POGO: WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY AND HE IS US.
Book cover image: Walt Kelly. NY: Simon & Schuster, 1972.
Not much in Entry #4, but there was, though, a link to Alfie Kohn’s page.
My letter to the editor:
School starts soon for most children. Now is a good time to find out what is going on in your schools. When you have gathered information, let your schools’ administrators and your elected representatives know what you think.
Here is a test. You will be graded.
Do grades hurt the learning process?
Is standardized testing a valuable component of best practices in teaching?
What role should competition play in schools?
Under what conditions should a student flunk a grade?
What is the difference between retention and flunking?
What role should homework play in schools?
Answers can be found in the writings of Alfie Kohn. Look for his home page on the internet or check out his books at the library. His ideas are a must read for anyone with children, anyone interested in education, or any thinking person. That is most of us.
The most glaring exception is some public school administrators and teachers. They want to be told exactly what to do and to be told exactly what the students should know. For those people, what to do should be limited to three or four easily applied preferably prepackaged, techniques. They believe this should be enough to meet the diverse needs of all children.
Alfie Kohn uses research as valid as any in education to debunk many of today’s practices in education. Although the actions of most people indicate they would disagree with Mr. Kohn, everyone should read his criticisms of current methods and his ideas for better learning. If, after reading his work, the leaders in education disagree with what he has written they should be able to justify why they disagree and justify what they are doing.