Hello everyone! Today, I am re-releasing what I believe is the one of the most important podcasts in the history of the show. Not only is it filled with honest and real world talk, it is filled with research based advice and insight from one of the premier thinkers on education today.
In this episode, I sit down with Alfie Kohn and discuss a range of topics, such as why grading hurts more than it helps, why rewards do more harm than good, and why the testing obsession leads to bad teaching.
I consider these the three pillars of what holds up an outdated educational model, and Alfie Kohn is the main reason for that perspective. Without a doubt, Alfie has influenced my teaching in such fundamental ways, and I know his thinking, research, and expertise will encourage you to question some of the norms of our educational climate.
Alfie Kohn writes and speaks widely on human behavior, education, and parenting. The most recent of his 14 books are SCHOOLING BEYOND MEASURE…And Other Unorthodox Essays About Education (2015) and THE MYTH OF THE SPOILED CHILD: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom About Children and Parenting (2014). Of his earlier titles, the best known are PUNISHED BY REWARDS (1993), NO CONTEST: The Case Against Competition (1986), UNCONDITIONAL PARENTING (2005), and THE SCHOOLS OUR CHILDREN DESERVE (1999).
I want to let you know about a free, virtual, conference for “cool” science educators coming up on August 5th. Its the 9th ScIC Science is Cool unconference. But of course all science teachers are cool so that means everyone is invited!
This episode is sponsored by Heinemann—the leading publisher of professional books and resources for educators—and their professional book, Textured Teaching: A Framework for Culturally Sustaining Practices by Lorena Escoto Germán.
With Culturally Sustaining Practice as its foundation, Textured Teaching helps secondary teachers stop wondering and guessing how to implement teaching and learning that leads to social justice. Lorena Germán shares her framework for creating a classroom environment that is highly rigorous and engaging, and that reflects the core traits of Textured Teaching: student-driven and community-centered, interdisciplinary, experiential, and flexible. The actionable strategies Lorena uses to bring Textured Teaching values to life illuminate what is possible when we welcome all types of texts, all types of voices, and all forms of expression into the classroom.
Learn more about how to become a culturally sustaining educator. Visit Heinemann.com to download a sample from Textured Teaching.
