Notices by Alfie Kohn (alfiekohn@sciences.social), page 3

Student protests reflect "outrage over the tens of thousands of civilians killed in Gaza...and yet much of the media coverage of the protests themselves has obscured this reality." Worth a read: https://newrepublic.com/article/181107/college-protests-israel-gaza-media-coverage-shameful

From the archives: "The Back-to-School-Night Speech We'd Like to Hear"- sort of a Cliff's Notes to progressive education in the form of a fictitious principal's informal remarks to parents: www.alfiekohn.org/blogs/back-to-school

The Onion: "In a statistical analysis comparing the U.S. to other industrialized nations, a new report released by McKinsey & Co. found that American children were severely behind in age...'There are too many American children who are 11 or 12 years old who should really be 17.'"

Lots of research (which I reviewed in my book NO CONTEST) shows that competition often leads people to act unethically. This study explains why, focusing on long-standing rivalries where more is at stake, psychologically speaking: https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~sworthen/kilduffpublications/amjwhateverittakes.pdf

Apparently the religious right's long-range plan is for the courts (and Republican legislatures) to do to birth control what they've done to abortion rights. Meanwhile, they're on social media, "sowing misinformation as a way to discourage the use of birth control": https://wapo.st/43uAW9W

"Dancing in circles, kibbutzim, wars only because hostile neighbors forced them on us: That was what the typical American Jewish education taught us Israel was all about."
Then Rick Perlstein learned about another foundational feature of Zionism's past & present.

Worth a read: https://prospect.org/world/2024-02-21-neglected-history-state-of-israel/.

What does deep-thinking, inquiry-based learning look like in a (diverse) high school? Show this ½-hr video about Urban Academy (in NYC) at a faculty meeting or professional development session to help teachers in all subject areas think about how to move beyond force-feeding facts to passive students: https://vimeo.com/590281072

It's striking how many people fail to understand that quantified evaluations, such as standardized tests and rubrics, are no more objective than narratives and other qualitative appraisals. They just use numbers to conceal the subjective judgments that underpin them.

“This product helps improve your students’ reading scores, but it may make them hate reading forever.”
Yong Zhao discusses the common (but rarely considered) side effects of many supposedly "evidence-based" educational policies
Book: https://is.gd/m7Fhi4
Article: http://zhaolearning.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/SideEffectsPublished.pdf

The entrance area that greets visitors to a typical American high school contains two things: evidence (in the form of trophies) that its students triumphed over students from other schools + plaques listing which of its students are better than others.

Suggested assignment (for administrators, teachers, and kids): Design a school lobby that reflects a commitment to collaboration and community rather than to sorting and triumphing.

A new Pennsylvania law took effect today that bans "the shackling and solitary confinement of pregnant incarcerated women, and full-body cavity searches of female inmates by male guards."

I imagine stunned foreigners asking us: "What is it like living in a country where such a law is necessary?"

No wonder American educators can't keep up with their counterparts in the UK & Australia. Over there, kids study maths; over here, we still have only one.

It's the sanctimonious pretense of humility that gets me - https://is.gd/YC431F:
1) What's less humble than believing your election was "divinely ordained"?
2) "Hate the sin, love the sinner"? Pause to ponder the unmitigated arrogance of declaring that those of whom you disapprove ARE sinners!

2/2 This book helped me to see that sometimes the problem isn't with the tweakable *details* of a certain procedure or policy; rather, the policy itself may reflect hidden premises (in this case, a reductive Skinnerian worldview) and will invariably produce unwanted effects.

1/2 Epiphany from Joan Goodman's book "When Slow Is Fast Enough": IEPs amount to "mandatory behaviorism." Their focus on specific, measurable behaviors "forces teachers to concentrate on narrow accomplishments, restrict free choice," & manipulate kids with extrinsic inducements.

"The more specific the goal," Goodman writes, "the more control must be exerted over the response, so only an extraordinarily ingenious teacher can be child-directed and flexible yet [still] conform to the IEP law."

Last night, some ominously disguised (and probably unemployed) short people came to my door in what appeared to be an elaborate extortion scheme involving a demand for free candy. Fox News is right: The work ethic has been replaced by a sense of entitlement in Biden's woke socialist state!

Democrats, when a Democrat is indicted for corruption: "Yikes. This person should resign."

Republicans, when a Republican is indicted for corruption: "Witch hunt! Fake news! Hoax!"

Certifiable morons: "Ehhh, why vote? There's no difference between the two parties anyway..."

Interesting observation: U.S. media references to “oligarchs” invariably refer to Russians, whereas Americans with comparable amounts of money and influence are simply called “businessmen” or even “philanthrophists”: https://is.gd/MTpAOI

Hey, kids, as long as we're stuck inside for awhile, let's play Connect the Dots!

Not sure I've ever read a better short take on the fatal flaw of accountability-based school reform - "the most efficient tool ever devised to destroy a student’s interest in learning" - as this one by @DLabaree. He zeroes in on the difference between effectiveness and efficiency.