Alfie Kohn

learning decontextualized idea brick information whole house

“In a word, learning is decontextualized. We break ideas down into tiny pieces that bear no relation to the whole. We give students a brick of information, followed by another brick, followed by another brick, until they are graduated, at which point we assume they have a house. What they have is a pile of bricks, and they don't have it for long.”

― Alfie Kohn

people enthusiastic belong community device

“People will typically be more enthusiastic where they feel a sense of belonging and see themselves as part of a community than they will in a workplace in which each person is left to his own devices”

― Alfie Kohn

kids decision directions

“The way kids learn to make good decisions is by making decisions, not by following directions.”

― Alfie Kohn

parents courage children happiness success

“Few parents have the courage and independence to care more for their children’s happiness than for their success.”

― Alfie Kohn

count classroom teacher learner

“Educators remind us that what counts in a classroom is not what the teacher teaches; it’s what the learner learns.”

― Alfie Kohn

children lifelong learner ideas think forget grades

“The more we want our children to be (1) lifelong learners, genuinely excited about words and numbers and ideas, (2) avoid sticking with what’s easy and safe, and (3) become sophisticated thinkers, the more we should do everything possible to help them forget about grades.”

― Alfie Kohn

contentment courage achieve

“From deep contentment comes the courage to achieve.”

― Alfie Kohn

children safe risk ask question nistake learn trust feeling grow

"If children feel safe, they can take risks, ask questions, make mistakes, learn to trust, share their feelings, and grow."

― Alfie Kohn

children adults in-the-making people needs rights seriously

"Children, after all, are not just adults-in-the-making. They are people whose current needs and rights and experiences must be taken seriously."

― Alfie Kohn

taught teach student learn sold customer buy

"Saying you taught it but the student didn't learn it is like saying you sold it but the customer didn't buy it."

― Alfie Kohn

value measure outcomes important lerning

"We can't value only what is easy to measure; measurable outcomes may be the least important results of learning."

― Alfie Kohn

stupid question standardized test

"Whoever said there's no such thing as a stupid question never looked carefully at a standardized test."

― Alfie Kohn

cover time curriculum enemy understanding ideas discover

"We have so much to cover and so little time to cover it. Howard Gardner refers to curriculum coverage as the single greatest enemy of understanding. Think instead about ideas to be discovered."

― Alfie Kohn

well-educated desire means life-long learning

"To be well-educated is to have the desire as well as the means to make sure that learning never ends."

― Alfie Kohn

learning students do teaching

"Learning is something students do, NOT something done to students."

― Alfie Kohn

excellence victory experienced differently

"Trying to do well and trying to beat others are two different things. Excellence and victory are conceptually distinct . . . and are experienced differently."

— Alfie Kohn

faculty grades encourage learning

"If faculty would relax their emphasis on grades, this might serve not to lower standards but to encourage an orientation toward learning."

— Alfie Kohn

enthusiasm data computer education distance student

"An individual’s enthusiasm about the employment of “data” in education is directly proportional to his or her distance from actual students."

— Alfie Kohn