Alfie Kohn

[Dirtbikemike]

Well, I've read two John Taylor Gatto books and I heard about Kohn in the past. I bought 3 Kohn books on Amazon and finished "What does it mean to be well educated?" I also have "The homework myth" and the 3rd one doesn't have to do with school. Parenting. Got it for my dad.

The difference I see between Gatto and Kohn is absolutely Kohn's use of citations. Kohn is a lot less radical but is probably more appealing to sheeple than Gatto.

I'll edit this as I think of more.

EDIT #1: While Gatto's and Kohn's writing styles differ, so do their topics. Kohn goes for more of a stance that school exists and here's what's wrong with it. Gatto goes for why school exists, what's wrong with why it exists, and why it shouldn't at all.

That's also why I think Kohn would be more appealing to sheeple. He's a bit more light-hearted while picking apart school.

[TheCancer]

Gatto must have done a lot of buying into the crap he says he hates to get those prestigious teacher awards in New York. There's something fishy about that dude.

[Dirtbikemike]

(02-01-2014 11:04 PM)TheCancer Wrote:  Gatto must have done a lot of buying into the crap he says he hates to get those prestigious teacher awards in New York. There's something fishy about that dude.

I think he doesn't use citations on the basis that "I should know, I teach school and win awards doing it"

[cheeselover]

Dirtbikemike – Can you tell what Kohn believes about compulsory schooling?

I've only had the chance to read one of his books, 'Beyond Discipline', and even though he makes it clear that he is against punishments, rewards, other forms of external motivation, etc., he never addresses the question of whether he thinks kids and teenagers should be forced to go to school in the first place.

He doesn't talk about unschooling or homeschooling as far as I can tell, and I get the impression he wouldn't be very supportive. His starting point throughout the book seems to be with the assumption that you're going to have kids in classrooms, and then figure out what to do from there.

I'm really interested in the question of what he would do if a child or a group of children really didn't want to go to school. I agree with pretty much all of his ideas, but it seems like a huge question to leave unanswered (maybe deliberately, like you said, to appeal to the masses of educators).

Anyway, maybe he answered that question elsewhere and I just don't know about it. I really want to read more of his books, but it's really difficult for me at the moment since I developed some kind of musculoskeletal disorder which makes it really painful for me to hold books, turn pages, tap touchscreens, stay on the computer for very long, press buttons, etc. – basically whatever it takes to read a book is becoming increasingly difficult.

[Dirtbikemike]

(02-02-2014 12:06 AM)cheeselover Wrote:  Dirtbikemike – Can you tell what Kohn believes about compulsory schooling?

I've only had the chance to read one of his books, 'Beyond Discipline', and even though he makes it clear that he is against punishments, rewards, other forms of external motivation, etc., he never addresses the question of whether he thinks kids and teenagers should be forced to go to school in the first place.

He doesn't talk about unschooling or homeschooling as far as I can tell, and I get the impression he wouldn't be very supportive. His starting point throughout the book seems to be with the assumption that you're going to have kids in classrooms, and then figure out what to do from there.

I'm really interested in the question of what he would do if a child or a group of children really didn't want to go to school. I agree with pretty much all of his ideas, but it seems like a huge question to leave unanswered (maybe deliberately, like you said, to appeal to the masses of educators).

Anyway, maybe he answered that question elsewhere and I just don't know about it. I really want to read more of his books, but it's really difficult for me at the moment since I developed some kind of musculoskeletal disorder which makes it really painful for me to hold books, turn pages, tap touchscreens, stay on the computer for very long, press buttons, etc. – basically whatever it takes to read a book is becoming increasingly difficult.

He has a completely different view on school, which is why think he's less radical than Gatto. Kohn sees how broken the schooling system is, points out what we'

[cheeselover]

Quote:He has a completely different view on school, which is why think he's less radical than Gatto. Kohn sees how broken the schooling system is, points out what we'

Looks like you got cut off midsentence or something… Either that or there's something wrong with the way my computers displaying things.

[Trar]

It's cut off for me too.

(I need to finish JTG's Underground History of American Education.)

[yass100]

Alfie Kohn writes and speaks widely on human behavior, education, and parenting. The author of ten books and scores of articles.

[Dirtbikemike]

(02-04-2014 03:55 PM)yass100 Wrote:  Alfie Kohn writes and speaks widely on human behavior, education, and parenting. The author of ten books and scores of articles.

The only thing I'd disagree with is behavior. He is opposed to behaviorism. I'd look for a different way to put that.

[Dirtbikemike]

EDIT #1: While Gatto's and Kohn's writing styles differ, so do their topics. Kohn goes for more of a stance that school exists and here's what's wrong with it. Gatto goes for why school exists, what's wrong with why it exists, and why it shouldn't at all.

That's also why I think Kohn would be more appealing to sheeple. He's a bit more light-hearted while picking apart school.

[Trar]

It would help if we avoided calling people 'sheeple'.

[Dirtbikemike]

(02-05-2014 05:23 AM)Trar Wrote:  It would help if we avoided calling people 'sheeple'.

I've been too much of a follower of "A Sheep No More" I guess.