Twitter Book Club: @alfiekohn The Schools Our Children Deserve (1999) - Ch 10

The Way Out

"a classroom experience that is at once less orderly and more rigorous is hard to create in light of explicit press... http://tl.gd/7pgenbless than a minute ago via Twittelatoranderscj
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"Students who are accustomed to not only to impressing their teachers and peers but to racking up good grades and h... http://tl.gd/7pgjehless than a minute ago via Twittelatoranderscj
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I have definitely seen this. I have had classrooms where students who have otherwise been marginalized thrive when the focus is shifted to valuing understanding and growth rather than right answers and grades and others who absolutely revolt against it. I actually get quite impatient with those students who reject a more authentic learning environment. Perhaps that is something I need to work on. Usually, though, if the student understands that they will still get their A if they participate and actually take the projects and activities seriously this rejection evaporates, but not always.

"The evidence suggests that, all things being equal, students in a school that uses no letters or numbers to rate ... http://tl.gd/7pgqfvless than a minute ago via Twittelatoranderscj
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"To someone primarily concerned with techniques of assessment, rubrics may represent a wonderful advance because th... http://tl.gd/7ph7tlless than a minute ago via Twittelatoranderscj
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I have always had a gut feeling about rubrics that is validated with this statement. The only way I have ever been able to justify their use is if I have students sit down with me and collaborate in their creation. This way they become part of the student's own goals. They also then become a teaching tool rather than just an assessment instrument. Additionally, by having students help create their own assignment rubrics they actually get read and understood. How often do teachers who use rubrics simply hand them out to students but they never get read?

@anderscj what r u reading: need title please.less than a minute ago via TweetDeckDawn Hogue
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@dehogue Alfie Kohn (1999) The Schools our Children Deserveless than a minute ago via Twitterrificanderscj
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@anderscj thank youless than a minute ago via TweetDeckDawn Hogue
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@anderscj ordered it today.less than a minute ago via TweetDeckDawn Hogue
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"tests that expect all first-graders to have acquired the same set of capacities create unrealistic expectations an... http://tl.gd/7q7tu6less than a minute ago via Twittelatoranderscj
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"Rather than providing useful information, norm-referenced tests lead people to think that the goal is to triumph over others." Alfie Kohnless than a minute ago via Twittelatoranderscj
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"At some point we will have to decide which feature is more important, authenticity or reliability." Alfie Kohnless than a minute ago via Twittelatoranderscj
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"Too much standardization suggests an effort to pretend that evaluations aren't ultimately judgements, that subject... http://tl.gd/7q85aaless than a minute ago via Twittelatoranderscj
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"if our kids come home chattering excitedly about something they figured out in class, if they not only can read bu... http://tl.gd/7q8b59less than a minute ago via Twittelatoranderscj
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YES! YES! YES! Lets repeat that in full:

"if our kids come home chattering excitedly about something they figured out in class, if they not only can read but do read (on their own), if they persist in playing with ideas and come to think carefully and deeply about things, then the chances are they attend an excellent school. It's not that these behaviors correlate with evidence of school success: these behaviors are the evidence of school success." Alfie Kohn

"we can respond (and suggest that others respond$ by saying, 'Frankly, if this is what is what matters to you, then... http://tl.gd/7q8okmless than a minute ago via Twittelatoranderscj
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Thank you Alfie Kohn for this last line. I think I will use it often from this day forward.

'Frankly, if this is what is what matters to you, then I'm worried about the quality of education my child is getting.'"

or

'Frankly, if this is what is what matters to you, then I'm worried about the quality of education [your] child is getting.'"

or

'Frankly, if this is what is what matters to you, then I'm worried about the quality of education [your students are] getting.'"