BLOG 4

Kohn Review

“What Does it Mean to be Well Educated?” by Alfie Kohn presents many valid theories on grading, standards, and common practices used in schools today. It really does provoke the reader to question what education means to them and what they think what is going right in schools hand in hand with what should be changed.

The main point that Kohn presents that I certainly agree with is that our nation’s public schools must change from the roots up. We need to have teachers who can evaluate the methods they use to teach and ask themselves what those methods say about the ultimate goal that they are trying to reach in their teaching. It is my opinion that so many teachers, especially in highly urbanized areas, are teaching students just to memorize a bunch of facts in order to get good grades, show good results on the standardized tests, and ultimately prepare them to enter the workforce. Kohn offers a valid point in which standardized testing ranks children and causes a school environment where the focus isn’t to explore ideas, but to memorize thousands of facts in order to pass the test. We as future educators need to allow the students to actually explore ideas, ask questions, be able to think critically, and learn to love learning. Kohn also urges that the main focus in school should not always be academics. I think it is sincerely important for teachers to teach incorporate tolerance every day and to help mold the students into being kind, caring, and compassionate adults.

Another aspect that I liked about this book was when Kohn wrote about the control that teachers seem to need to have other their classes. He challenges that the question most educators are asking in class is "How can I control these kids?" instead of "What do these kids need and how can I give it to them?" Being a future special education teacher, I really related to this section. My experience with a couple of special education teachers was really discouraging because their primary focus throughout the day was to simply control the kids. With special needs and with regular ed as well, it is all about adapting to each student to meet their needs in order for them to have the best educational experience. Educators should always be asking how to better accommodate students so that they can not only understand, but also be able to apply the information given. It is extremely important especially to students with special needs to have choices and to keep a schedule, but I do not see that as much ‘control’ the teacher has, but a way for the students to stay on track and be able to learn in the best way.

One of the couple issues that I had with Kohn’s views in the book was his stance on private schooling. In his opinion, private schooling does no good. He believes that it allows schools to be selective, in that they need to only admit students that fit their model. Kohn also points out as to how private schools can expel students who aren't meeting their standards, so it allows educators to nicely get rid of "trouble students" who act out, fail tests, or skip class, without having to face the challenges of working with the student through the problems. I attended private schools my whole life, literally from preschool to when I graduated high school. Just like with any school, there are positives and negatives. First, private schools allow students to learn about and be exposed to religion. For some parents, religious education is very important to give to their child. Secondly, although I don’t feel that private schools should be as costly as they are and that can be seen as being ‘selective’, so many scholarships are easily given out to students who sincerely want to attend but don’t have the means to do so. Lastly, throughout my whole educational career in a private school, not one student has been expelled. I strongly disagree with Kohn in the belief that private school educators simply kick out students who are more difficult to work with. In my experience, those students are given the attention and care that they need in order to succeed.

In conclusion, we all are going to have a wide variety of opinions as to what is means to be well educated. I think that the main points that I think it takes to be well educated is to be taught to love learning and explore ideas rather than to memorize facts. I think that being well educated means to be taught to be a kind, genuine, tolerant, and well-rounded person. Finally, I think that being well educated means to be thought of and accommodated for in order to learn effectively and succeed in your educational career.