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Kohn's Zone

Alfie Kohn 29 Episodes Oct 1, 2026

Alfie Kohn, a longtime critic of traditional schooling, explores progressive education and research-based critiques of rewards, punishments, grades, testing, homework, and competition. Each episode offers 20-30 minutes of reflections on teaching, learning, and human behavior, with occasional longer conversations with education experts. New episodes appear roughly every two weeks. Listeners can also find additional resources on the podcast's home page at AlfieKohn.org/podcasts.

Episodes

Raising the Scores, Ruining the Schools Oct 1, 2026 1:06:54 October 1, 2026 Raising the Scores, Ruining the Schools More than a quarter-century after “No Child Left Behind” deliberately left millions of children behind by imposing nationwide punitive high-stakes testing, U.S. students are still tested constantly, starting early in elementary school. Children in many states may be forced to repeat a grade based solely on their scores.

Caution: Contents Under Pressure Sep 15, 2026 26:25 September 15, 2026 Caution: Contents Under Pressure The psychological consequences of pressuring children to perform well academically (and, worse, to outperform their peers) are distressingly obvious. But some adults rationalize their actions by claiming that pressure can be productive. Here we consider psychological research on different amounts and types of stress, as well as asking w

How Not to Deal with Bullying Sep 1, 2026 30:08 September 1, 2026 How Not to Deal with Bullying The amount of bullying that goes on in schools is as sobering as the psychological impact it has on its victims, sometimes lasting into adulthood. Alas, common strategies for dealing with this problem are often ineffective and even counterproductive. In fact, we may inadvertently create a climate conducive to bullying by relying on punitive

Teaching Kindness Aug 15, 2026 August 15, 2026 Teaching Kindness How can schools help children to become not only good learners but also good people? What’s involved in cultivating a genuine concern about others, an enduring commitment to helping and caring? Here we consider several strategies, which require us to look beyond behaviors and think about motives: the care we express for students, the prosocial exam

The Pseudoscience of Reading Aug 1, 2026 1:04:12 August 1, 2026 The Pseudoscience of Reading What the real science of reading shows is that there isn’t a single method for learning how to read that’s ideal for all children. Moreover, reading is not just about letter-sound relationships; it’s about making meaning — reading (and talking about) real books for real reasons. In an eye-opening conversation, literacy e

The Remarkable Benefits of Diversity Jul 15, 2026 30:05 July 15, 2026 The Remarkable Benefits of Diversity Even if you aren’t ideologically opposed to segregation in schools, research shows that it doesn’t make sense for practical reasons — and that goes not only for segregation by race but also segregation by gender, ability, or age. What generally proves beneficial, from preschool to college, are heterogeneous environments

Raising Reflective Rebels Jul 1, 2026 30:06 July 1, 2026 Raising Reflective Rebels We’re faced with a silent epidemic of obedience, a pervasive failure to become outraged by outrageous things. Adults whose highest accolade for a child is “well-behaved” often themselves suffer from a crisis of moral courage. This episode offers practical suggestions for teachers and parents who want to help kids acquire not only t

Fun Without Winning or Losing Jun 15, 2026 30:15 June 15, 2026 Fun Without Winning or Losing We have been raised – and, in turn, raise our children – to take on faith that recreation requires competition, that half the people playing a game must try to defeat the other half. (They “cooperate” only with their teammates, and only in order to triumph over the other team.) In a true cooperative game, by contrast, ev

“Progressive High School” Is Not an Oxymoron Jun 1, 2026 1:14:19 June 1, 2026 “PROGRESSIVE HIGH SCHOOL” IS NOT AN OXYMORON In theory, the fact that all but a handful of states have eliminated do-or-die exit exams allows high schools to finally do right by teenagers, to help them become engaged intellectuals and caring people. A leading theorist and practitioner of secondary education – author, professor, and long-time Midwestern prin

Grade Inflation Is Not the Problem May 15, 2026 May 15, 2026 Grade Inflation Is Not the Problem When you look at student transcripts (rather than at self-reports), it’s less clear that average grades are rising over time. And even if some grades are higher, that doesn’t mean they’re “inflated” (i.e., undeserved). But many conservative critics don’t seem troubled by their inability to prove those cla

