Hi Tim,

I think you're wrong about Alfie.

I've been teaching for a dozen years now in public schools, and every year I've seen how standardized testing has gone from servant to master. It's very frustrating to attempt to teach when your every effort is subordinated to having your kids do well on some stupid test. Especially a test which does nothing to help the children learn and has very little value in and of itself, and even less in comparison to the effort and money expended on it.

Unlike Alfie, I'd love to see the schools privatized, but, right in step with him, I see the schools being ruined by this whole obsession with tests, so called 'higher standards', and rigid arbitrary 'top down' curriculum highjacking.

Peace,

Dave

While I agree with much of Alfie's ideas concerning the over-testing of kids, I strongly object to some of his more radical ideas. Following is a quote from a 2000 issue of Parents magazine:

""But a constant stream of value judgments is neither necessary nor useful for children's development. Unfortunately, we may not have realized that "Good job!" is just as much an evaluation as "Bad job!" The most notable feature of a positive judgment isn't that it's positive, but that it's a judgment. And people,including kids, don't like being judged. "
>>
This is an example of why this guy is poisoning the minds of American parents. Kids may not like being judged, but you are failing in your job as a parent and as a teacher if you are not making value judgements. Telling your child to not hit because it is not respectful is a value judgement. Children have an intrinsic need to know right from wrong. If you're child is hitting, you are judging your child's behavior and (hopefully) deeming it inapproriate. If you've asked your child to clean up and he/she starts throwing toys in every direciton, you darn well better say, "That is not how we clean up. Let me show you the right way." That, too is a value judgement. You are telling them that their method of cleaning
up is unacceptable to you and to most of society. Children will be judged for the rest of their lives. Think of grades, job evaluations, college entrances, and job interviews. Those are only a few ways in
which kids are judged. Kids need a constant stream of value judgements in order for them to be successful adults.

The scary thing is that millions of new moms and dads will be reading Parents magazine and savoring every bit of radical unfounded advice he has! How do we take away this guys podium?

Mary
Former public school teacher for 8 years
Mom of three

I just happened on your webiste by accident, as I was helping my wife find some biographical information about Alfie Kohn. Out of curiosity, I followed your link to his article on September 11. I'm not sure why you find it so objectionable. It's incontestable that the United States has a long history of supporting terrorists, including Noriega, Hussain, and bin Laden. What in those statements is incorrect? The School of the Americas (former name) has trained thousands of Central and South American dictators and terrorists. This is a fact, not an opinion. I'm puzzled about how why you object to this particular piece. The United States cannot maintain a "holier than thou" attitude about terrorism when it actively supports terrorists.