June 24, 2017 Don’t Lecture Me! By Alfie Kohn [Lecturing is the] best way to get information from teacher’s notebook to student’s notebook without touching the student’s mind. — George Leonard Of Gary Larsen’s delightfully deranged “Far Side” cartoons from the 1980s and ’90s, my favorite features a bunch of cows contentedly grazing in a meadow. Suddenly one cow ... Read More
Colleges and universities
March 7, 2018 When “Big Data” Goes to School By Alfie Kohn Here’s a rule of thumb for you: An individual’s enthusiasm about the employment of “data” in education is directly proportional to his or her distance from actual students. Policy makers and economists commonly refer to children in the aggregate, apparently viewing them mostly as a source of numbers ... Read More
May 22, 2019 The Trouble(s) with College Inequities in Admissions, Inadequacies in Teaching By Alfie Kohn In Annie Hall, we’re reminded of the old joke in which a guest at a resort complains, “The food at this place is really terrible,” prompting her friend to reply, “I know! And such small portions!” Which leads me to propose the collegiate version: ... Read More