Notices by Alfie Kohn (alfiekohn@sciences.social), page 2

"Some conservatives have recognized the huge benefits of progressive classroom practices, but they only want them for their own children" - or for those those who can afford them. (For the masses: direct instruction and worksheets.) Short, thoughtful essay by historian Adam Laats: https://iloveyoubutyouregoingtohell.org/2018/02/06/the-tortuous-triumph-of-progressive-education/

"Cold calling" puts students on the spot and forces them to perform on command. But even making willing students raise their hands and wait to be called on is problematic. What's the alternative? Listen to the latest Kohn's Zone episode: "The Best Class Discussions, Hands Down" - https://www.alfiekohn.org/podcasts/

I mean, if Big Tech is going to commit to anthropomorphizing chatbots, they might as well go all the way: https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-executive-suggests-ai-agents-buy-software-licenses-seats-2026-4

Four out of five fascists recommend having another big helping of Orbán when you're hungary

RE: https://fediscience.org/@petergleick/116364648954666281

Ah - you must be thinking of the pre-MAGA United States, a country that also ratified climate-change agreements

https://newrepublic.com/article/208322/pete-hegseth-religion-war-iran-sadism-rage

Corrupt insider trading on the war -- bad.
Surge in fuel prices and resulting worldwide economic dislocation - bad.
But neither of these should distract us from the primary evil: the U.S. and Israel's mass killing of Iranian civilians. (Pictured here: not a military target but an apartment building in Tehran.)

I'm often asked whether I've seen any tangible results from all the hundreds of research-informed presentations I've done at schools and universities. Well, I don't want to brag, but let's just say that it's been many years since I've had to buy a coffee mug or a sweatshirt.

"Friendly Excursions into Disequilibrium," my new podcast episode, argues that the ideal arrangement in a classroom (or workplace) consists of cooperative conflict, where spirited disagreement is non-adversarial and nested in a caring environment: https://www.alfiekohn.org/podcasts/

Just imagining the names of other, larger companies in place of "BuzzFeed"...

https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/buzzfeed-disastrous-earnings-ai

Am I the only one who feels a little guilty for reacting with relief that the stock market is recovering its early losses today? A dented portfolio seems like a small price to pay if it leads the Sociopath-in-Chief to stop killing Iranians.

You know those idiots who use the current weather to deny the reality of long-term global warming? I once looked forward to hearing a scientist set them straight, but now I just find the whole encounter anti-climatic.

My go-to illustration of the concept of unfalsifiability - where a claim grounded in ideology such that no facts can ever dislodge it - is the belief that Israel, which, beyond its continuing slaughter of Palestinians, has lately attacked Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and now Iran, is always just defending itself and therefore deserving of support.

Authoritarianism defined in eight words: "make sure we have the right people voting"

And here's another excellent working definition of authoritarianism, also from the execrable Noem:

A new study finds that, "even when instructed to use established psychotherapy approaches, [AI chatbots] consistently fail to meet professional ethics standards" for providing mental health advice: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/03/260302030642.htm

In case you worried that far-right politicians were just banning instructors from teaching disfavored content (e.g., slavery was bad; LGBTQ folks are human beings), it turns out they're also mandating curriculum content. So it's not just "Here's what you can't teach" but also "Here's what you must teach."

One of the best pieces I've seen about Epstein - how he, like Trump was a depraved con man whom the elite (in academia, business, and politics) not only lacked the courage to denounce but actively cozied up to and whose evil they thereby encouraged: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-anand-giridharadas.html?unlocked_article_code=1.NVA.M7Ba.LRi6Yx-xpe0k&smid=url-share

Fixed it for you, NY Times

The phrase "existential threat" appears only once in this account of how states are passing laws to make polluters contribute to climate crisis mitigation. Specifically, the phrase is used by the American Petroleum Institute to describe how these companies regard the impact of such legislation on them.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/06/climate/climate-superfund-laws-bills.html