Alfie Kohn has a terrific article in Education Week with the title above. It is behind a pay wall and I can’t repost it in full, lest I get an angry scolding from Edweek.

But here are a few good excerpts:

“It pains me to say this, but professionals in our field often seem content to work within the constraints of traditional policies and accepted assumptions-even when they don’t make sense. Conversely, too many educators seem to have lost their capacity to be outraged by outrageous things. Handed foolish and destructive mandates, they respond only by requesting guidance on how to implement them.”

And, what do courageous educators do?

“Digging deeper. It requires gumption to follow one’s principles wherever they lead. One may hope, for example, that children will be lifelong learners. But what if evidence and experience tell us that interest in learning declines when students are graded and made to work on academic assignments at home? Are we willing to question any traditional practices-including grades and homework-that interfere with important goals?”

And:

“Even when practices seem to be producing good results, a courageous educator questions the criteria: “Wait a minute-we say this policy ‘works,’ but doesn’t that just mean it raises scores on bad tests?” “My classroom may be quiet and orderly, but am I promoting intellectual and moral development, or merely compliance?” “Aren’t our graduates getting into prestigious colleges mostly because they’re from affluent families? Are we helping them become deep and passionate thinkers?””

There’s much more, but you will have to dig deeper to find it.