Friendly Excursions into Disequilibrium

Grade Inflation Is Not the Problem

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 claims; they’re indignant whenever a lot of kids get high grades, as if that outcome were inherently objectionable. Four troubling assumptions inform their outrage: that higher grades imply lower standards; that a teacher’s job is to sort students (rather than to help everyone succeed); that stringent grading motivates students (which conflates extrinsic with intrinsic motivation and is unsupported by data); and that students should be pitted against each other in a race for artificially scarce high grades (so that no matter how well everyone does, there must always be losers). If there is a crisis in education, it’s not how many students get A’s — it’s how many think the point of school is to get A’s (rather than to learn). RESOURCES: Lester H. Hunt, ed., Grade Inflation: Academic Standards in Higher Education (SUNY Press, 2008) — https://tinyurl.com/3phxfp5j [https://tinyurl.com/3phxfp5j] Alfie Kohn, “Can Everyone Be Excellent?”, New York Times, June 16, 2019 — https://www.alfiekohn.org/article/excellence/ [https://www.alfiekohn.org/article/excellence/]   A note from Alfie Kohn: If you’re enjoying Kohn’s Zone, please tell other people about it. If you have feedback about an episode, send it to https://www.alfiekohn.org/contact-us/ [https://www.alfiekohn.org/contact-us/]. And if you’re willing to do your part to keep the podcast ad- and paywall-free, please click on the donate button or visit https://coff.ee/kohnszone [https://coff.ee/kohnszone]. Thanks! ---------------------------------------- Please click the button below to donate. If you don’t see a button, please go to this page [https://coff.ee/kohnszone] (https://coff.ee/kohnszone). Donate [https://coff.ee/kohnszone] ---------------------------------------- PRODUCTION SUPPORT: Ultraviolet Audio ART: Abi Kohn

Beneath the What and the How Is the Why

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 specific educational goal but to sharpen the questions we ask about that topic (and emphasize the importance of asking them). For example: Should the goal(s) of education be the same for all students? Do we favor intellectual, as opposed to purely vocational, outcomes – and, if so, are they more about transmitting knowledge or developing the capacity for critical thinking? Is the point to benefit individual students or our society — and, if the latter, does that mean boosting the economy or sustaining democracy? And what role should students themselves play in determining the reasons for learning? RESOURCE: Labaree, How to Succeed in School Without Really Learning (Yale Univ. Press, 1999) — https://tinyurl.com/2cz5mmyp [https://tinyurl.com/2cz5mmyp]   If you’re enjoying Kohn’s Zone, please tell other people about it. If you have feedback about an episode, send it to https://www.alfiekohn.org/contact-us/ [https://www.alfiekohn.org/contact-us/]. And if you’re willing to do your part to keep the podcast ad- and paywall-free, kindly click on the donate button. Thanks! ---------------------------------------- Please click the button below to donate. If you don’t see a button, please go to this page [https://coff.ee/kohnszone] (https://coff.ee/kohnszone). Donate [https://coff.ee/kohnszone] ---------------------------------------- PRODUCTION SUPPORT: Ultraviolet Audio ART: Abi Kohn

The Best Classroom Discussions, Hands Down

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 perform on command. But the former practice, too, could be described as teacher-centered. Is there a way to change this dynamic in such a way that everyone won’t talk at once while also making sure that a few outspoken students won’t dominate the discussion? What would it mean for teachers to create a more democratic learning community by relinquishing the power to unilaterally decide who speaks when? RESOURCES: “Raising Hands” video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqzSlO9dp0c#t=00m25s [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqzSlO9dp0c#t=00m25s] Kassia Omohundro Wedekind & Christy Hermann Thompson, Hands Down, Speak Out (Routledge, 2020) — https://tinyurl.com/26ccz97f [https://tinyurl.com/26ccz97f]   A note from Alfie Kohn: I made two decisions when I decided to start this podcast. The first was not to accept ads. The second was to avoid putting certain episodes behind a paywall (or offering special content only to those who pay). But this means that I depend on the generosity of everyone who listens to help cover the production costs. So: Can you afford a modest contribution — ideally on a regular basis, since a podcast, after all, is not a one-shot event? If so, I’d be grateful if you’d support the project with whatever amount seems fair to you. (Your generosity will also confirm the thesis of my book The Brighter Side of Human Nature.) Also, if you enjoy the podcast, please tell other people about it. And if you have feedback about an episode you’ve just listened to, send it to https://www.alfiekohn.org/contact-us/ [https://www.alfiekohn.org/contact-us/]. ---------------------------------------- Please click the button below to donate. If you don’t see a button, please go to this page [https://coff.ee/kohnszone] (https://coff.ee/kohnszone). Donate [https://coff.ee/kohnszone] ---------------------------------------- PRODUCTION SUPPORT: Ultraviolet Audio ART: Abi Kohn

