Too Much Achievement, Too Little Learning

A Talk with Alfie Kohn

According to educational researchers, there’s a big difference between getting kids to think about their performance in school (that is, how well they’re doing) and getting them to think about the learning itself (what they’re doing). These orientations often pull in opposite directions, which means that too much emphasis on achievement can reduce children’s interest in learning -- and cause them to avoid challenging tasks. When the point is to prove how smart you are, to get a good grade or a high test score, there is less inclination to engage deeply with ideas, to explore and discover.  And there are psychological costs as well, as the push to excel takes its toll. In this talk, Alfie Kohn invites us to rethink our basic assumptions about competition, school success, and the relationship between our long-term goals for our kids and how we’re actually raising and teaching them.

The Open Classroom Leadership Magnet and Conejo Schools Foundation are pleased to present renowned author, speaker, and education leader Alfie Kohn at the Thousand Oaks High School Performing Arts Center on January 10th, 2012, from 6:30-8:30pm, including Q&A.  He will be available to sign books before and after the presentation.

Alfie Kohn is the author of twelve books, including PUNISHED BY REWARDS, THE SCHOOLS OUR CHILDREN DESERVE, UNCONDITIONAL PARENTING, THE HOMEWORK MYTH, and, most recently, FEEL-BAD EDUCATION.  He has been described by Time magazine as “perhaps the country’s most outspoken critic of education’s fixation on grades [and] test scores.”  Kohn lives (actually) in the Boston area and (virtually) at www.alfiekohn.org.

Click here to purchase tickets, which are $20 prepaid online and $25 at the door.