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 … Read More
Practical Strategies to Save Our Schools
Practical Strategies to Save Our Schools Whenever something in the schools is amiss, it makes sense to work on two tracks at once: protect students from the worst effects in the short term and work to change or eliminate that policy in the long term. Let’s begin with some short-term responses where testing is concerned: First, teachers should do what … Read More
Florida’s A+ Plus Plan for Education
After Gulf Gate Elementary School in Florida received an “A” in the Florida school grading system, six teachers and the principal decided to return to the governor the amount of bonus money they would have received. Here is the position paper they submitted to explain why. Florida’s A+ Plus Plan for Education: The Misuse of the Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test and … Read More
The Case Against “Tougher Standards”
The Case Against “Tougher Standards” By Alfie Kohn People who talk about educational “standards” use the term in different ways. Sometimes they’re referring to guidelines for teaching, the implication being that we should change the nature of instruction — a horizontal shift, if you will. (In the case of the standards drafted by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics … Read More
Grit: A Skeptical Look at the Latest Educational Fad (##)
INDEPENDENT SCHOOL Fall 2014 GRIT A Skeptical Look at the Latest Educational Fad By Alfie Kohn This article is adapted from The Myth of the Spoiled Child, which contains references to the relevant research. A new idea is hatched; it begins to spread; it catches on; it inspires a flurry of books and articles, conferences and seminars. And then it fades away. … Read More
Pushed Too Hard – (Lecture Topic)
PUSHED TOO HARD: Parenting in an Achievement-Crazy Culture What does it mean to say we want our kids to be “successful”? In some neighborhoods, that word translates as making higher grades and test scores than other people’s children . . . so they’ll be accepted by elite colleges . . . so they’ll get high-paying jobs . . . so … Read More
Fear Of Spoiling – (Lecture Topic)
FEAR OF SPOILING: Rethinking Common Assumptions About Children (and Parenting) The conventional wisdom is that helicopter parents are everywhere, overprotecting their children instead of letting them learn from failure; that we indulge and coddle rather than setting limits, with the result that we’re raising a generation of narcissists; that grades are inflated and trophies handed out too readily. But are … Read More
Raising Rebels – (Lecture Topic)
RAISING REBELS: Helping Kids to Challenge the Status Quo Most books and seminars for parents offer advice for getting children to be “well behaved” and to do what they’re told. (These resources differ only with respect to what methods are used to elicit that compliance.) If we think beyond the current moment, however, most of us would like our kids … Read More
Unconditional Parenting – (Lecture Topic)
UNCONDITIONAL PARENTING: Beyond Bribes and Threats Advice for raising children typically comes in two flavors: threats (known euphemistically as “consequences”) and bribes (“positive reinforcement”). Either we make kids suffer to teach them a lesson, or we dangle goodies in front of them for doing as they’re told. Rewards and punishments are two sides of the same coin, and unfortunately, neither … Read More
Beyond Bribes And Threats- (Lecture Topic)
BEYOND BRIBES AND THREATS: Realistic Alternatives to Controlling Students’ Behavior This workshop, by the author of Beyond Discipline: From Compliance to Community, addresses the nonacademic realm of school life – and specifically the ways that discipline or classroom management not only tends to backfire, but actively interferes with the process of helping students grow into responsible, compassionate people. We begin … Read More