The Answer Sheet: alfie kohn


Posted at 02:45 PM ET, 01/28/2011

Do tests really help students learn -- or was a new study misreported? -- Kohn
By Valerie Strauss
A new study that received attention was said to have concluded that kids should "take a test to really learn." Except, as Alfie Kohn explains, the study doesn't support that conclusion.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:45 PM ET, 01/28/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Alfie Kohn, Alfie Kohn, Alfie Kohn | Tags:  alfie kohn, high-stakes testing, new york times, rote learning, standardized testing, student on testing, testing, testing study

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 12/09/2010

Kohn: Remember when we had higher standards? Neither do I
By Valerie Strauss
When, Alfie Kohn asks, haven't we been complaining about low standards in public schools and calling for accountability? The answer: Apparently, never. A golden period never existed.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 12/09/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Alfie Kohn, Alfie Kohn, Alfie Kohn | Tags:  accountability, alfie kohn, common standards, education system, nation at risk, reagan administration, school reform, standards

Posted at 01:43 PM ET, 11/19/2010

Kohn: What 'ready to learn' really means

By Valerie Strauss
Alfie Kohn explores the real meaning of what he calls the "rather odd" phrase "ready to learn" as it is applied to young children.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:43 PM ET, 11/19/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Alfie Kohn, Alfie Kohn, Alfie Kohn | Tags:  David McLelland, alfie kohn, early childhood education, martin haberman, readiness to learn, ready to learn

Posted at 09:00 AM ET, 10/22/2010

Kohn: The pretend reformers
By Valerie Strauss
Alfie Kohn writes: " Real education reform would require us to consider the elimination of many features that we’ve come to associate with school, so perhaps the reluctance to take such suggestions seriously is just a specific instance of the 'whatever is, is right' bias that psychologists keep documenting."

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:00 AM ET, 10/22/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Alfie Kohn, Alfie Kohn, Alfie Kohn, Alfie Kohn, Alfie Kohn | Tags:  alfie kohn, davis guggenheim, duncan, george bush, george w. bush, joel k lein, obama, school reform, seymour papert, waiting for superman

Posted at 11:00 AM ET, 09/17/2010

Schools would be great if it weren't for the kids

By Valerie Strauss
Education author Alfie Kohn, referring to a Robert Samuelson column that blames failing schools on unmotivated students, writes: "Blaming students is the next logical step after blaming teachers. In fact, the two reflect the same general perspective on education, one in which commentators look down from their aeries and inform us that the trouble lies with the people in the classrooms rather than with the policies imposed on them."

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:00 AM ET, 09/17/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  alfie kohn, how to motivate students, motivated students, newsweek, robert samuelson, samuelson column, school reform, unmotivated students