EDUCATION WEEK September 07, 2016 On Punishment for Bullying — and Punishment as Bullying By Alfie Kohn Bullying at school has attracted an enormous amount of attention, spurring academic studies and popular books, regulations and training sessions for educators. By now its status as a serious problem is widely acknowledged, as it should be. We can never go back … Read More
Do Our Expectations of Kids Aim Too High or Too Low?
September 6, 2016 Do Our Expectations of Kids Aim Too High or Too Low? By Alfie Kohn “Old-school” parenting and teaching are often distinguished by a failure to understand what children are capable of doing or understanding, or to provide the support they need and the respect they deserve. But does that mean kids are being underestimated — or overestimated? … Read More
Why Lots of Love (or Motivation) Isn’t Enough
April 23, 2016 Why Lots of Love (or Motivation) Isn’t Enough By Alfie Kohn I get a kick out of spotting invisible threads that connect disparate theories and lines of research. Sometimes I’ll even notice a pattern (after the fact) in my own essays about different topics — which can be gratifying until I realize that the common denominator is … Read More
The Overselling of Ed Tech
March 12, 2016 The Overselling of Ed Tech By Alfie Kohn Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised that the idea of using digital technology in the classroom tends to be either loved or hated. After all, anything that’s digital consists only of ones or zeroes. By contrast, my own position is somewhere in the middle, a location where I don’t often … Read More
“Your Hand’s Not Raised? Too Bad: I’m Calling on You Anyway”
January 29, 2016 “Your Hand’s Not Raised? Too Bad: I’m Calling on You Anyway” By Alfie Kohn Doctors in training call it “pimping.” A medical student or junior resident is abruptly put on the spot, sometimes during patient rounds, as an instructor fires off difficult questions about anatomy, diagnostic protocols, or surgical procedures.[1] The practice is defended in pretty … 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
Learning Together
No Contest: The Case Against Competition, rev. ed. (Houghton Mifflin, 1992) Chapter 10 Learning Together A Defense and Analysis of Cooperative Learning By Alfie Kohn I consider…the tendency toward a selfish individualism one of the strongest counts against our customary…sit-alone-at-your-own-desk procedure….Whole-hearted purposeful activity in a social situation as the typical unit of school procedure is the best guarantee of … Read More
A CALL FOR AN AUTHENTIC STATE-WIDE ASSESSMENT SYSTEM
Coalition for Authentic Reform in Education (CARE) A CALL FOR AN AUTHENTIC STATE-WIDE ASSESSMENT SYSTEM Education Reform in Massachusetts began with high hopes. As educators, parents, and citizens, we believe those hopes have been eroded by the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) tests. These tests have disrupted our classrooms and schools and diverted valuable resources away from efforts that put … Read More
All Aboard the LeaderShip
October 31, 2015 All Aboard the LeaderShip Reflections on Goals and Catchphrases By Alfie Kohn If you’re going to lead a school or other organization, it might be smart to give some thought to what it means to be a good leader. But that fact doesn’t explain why some schools proudly announce that they train their students — every last … Read More
To Change What We Do, Consider What We Believe
Foreword to The Teacher You Want to Be 2015 To Change What We Do, Consider What We Believe By Alfie Kohn [This essay is adapted from the Foreword to The Teacher You Want to Be, edited by Matt Glover and Ellin Oliver Keene (Heinemann, 2015)] Creativity — in education and in general — might be defined as the capacity to … Read More