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
Men Are Still Paying for Women on Dates?
BOSTON GLOBE April 17, 2016 Men Are Still Paying for Women on Dates? By Alfie Kohn [NOTE: This is the complete version of an essay that was abridged for publication in the Boston Globe‘s Sunday Magazine.] Imagine that a committed feminist woke up last week from a decades-long coma. She looks around and finds that considerable consciousness-raising has taken place … Read More
Trumped
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
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
Clicking for Love
BOSTON GLOBE January 10, 2016 Clicking for Love The Curious, Odious, Hilarious World of Online Dating By Alfie Kohn [NOTE: This is the complete version of an essay that was greatly abridged for publication in the Boston Globe‘s Sunday Magazine.] It was when the first woman I’d exchanged messages with invited me to give her a call that I suddenly … Read More
What ‘No Child Left Behind’ Left Behind
December 18, 2015 What ‘No Child Left Behind’ Left Behind By Alfie Kohn The metamorphosis of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) from No Child Left Behind (NCLB) into the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is being hailed as a historic triumph of bipartisan compromise (HTBC). Why, we haven’t seen such lopsided approval votes in Congress since . … 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
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