USA TODAY May 21, 2009 Cash Incentives Won’t Make Us Healthier By Alfie Kohn [This is an expanded version of the published article. Click here for a 1-hour audio presentation by Kohn on this topic.] In its first salvo at reforming health care, Congress is reportedly considering legislation that would do two things: help employers to set up wellness programs and encourage … Read More
When “21st-Century Schooling” Just Isn’t Good Enough: A Modest Proposal (#)
DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION February 2009 When “21st-Century Schooling” Just Isn’t Good Enough: A Modest Proposal By Alfie Kohn Many school administrators, and even more people who aren’t educators but are kind enough to offer their advice about how our field can be improved, have emphasized the need for “21st-century schools” that teach “21st-century skills.” But is this really enough, particularly now … Read More
Beware of School “Reformers”
THE NATION December 29, 2008 Beware of School “Reformers” By Alfie Kohn “If we taught babies to talk as most skills are taught in school, they would memorize lists of sounds in a predetermined order and practice them alone in a closet.” — Linda Darling-Hammond Political progressives are in short supply on the president-elect’s list of cabinet nominees. When he … Read More
Why Self-Discipline Is Overrated (#)
PHI DELTA KAPPAN November 2008 Why Self-Discipline Is Overrated: The (Troubling) Theory and Practice of Control from Within By Alfie Kohn Para leer este artículo en Español, haga clic aquí Pour lire cet article en français, cliquer ici. For an extended and updated discussion of this topic, please see chapter 7 of the book The Myth of the Spoiled Child. If there is … Read More
It’s Not What We Teach; It’s What They Learn (#)
EDUCATION WEEK September 10, 2008 It’s Not What We Teach; It’s What They Learn By Alfie Kohn I never understood all the fuss about that old riddle – “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear, does it still make a sound?” Isn’t it just a question of how we choose to define the … Read More
Early Childhood Education: The Case Against Direct Instruction of Academic Skills (#)
From Appendix A: “The Hard Evidence” in The Schools Our Children Deserve (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999) Early Childhood Education: The Case Against Direct Instruction of Academic Skills By Alfie Kohn “The earlier [that schools try] to inculcate so-called ‘academic’ skills, the deeper the damage and the more permanent the ‘achievement’ gap.” — Deborah Meier Some of the most ambitious and expensive educational … Read More
Progressive Education (#)
INDEPENDENT SCHOOL Spring 2008 Progressive Education Why It’s Hard to Beat, But Also Hard to Find By Alfie Kohn RELATED PUBLICATIONS: * “What to Look for in a Classroom” (table) * “A Dozen Basic Guidelines for Educators” (list) * “The Trouble with Pure Freedom” (lecture) * “The Back-to-School-Night Speech We’d Like to Hear” (fantasy presentation) If progressive education doesn’t lend itself to a … Read More
Who’s Cheating Whom? (#)
PHI DELTA KAPPAN October 2007 Who’s Cheating Whom? By Alfie Kohn An article about cheating practically writes itself. It must begin, of course, with a shocking statistic or two to demonstrate the pervasiveness of the problem, perhaps accompanied by a telling anecdote or a quotation from a shrugging student (“Well, sure, everyone does it”). This would be followed by a … Read More
Against “Competitiveness” (#)
EDUCATION WEEK September 19, 2007 Against “Competitiveness” Why Good Teachers Aren’t Thinking About the Global Economy By Alfie Kohn Here are some phrases that might reassure us if they were used to defend a particular education policy: “excitement about learning” . . . “deeper thinking about questions that matter” . . . “promoting social and moral development” . . . … Read More
Changing the Homework Default
INDEPENDENT SCHOOL Winter 2007 Changing the Homework Default By Alfie Kohn The difference between a good educator and a great educator is that the former figures out how to work within the constraints of traditional policies and accepted assumptions, whereas the latter figures out how to change whatever gets in the way of doing right by kids. “But we’ve always…”, … Read More