Read More
Why We Shouldn’t Focus on Students’ “Behaviors”
Why We Shouldn’t Focus on Students’ “Behaviors” The developer of an allegedly humanistic classroom management program described its goal as getting students to “choose appropriate behaviors.” That sounds at first like nothing more than plain common sense. But on reflection, there is reason to be concerned about each of those three words — and the model that informs them. The … Read More
The Back-to-School-Night Speech We’d Like to Hear
October 4, 2015 The Back-to-School-Night Speech We’d Like to Hear* By Alfie Kohn Is this working? [taps microphone] I do believe it is! OK, if everyone can please find a seat, we’d like to get started. Thanks so much for coming out tonight! We’ve reserved plenty of time for discussion — obviously I’m not going to talk at you all … Read More
Do This and You’ll Get That: A Bad Way to Defend Good Programs
EDUCATION WEEK September 30, 2015 Do This and You’ll Get That A Bad Way to Defend Good Programs By Alfie Kohn When we’re not sure people will support our cause, it’s tempting to link it to something more popular. Because x may be controversial (or may simply lack broad support), we hitch a ride on y, an outcome that reflects … Read More
“Helicopter Parenting” Hysteria
SALON September 4, 2015 “Helicopter Parenting” Hysteria The Epidemic That Actually Isn’t By Alfie Kohn Parents who are overly involved in the lives of their college-age children are the folks we love to scorn. A steady stream of articles and blog posts bristle with indignation over dads who phone the dean about a trivial problem or moms who know more … Read More
Who’s Asking?
EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP September 2015 Who’s Asking? By Alfie Kohn It seems only fitting to explore the role of questions in education by asking questions about the process of doing so. I propose that we start with the customary way of framing this topic and then proceed to questions that are deeper and potentially more subversive of traditional schooling. 1. … Read More
The “Mindset” Mindset
SALON August 16, 2015 The “Mindset” Mindset What We Miss By Focusing on Kids’ Attitudes The emphasis on effort in Dweck’s “growth mindset” is most notable for the larger questions it discourages us from asking. By Alfie Kohn One of the most popular ideas in education these days can be summarized in a single sentence — a fact that may … Read More
What’s the Real Purpose of Classroom Management?
June 25, 2015 What’s the Real Purpose of Classroom Management? By Alfie Kohn Everyone knows why classroom management skills are considered a critical part of teacher training. The reason we need to minimize “misbehavior” and get students to show up, sit down, and pay attention is so we can teach them stuff. That proposition is so obvious that it’s … Read More
Learning as a Sandwich: Revisiting the Ingenuity (and Radicalism) of K-W-L
June 2, 2015 Learning as a Sandwich Revisiting the Ingenuity (and Radicalism) of K-W-L By Alfie Kohn I believe it was Dale Carnegie who first counseled public speakers to “tell the audience what you’re going to say . . . say it . . . then tell them what you’ve said.” This advice, which presumably appeared in his book How … Read More