 |
Kohn's ZoneChallenging the Conventional Wisdom About Education and Kids Author: Alfie Kohn
Over more than a third of a century, Alfie Kohn has offered a multifaceted defense of progressive education as well as research-based critiques of rewards and punishments, grades, standardized testing, homework, competition, and other aspects of traditional schooling (and parenting). Each episode of Kohns Zone will offer 20-30 minutes of provocative reflections on a topic having to do with teaching and learning or with human behavior more generally; occasional longer segments will feature conversations with leading experts in education. Watch this space for new episodes, which will appear as if by magic every two weeks or so. You can listen here, or, better yet, on the podcasts home, AlfieKohn.org/podcasts, which offers other resources. And to support us, please visit https://coff.ee/kohnszone. PRODUCTION SUPPORT: Ultraviolet Audio. ART: Abi Kohn. Language: en-us Genres: Kids & Family, Parenting, Science, Social Sciences Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
Listen Now...
Who Gets to Decide – Part 2
Thursday, 1 January, 2026
January 1, 2026 Who Gets to Decide? - Part 2 Intellectually vibrant classrooms are distinguished by teachers who do a lot more asking than telling. Their motto when confronting challenges or planning lessons is "Bring the kids in on it!" Regular class meetings offer a significant role for students to reflect on "how we want our class to be" (rather than focusing on specific rules). This second of a two-part episode digs deeply into strategies for supporting student autonomy and then explores some of the structural and psychological reasons why some teachers are reluctant to move in this direction. It's tough to give up control, but that's when the learning really starts. RESOURCES: Daphne Blunt Bugental et al., “Who’s the Boss?", Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 72 (1997): 1297-1309 Child Development Project, Ways We Want Our Class to Be: Class Meetings That Build Commitment to Kindness and Learning (Developmental Studies Center, 1996) [https://tinyurl.com/4zkptxec] A note from Alfie Kohn: My sincere thanks to the listeners who have taken a minute to click on the DONATE link (or to visit coff.ee/kohnszone) and helped to cover our production costs, thereby keeping the podcast ad- and paywall-free. If you are not yet one of the listeners who has done this, it's not too late. It will also not be too late tomorrow, but doing so right now would be even better. Also, if you enjoy the podcast, please tell other people about it. And if you have feedback about an episode you've just listened to, send it to https://www.alfiekohn.org/contact-us/. Please click the button below to donate. If you don’t see a button, please go to this page (https://coff.ee/kohnszone). Donate PRODUCTION SUPPORT: Ultraviolet Audio ART: Abi Kohn
