It's so nice to have a couple of days off. The convention coincides with fall break at the U so Sean and Kimmi are on break as well. I'm going to see a speaker tomorrow - Alfie Kohn - who writes books on how teachers screw up their students. Well, not really. But he does have some pretty wide reaching criticism of everyday practices. His book, Punished By Rewards, talks about how making rewards extrinsic doesn't allow students to develop their own reasons for working hard. The latest installment is a book about how homework doesn't work. I'm curious because I see homework as a necessary part of education, particularly for students like mine who need to catch up. We have so little time and so much for them to learn. Practice becomes something they must do at home if they hope to compete with students raised in better circumstances. I wonder if Mr. Kohn can tell me what I should do about that if, indeed, homework isn't effective. And, of course, I want to wander through the vendor area where you can buy stuff for your classroom. Not that I need anything else, but it's lots of fun and I always seem to find something to buy.
1 comment:
I love shopping for school supplies. My mom used to take us to the exhibitor part of UEA and buy stuff, so I think maybe it is just genetic.
As for Mr. Kohn, I'm curious where he is finding the totally self-motivated individuals who never need rewards. Does he actually work with humans?
I'm pretty sure that you are not screwing your students up. You are clearly interested in them and try to give them the best. What else could be better?
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