Beneath the What and the How Is the Why May 1, 2026 26:54 May 1, 2026 Beneath the What and the How Is the Why In the absence of an affirmative definition of mental health, psychology doesn't become value-free; its values - and the goals of therapy - are just driven underground. Similarly, if we don't reflect on the purpose of education, schooling by default is oriented just to collecting a credential. The point of this episode is not to recommend one sp

The Best Classroom Discussions, Hands Down Apr 15, 2026 April 15, 2026 The Best Classroom Discussions, Hands Down In traditional classrooms, students may contribute to a discussion only by raising their hands and waiting for the teacher to call on them. In even more controlling environments, students must contribute when the teacher calls on them, even if they'd rather not. The latter practice, "cold calling," puts kids on the spot and forces them to

The Assault on Public Education Apr 1, 2026 1:07:47 April 1, 2026 The Assault on Public Education: A Conversation with Jennifer Berkshire Public schools, says Jennifer Berkshire, are the places "where we start to solve problems together" and from which no child can be excluded even if she has special needs or two moms. Public education is really the foundation of a pluralistic secular democracy, which is precisely why it has long been the target o

Friendly Excursions into Disequilibrium Mar 15, 2026 16:54 March 15, 2026 Friendly Excursions into Disequilibrium Enforced harmony is counterproductive. Pushing students (or employees) to come to agreement prematurely tends to undermine learning (or produce bad decisions). Sometimes that's motivated by a desire to avoid conflict. But conflict handled carefully is not only tolerable; it's valuable. What's problematic is debate - disagreement where the poi

Who’s Cheating Whom? Mar 1, 2026 31:19 March 1, 2026 Who's Cheating Whom? We're often warned about an "epidemic" of academic cheating and urged to do more to deter and punish the devious culprits. But we've had a century of research showing that the frequency of cheating is predicted not by the compromised morality of individual students but by the policies, priorities, and practices of schools. Specifically, cheating is far more comm

The Whole Point Is That There’s No Point Feb 15, 2026 19:55 February 15, 2026 The Whole Point Is That There's No Point Early-childhood educators remind us how vital it is for kids to have plentiful opportunities to engage in free play - which, sadly, is often denied to them as academic pressures are imposed too early and too intensely. But let's consider some perspectives on play that are less obvious: how the word is sometimes applied to activities that

Beyond “Electronic Flashcards” Feb 1, 2026 59:04 February 1, 2026 Beyond "Electronic Flashcards": A Conversation with Gary Stager Computers in classrooms may have the potential to radically enrich and democratize student learning, but the reality of ed tech typically looks very different. This extended episode of Kohn's Zone features a stimulating conversation with Gary Stager, one of our foremost experts on this topic. He takes us beyond banal

How to Kill Kids’ Interest in Reading Jan 15, 2026 January 15, 2026 How to Kill Kids' Interest in Reading Surveys reveal that fewer children and adults are reading for pleasure. This might be due partly to social media, but certain classroom strategies and school policies likely play a role. In this episode we come at the issue backwards: What would teachers do if their goal was to extinguish kids' enthusiasm about books? Well, they would adopt a

Who Gets to Decide? – Part 2 Jan 1, 2026 26:34 January 1, 2026 Who Gets to Decide? - Part 2 Intellectually vibrant classrooms are distinguished by teachers who do a lot more asking than telling. Their motto when confronting challenges or planning lessons is "Bring the kids in on it!" Regular class meetings offer a significant role for students to reflect on "how we want our class to be" (rather than focusing on specific rules). This second of

Who Gets to Decide? – Part 1 Dec 15, 2025 20:45 December 15, 2025 Who Gets to Decide? - Part 1 An impressive body of research shows that people of all ages - including students in classrooms - are happier, healthier, and more productive when they have some say about what they're doing. Indeed, the way children learn to make good decisions is by making decisions. Why, then, are so many classrooms more focused on eliciting their compliance than

The Curious Case of the Incurious Children Dec 1, 2025 1:08:02 December 1, 2025 The Curious Case of the Incurious Children A Conversation with Susan Engel Everyone agrees that it's good to be curious, but that doesn't mean schools are committed to fostering children's curiosity. This extended episode of Kohn's Zone features a provocative conversation with early-childhood expert Susan Engel of Williams College, who draws on a deep background of theory and res

