Alfie Kohn

I was so lucky a few years ago to be able to see Alfie Kohn speak! He was in the area for a conference and I was shocked that none of my colleagues were interested in attending with me. It was one of those moments when you realize you have really chosen "the path less taken" and I ended up going alone. It was amazing! Mr. Kohn is a dynamic speaker and a rabble rouser. At times his points of view on parenting and public education are delibrately provolking and, agree or disagree, he always causes his audience to examine the accepted norms and rethink their perspectives.

As parents he reminds us that punishment and rewards does not teach moral behavior or rational thought, but rather serves to create a conditional, controlling relationship. Loving your child unconditionally does not mean allowing them to do anything, but rather allowing them to think through everything.

This book is particularly timely for me right now as I try to accommodate new "tougher" state standards that require more testing and "data" and push aside creativity and discovery. As a young teacher, I was taught that a constructivist educational model was widely accepted as the most effective method of learning. A classroom in which children are allowed to create their own meaning from the world around them and build their own connections for more complete understanding achieves a depth of knowledge that, as an educator, I could only dream of having enough time for. Under the current system we must plow ahead, covering a breadth of information in the hopes that some of it will be retained for the all-powerful test. There is no room for creativity or depth of understanding in that kind of environment and our children deserve more.

The Plan

The goal of this blog is to share resources on education and learning. Since I am a public school teacher and a mom I have been focused on these topics for a while! There may be some overlap from the Natural Family-Steading blog, but I will try to stay on topic.