PRINCIPAL January/February 2007 Rethinking Homework By Alfie Kohn [For a more detailed look at the issues discussed here — including a comprehensive list of citations to relevant research and a discussion of successful efforts to effect change– please see the book The Homework Myth.] After spending most of the day in school, children are typically given additional assignments to be completed … Read More
Kids May Be Right After All: Homework Stinks
USA TODAY September 14, 2006 Kids May Be Right After All: Homework Stinks By Alfie Kohn With the start of a new school year, students once again are shifting impatiently in their seats, working their way through an endless pile of worksheets. And that’s after they come home. A new study confirms what kids and parents already know: The “tougher … Read More
The Truth About Homework
EDUCATION WEEK September 6, 2006 The Truth About Homework Needless Assignments Persist Because of Widespread Misconceptions About Learning By Alfie Kohn Para leer este artículo en Español, haga clic aquí. There’s something perversely fascinating about educational policies that are clearly at odds with the available data. Huge schools are still being built even though we know that students tend to fare … Read More
Abusing Research: The Study of Homework and Other Examples
PHI DELTA KAPPAN September 2006 Abusing Research The Study of Homework and Other Examples By Alfie Kohn Research, please forgive us. Our relationship with you is clearly dysfunctional. We proclaim to the world how much we care about you, yet we fail to treat you with the respect you deserve. We value you conditionally, listening only when you tell us … Read More
The Trouble with Rubrics (#)
ENGLISH JOURNAL March 2006 — vol. 95, no. 4 The Trouble with Rubrics By Alfie Kohn Once upon a time I vaguely thought of assessment in dichotomous terms: The old approach, which consisted mostly of letter grades, was crude and uninformative, while the new approach, which included things like portfolios and rubrics, was detailed and authentic. Only much later did … Read More
Getting Hit on the Head Lessons (#)
EDUCATION WEEK September 7, 2005 Getting Hit on the Head Lessons Justifying Bad Educational Practices as Preparation for More of the Same By Alfie Kohn Suppose you have a negative reaction to a certain educational practice but you’re unable to come up with any good reasons to justify your opposition. All is not lost: You can always play the “human … Read More
The Trouble with Pure Freedom: A Case for Active Adult Involvement in Progressive Education
Alternative Education Resource Organization [AERO] Conference Keynote address, 2005 The Trouble with Pure Freedom A Case for Active Adult Involvement in Progressive Education By Alfie Kohn This transcript of Kohn’s talk was published in The Directory of Democratic Education, 2nd ed., edited by Dana M. Bennis and Isaac R. Graves. A video of the lecture is available here. In his opening comments, which … Read More
The (Progressive) Schools Our Children Deserve
SCHOOLS: Studies in Education Fall 2005 The (Progressive) Schools Our Children Deserve By Alfie Kohn [This is a transcript of the keynote address for a conference on progressive education sponsored by the School in Rose Valley and held at Swarthmore College on October 7, 2004.] I’m delighted to be with what I will presumptuously assume is a friendly crowd, such … Read More
Unconditional Teaching (#)
EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP September 2005 Unconditional Teaching By Alfie Kohn Has there even been a wider, or more offensive, gap between educational rhetoric and reality than that which defines the current accountability fad? The stirring sound bites waft through the air: higher expectations … world-class standards … raising the bar … no child left behind. Meanwhile, educators and students down on … Read More
Atrocious Advice from “Supernanny” (#)
THE NATION May 23, 2005 Atrocious Advice from “Supernanny” By Alfie Kohn [This is a slightly expanded version of the published article, which was titled “Supernanny State.”] Pour lire cet article en français, cliquer ici. Para ler esse artigo em Português, clique aqui A despot welcomes a riot. Disorder provides an excuse to rescind liberties in order to restore calm. There are … Read More