Chapter 6 in THE MYTH OF THE SPOILED CHILD (Da Capo Books, 2014) The Attack on Self-Esteem By Alfie Kohn A new idea is hatched; it catches on; it begins to spread; it inspires a flurry of books and articles, conferences and seminars. And then it fades away. The cycle is common in many fields, but I’m most familiar with … Read More
The Roots of Grades-and-Tests
Introduction to De-Testing and De-Grading Schools: Authentic Alternatives to Accountability and Standardization, edited by Joe Bower and P.L. Thomas (Peter Lang Publishing, 2013) The Roots of Grades-and-Tests By Alfie Kohn Most of the contributions to this book focus on problems with either grades or tests. In an article about college admissions published more than a decade ago, however, I suggested … Read More
Encouraging Courage (##)
EDUCATION WEEK September 18, 2013 Encouraging Courage By Alfie Kohn [This is a slightly expanded version of the published article.] Education research doesn’t always get the respect it deserves, but let’s be honest: There’s already enough of it to help us decide what to do (or stop doing) on many critical issues. Likewise, there are plenty of examples of outstanding … 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
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
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
The Case Against Grades (##)
EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP November 2011 The Case Against Grades By Alfie Kohn [This is a slightly expanded version of the published article.] “I remember the first time that a grading rubric was attached to a piece of my writing….Suddenly all the joy was taken away. I was writing for a grade — I was no longer exploring for me. I want … Read More
Corridor Wit: Talking Back to Our Teachers
EDUCATION WEEK September 28, 2011 Corridor Wit Talking Back to Our Teachers By Alfie Kohn L’esprit de l’escalier (staircase wit) is a French expression for the devastating riposte, the perfect comeback, that occurs to you only after the party is over, on the way up to bed. But I, for one, spent a lot more time sitting in classrooms as a … Read More