Alfie Kohn on Progressive Education

I agree with most of what the guest says. The policy makers who decided to take the vocational arts, and the arts, out of the curriculum made a grave mistake. I teach high school math and students no longer haver first hand knowledge simple concepts like perimeter because they have never actually measured anything with a tape measure. Then NCLB made the problem even worse.
That being said, teachers are not the policy makers. So please be careful when assigning responsibility.
Thanks for the great program.

I loved this program. I heard part of it when it aired and was so thankful for the archive and transcript to revisit it. I especially appreciate the idea that we want to raise kids who love learning, prefer challenge, and want to think deeply. What a succinct way to express what we're hoping for in education!

As a 30 year veteran educator, I can tell you that schools have sold children's souls for numbers. It saddens me that politicians are so focused on test scores. Educators understand that the only thing standardized tests measure is how well a child takes a test. Test scores mean nothing to the best teachers. The best teachers follow the lead of the students and what they want to learn inside of the curriculum. I applaud parents who home-school and those who un-school. No tests can measure resilience, tenacity, curiosity, meekness, joy. peace, love, faith, temperance, or emotional intelligence. Good for you Alfie Kohn, for sticking with it all these years. You make a difference.