October 24, 2019 How Not to Get a Standing Ovation at a Teachers’ Conference Rueful Reflections of a Long-Time Presenter By Alfie Kohn After speaking to a group of educators about, say, the harmful effects of standardized testing — and receiving an enthusiastic response — I am likely to hear from some spoilsport in the audience who wonders why I … Read More
It’s Time to Rethink Education Policy
October 15, 2019 It’s Time to Rethink Education Policy: Advice for the Democratic Presidential Candidates By Alfie Kohn More than 50 million children attend public elementary or secondary school in the U.S. The fact that so many voters spend so much time thinking about what happens to their kids in school means that the topic of education — specifically, what … Read More
The Crucial Steps Are the Ones We May Have Skipped
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
GENER(aliz)ATIONS
July 16, 2019 GENER(aliz)ATIONS By Alfie Kohn Sweeping generalizations about a huge group of people who share only the same race or ethnicity are widely viewed as offensive stereotypes. But sweeping generalizations about a huge group of people who share only their age (give or take a couple of decades)? Sure! Why not? Baby Boomers were originally lumped together based … 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
The Trouble(s) with College
May 22, 2019 The Trouble(s) with College Inequities in Admissions, Inadequacies in Teaching By Alfie Kohn In Annie Hall, we’re reminded of the old joke in which a guest at a resort complains, “The food at this place is really terrible,” prompting her friend to reply, “I know! And such small portions!” Which leads me to propose the collegiate version: … Read More
Deconstructing “Scaffolding”
March 6, 2019 Deconstructing “Scaffolding” By Alfie Kohn It was the late Jerome Bruner and his colleagues who first thought to invoke the field of (building) construction in creating an educational metaphor. They described the process of providing learners with temporary support for what they can’t yet do on their own as “scaffolding.”1 It’s a nifty figure of speech, and … Read More
Civics Education — The Safe Kind and the Subversive Kind
Edit WASHINGTON POST December 23, 2018 Civics Education — The Safe Kind and the Subversive Kind By Alfie Kohn [This is an expanded version of the published article, which was titled “How Should We Make Sure Our Kids Learn to Be Good Citizens?”] Some years ago, a group of teachers from Florida traveled to what was then the U.S.S.R. to … Read More
The Why Axis
November 26, 2018 The Why Axis By Alfie Kohn It shouldn’t be surprising that progressive teachers are often called upon to defend what they’re doing. Sometimes they’re asked reasonable questions by open-minded parents who simply don’t understand: “Why don’t you give tests?” “Why are the kids spending so much time in groups?” And sometimes they’re challenged by people on a … Read More
Rewards Are Still Bad News 25 Years Later
NEW YORK TIMES October 28, 2018 Rewards Are Still Bad News (25 Years Later) By Alfie Kohn [This is a slightly expanded version of the published article, which was titled “Science Confirms It: People Are Not Pets.”] The field of social psychology is sometimes accused of doing no more than ratifying common sense, so it’s worth paying attention when its … Read More