The Assault on Public Education

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 of the religious right. This extended episode of Kohn’s Zone features a conversation with Berkshire, who expertly guides us through efforts not only to impose religion, book bans, and a right-wing curriculum on public schools but to undermine the institution itself. Voucher plans are unpopular even in red states, but that reflects anti-government fervor more than support for public education, she explains. Liberals may be frustrated when schools fail to create a more egalitarian society, whereas conservatives fear that schools may succeed at this. Can a shared suspicion of wealthy interests — or opposition to standardized testing — fend off “school choice” plans? And where do charter schools fit in? Don’t miss this illuminating conversation. RESOURCES: Jennifer C. Berkshire and Jack Schneider, The Education Wars (New Press, 2024) — https://is.gd/9sZcHF [https://is.gd/9sZcHF] Jack Schneider and Jennifer C. Berkshire, A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door (New Press, 2023) — https://is.gd/RCGOEa [https://is.gd/RCGOEa] https://www.haveyouheardpodcast.com/   A note from Alfie Kohn: My sincere thanks to the listeners who have taken a minute to click on the DONATE link (or to visit coff.ee/kohnszone [http://coff.ee/kohnszone]) and helped to cover our production costs, thereby keeping the podcast ad- and paywall-free. If you are not yet one of the listeners who has done this, it’s not too late. It will also not be too late tomorrow, but doing so right now would be even better. Also, if you enjoy the podcast, please tell other people about it. ---------------------------------------- Please click the button below to donate. If you don’t see a button, please go to this page [https://coff.ee/kohnszone] (https://coff.ee/kohnszone). Donate [https://coff.ee/kohnszone] ---------------------------------------- PRODUCTION SUPPORT: Ultraviolet Audio ART: Abi Kohn

Friendly Excursions into Disequilibrium

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 point is not to learn or seek the truth but to win. The ideal arrangement in a classroom (or workplace) is cooperative conflict, where spirited disagreement is non-adversarial and nested in a caring environment. RESOURCES: David W. Johnson & Roger T. Johnson, “Energizing Learning: The Instructional Power of Conflict,” Educational Researcher (2009) — https://tinyurl.com/yc7t265j [https://tinyurl.com/yc7t265j] Karl Smith et al., “Can Conflict Be Constructive?” Journal of Educational Psychology (1981) — https://tinyurl.com/474ja9bu [https://tinyurl.com/474ja9bu] Alfie Kohn, No Contest: The Case Against Competition, rev. ed. (Houghton Mifflin, 1992) — https://www.alfiekohn.org/contest/ [https://www.alfiekohn.org/contest/]   A note from Alfie Kohn: I made two decisions when I decided to start this podcast. The first was not to accept ads. The second was to avoid putting certain episodes behind a paywall (or offering special content only to those who pay). But this means that I depend on the generosity of everyone who listens to help cover the production costs. So: Can you afford a modest contribution — ideally on a regular basis, since a podcast, after all, is not a one-shot event? If so, I’d be grateful if you’d support the project with whatever amount seems fair to you. (Your generosity will also confirm the thesis of my book The Brighter Side of Human Nature.) Also, if you enjoy the podcast, please tell other people about it. And if you have feedback about an episode, send it to https://www.alfiekohn.org/contact-us/ [https://www.alfiekohn.org/contact-us/]. ---------------------------------------- Please click the button below to donate. If you don’t see a button, please go to this page [https://coff.ee/kohnszone] (https://coff.ee/kohnszone). Donate [https://coff.ee/kohnszone] ---------------------------------------- PRODUCTION SUPPORT: Ultraviolet Audio ART: Abi Kohn