@AlfieKohn Talks In Denver

On a Thursday in September 2017 (I know this is long overdue, but better late than never), I took a drive north to John Shoemaker School – a school designed to nurture students.   I was a little early, so I toured the school by just walking around.  I found pods where 3 classrooms were grouped together and there was an open common area that they shared.  The classrooms all had flexible seating – some including dining room sets for group work, some had couches or comfy chairs.  I noticed many signs in Spanish and English  The library was open with comfortable seating.  Many garage doors open into outdoor spaces or hallways to give the school an airy feel.  The rest are my nuggets that I gained from the evening.  They may not be perfectly organized, but I wanted to remember them.

Jan Shirley gathered us together when the talk was about to begin. She is the president of Catapult Leadership, the organization who invited Alfie Kohn to come.  Shirley discussed that Catapult Leadership is interested in working with school leaders, to allow them to find and recruit amazing educators who know what we need to transform education.  “We are not preparing our students for college, we are preparing them for uncertainty.”

Alfie Kohn started speaking by talking about “working together for a common good”.  He wants people to believe “schools are where everyone goes to thrive”.  Kohn believes  that high test scores does not mean the test needs to get harder.  Testing is simply not the answers.  If we raise the bar higher, it means we will have a test that not all students can pass.  We are almost assuming that not everyone is allowed to be successful.  We are turning schools into test preparation centers.

Students should be asking “What is the reaction of my audience?”  We need them to work collaboratively, critically think, and be good at informational literacy. Rubrics are just as bad as standardized tests, they are getting rid of human judgement and tell students what exactly we need from them.   Kohn referred to the Coalition of Essential Schools “Exhibition of Mastery”. If you are getting kids to take their temperature all the time, we are just teaching them to ask “How am I doing?” over and over and over again.  “The more focused you are to measure a skill the more menial the skill usually is.  The multiple choice tests are written to trick students. Standardized tests are used to make bad teachers look good.  Kohn calls “teaching to the test”  – legal cheating.  The more time you take to test prep, the less valuable the results are.  And you need to look at “What are we missing?”  “What have we gotten rid of to test prep?”

Kohn claimed “the best teachers never give tests.”  Standardized test typically over or under qualify students.  Students will ask questions when they are ready, they will connect with past knowledge.  There are studies that show that high scorers on standardized tests, typically show that they are not deep thinkers.  Standards are one size fits no students.  The best teachers have bite marks on their tongues for not giving students the answers – let them struggle.  Perfect example is the Mayflower Math – where a teacher draws an outline of the Mayflower boat on the floor and then ask them to see how big it is.  Students use other students as a standard to measure but we are not all the same size.  It takes them 3 days to decide how to measure but those students won’t forget it.

Does your schedule control the learning?  Homework is all pain and no gain.  It is making the students work a second shift.  Good lessons show students why they are learning without asking.  Telling students “Good Job” is like giving them a reward.  Talk about their effort not the accomplishment.  The best teachers know how to complicate a lesson.  We learn in context and for a purpose. If you have to memorize by rote, you don’t need to learn it.  Learning should be active and interactive.  It should be constructive learning.

What gets in the way of learning?  Grades, tests, textbooks.

What helps learning?  Asking better questions of kids, getting kids to ask the question, using the kids questions to create the curriculum – Reggio Emilia Approach.