Last weekend, I went to the Cincinnati Montessori Society Conference. The keynote speaker was Alfie Kohn. His ideas on Education for life were provocative and maybe revolutionary for many people. But, I loved every single one. For instance, he spoke about how grades do not motivate students to learn and how praising creates children wo always expect something back from others. I'll expand on the topic of grades.
According to Kohn, students have to learn facts that are imposed to them. They usually don't have any participation on the decision of what they want to learn or what is meaningful to them (their culture, background, professional interests...). Therefore, students usually memorize the information they need to get good grades but they forget what was studied after the test or they cannot make connections between what was learned and life. If students are not motivated or interested in what they are learning, chances are they will not retain the information. More importantly, they do not learn to think critically. They cannot questions theories and apply old concets to new situations. There's much more to be said about education. A good book to reflect on is "What does it mean to be well educated? by Alfie Kohn.
As an educator, I believe it is important to question my teaching and relationship with my students. How do I chose my curriculum? Do my children have any participation in the units to be studied over the year? Do I encourage and motivate them to learn? Or how do I avoid the reward and punishment system?
Food for thought...