It’s Not Just You Nov 15, 2025 34:04 November 15, 2025 It's Not Just You The most popular initiatives in education tend to be strategies for "fixing the kids." A focus on the deficits of individual students, rather than a critical analysis of systemic issues, is the common denominator of academic remediation, behavior management programs, and efforts to equip children with more self-regulation, grit, or a "growth mindset." Yet the e

Making Kids Work a Second Shift Nov 1, 2025 46:58 November 1, 2025 Making Kids Work a Second Shift Too often the debate over homework is restricted to its quantity -- or, at best, its quality. But such discussions take for granted the need for some homework, as if it were impossible to question that premise. It may come as a surprise, therefore, to learn that research generally fails to support the value of, let alone the need for, requiring chi

A.I., as in Anti-Intellectual Oct 15, 2025 27:42 October 15, 2025 A.I., as in Anti-Intellectual People who express concern about the use of AI in schools often focus on how it allows students to get away with something (by using OpenAI to write their essays). But shouldn't we be talking more about its potential effects on teaching and learning than whether it will impede our ability to evaluate students? The problem is not just that we seem to

Death by Civics Oct 1, 2025 1:05:57 October 1, 2025 Death by Civics A Conversation with Joel Westheimer About the Role of Education in Democratic Life Suppose you wanted young people to develop a commitment to democracy, particularly at a time when it's under assault. How would you do that? Not by creating a school culture in which following the rules is valued more than critical thinking. And not by offering conventional civics

The Failure of Failure Sep 15, 2025 September 15, 2025 The Failure of Failure The notion that kids today have it too easy and would benefit from more experiences with failure is no longer a surprising, contrarian claim; it has become the conventional wisdom. But it's dead wrong on two levels: Most children deal with frustration and failure quite a lot, and those experiences tend not to be beneficial, according to research. Either n

Bad Signs Sep 1, 2025 26:24 September 1, 2025 Bad Signs The posters and signs adorning school walls speak volumes about the people who put them there, revealing a surprising amount about their views of children, their assumptions about learning, and even their beliefs about human nature. There's the enforced positivity of slogans that basically tell students: "Have a nice day....or else," the individualistic worldview of

Confusing Harder with Better Aug 15, 2025 24:56 August 15, 2025 Confusing Harder with Better What do the following have in common? a) parents who don't seem particularly concerned about whether what their kids are doing in school is engaging or meaningful, but are quick to complain if their assignments aren't sufficiently challenging b) people who assume that Advanced Placement classes must be the best that a high school has to offer just beca

Number Sense and Nonsense Aug 1, 2025 55:35 August 1, 2025 Number Sense and Nonsense A Conversation with Jo Boaler About Learning Math(s) Question: Why do so many people write off math as uninteresting if not downright unpleasant, and as something they just don't have a knack for? Answer: Years of traditional instruction with textbooks and worksheets and quizzes, memorization of math facts and algorithms, direct instruction of the approv

Skip the Sugarcoating Jul 15, 2025 16:53 July 15, 2025 Skip the Sugarcoating If your company is offering unappealing food, you'll be tempted to add artificial sweetener. And if your schools are offering unengaging lessons (which students had no role in creating), you'll be tempted to use some kind of gimmick to make them seem less dreary. This episode considers how, long before "gamification," John Dewey hit on the metaphor of sugarcoat

Little Ed Koches Jul 1, 2025 24:19 July 1, 2025 Little Ed Koches Grades and tests get in the way of learning for multiple reasons, but this episode digs deeper to explore how any practices that lead students to focus on how well they're doing in school -- as opposed to what they're doing -- are bad news. Policy makers who trumpet their demands for higher standards, "rigor," and "raising the bar" may not realize that this focus on

The Back-to-School-Night Speech We’d Like to Hear (Ep. 1) Jul 1, 2025 21:18 July 1, 2025 The Back-to-School-Night Speech We'd Like to Hear This introductory episode offers an overview of education issues that will be discussed on the podcast -- a sort of a Cliff's Notes to what distinguishes traditional from progressive education. It takes the form of a (fictitious) principal's remarks to parents delivered one evening in a school auditorium. The premise was inspired by a

Kohn's Zone

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