January 2013 Why Do We Punish Children? By Alfie Kohn Adapted from a four-part public exchange with Deborah Meier, beginning in January 2013, that appeared on Education Week‘s “Bridging Differences” blog. Whenever it appears that I disagree with someone, I like to begin by figuring out where we’ve parted company. Is our disagreement substantive or just a function of how … Read More
Change by Decree (##)
AMERICAN SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL January 2013 Change by Decree By Alfie Kohn Everyone is opposed to making educators implement lousy ideas — “lousy” being defined as something the speaker doesn’t like. But it’s a lot more challenging to take a stand against — and, if you’re in a position of relative power, to refuse to engage in — the practice … Read More
Whom We Admit, What We Deny
INDEPENDENT SCHOOL Winter 2012 Whom We Admit, What We Deny The Meaning of Selective Admissions By Alfie Kohn “Send us winners and we’ll make winners out of them.” — James Moffett What does it mean when a school, having rejected a child who applied for admission, explains that he or she just “isn’t a good fit” (or “match”) … Read More
Homework: An Unnecessary Evil? … Surprising Findings From New Research (##)
November 26, 2012 Homework An unnecessary evil? … Surprising Findings From New Research By Alfie Kohn A new study on the academic effects of homework offers not only some intriguing results but also a lesson on how to read a study — and a reminder of the importance of doing just that: reading studies (carefully) rather than relying on summaries … Read More
The Case Against Homework
FAMILY CIRCLE October 2012 The Case Against Homework By Alfie Kohn After spending all day in school, our children are forced to begin a second shift, with more academic assignments to be completed at home. This arrangement is rather odd when you stop to think about it, as is the fact that few of us ever do stop to … Read More
What Do Kids Really Learn from Failure? (##)
October 3, 2012 What Do Kids Really Learn from Failure? By Alfie Kohn Education experts have long known that there is more to success — in school or in life — than cognitive ability. That recognition got a big boost with science writer Dan Goleman’s book Emotional Intelligence in 1996, which emphasized the importance of self-awareness, altruism, personal motivation, empathy, and … Read More
Schooling Beyond Measure (##)
EDUCATION WEEK September 19, 2012 Schooling Beyond Measure By Alfie Kohn [This is a slightly expanded version of the published article.] As we tend to value the results of education for their measurableness, so we tend to undervalue and at last ignore those results which are too intrinsically valuable to be measured. — Edmond G. A. Holmes, chief inspector of … Read More
Lowering the Temperature on Claims of “Summer Learning Loss” (##)
July 20, 2012 Lowering the Temperature on Claims of “Summer Learning Loss” Why are we so nervous about giving kids a break from school? By Alfie Kohn The idea of summer learning loss—the implication being that it’s risky to give kids a three-month vacation from school because they’ll forget everything they were taught—has become the media’s favorite seasonally specific education … Read More
What Makes a Terrific Parent?
April 23, 2012 What Makes a Terrific Parent? By Alfie Kohn If you decided to have a child, presumably it was because you wanted to be a parent and anticipated that the experience would be fulfilling. You did it for you. But the child’s arrival demands a radical shift: Now you must do things for him or her. Moreover, you … Read More
Criticizing (Common Criticisms of) Praise (##)
February 3, 2012 Criticizing (Common Criticisms of) Praise By Alfie Kohn Over the last few years I’ve had the odd experience of seeing my work cited with approval by people whose views on the issue in question are diametrically opposed to my own. The issue I have in mind is praise. I’m troubled by it, as are the people who quote … Read More