RAISING REBELS:
Helping Kids to Challenge the Status Quo
Most books and seminars for parents offer advice for getting children to be “well behaved” and to do what they’re told. (These resources differ only with respect to what methods are used to elicit that compliance.) If we think beyond the current moment, however, most of us would like our kids to grow into courageous, assertive, moral people — independent thinkers who are willing to fight injustices. The question we need to ask, then, is what we should do – or stop doing – in our everyday interactions in order to make that happen. In this talk, Alfie Kohn explores the long-term consequences for children who have been raised to obey their parents and teachers uncritically, and he offers practical ideas for helping them question what they’re told, to be appropriately skeptical, and to stand up for what they believe in.