How_Not_to_Teach_Values_A_Critical_Look_at_Character_Education….pdf
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1、How Not to Teach ValuesA Critical Look at Character Educationby Alfie KohnPhi Delta Kappan,Feburay 1997.p 429-439.Copyright Alfie Kohn,1997Teachers and schools tend to mistake good behavior for good character.What theyprize is docility,suggestibility;the child who will do what he is told;or even bet
2、ter,thechild who will do what is wanted without even having to be told.They value mostchildren what children least value in themselves.Small wonder that their effort to buildcharacter is such a failure;they dont know it when they see it.-John HoltHow Children FailWere you to stand somewhere in the c
3、ontinental United States,and announce,Im goingto Hawaii,it would be understood that you were heading for those islands in the Pacificthat collectively constitute the 50th state.Were you to stand in Honolulu and make thesame statement,however,you would probably be talking about one specific island in
4、 thechain-namely,the big one to your southeast.The word Hawaii would seem to have twomeanings,a broad one and a narrow one;we depend on context to tell them apart.The phrase character education also has two meanings.In the broad sense,it refers toalmost anything that schools might try to provide out
5、side of academics,especially whenthe purpose is to help children grow into good people.In the narrow sense,it denotes aparticular style of moral training,one that reflects particular values as well as particularassumptions about the nature of children and how they learn.Unfortunately,the two meaning
6、s of the term have become blurred,with the narrowversion of character education dominating the field to the point that it is frequentlymistaken for the broader concept.Thus educators who are keen to support childrenssocial and moral development may turn,by default,to a program with a certain set ofm
7、ethods and a specific agenda that,on reflection,they might very well findobjectionable.My purpose in this article is to subject these programs to careful scrutiny and,in sodoing,to highlight the possibility that there are other ways to achieve our broaderobjectives.I address myself not so much to th
8、ose readers who are avid proponents ofcharacter education(in the narrow sense)but to those who simply want to help childrenbecome decent human beings and may not have thought carefully about what they arebeing offered.Let me get straight to the point.What goes by the name of character education nowa
9、daysis,for the most part,a collection of exhortations and extrinsic inducements designed tomake children work harder and do what theyre told.Even when other values are alsopromoted-caring or fairness,say-the preferred method of instruction is tantamount toindoctrination.The point is to drill student
10、s in specific behaviors rather than to engagethem in deep,critical reflection about certain ways of being.This is the impression onegets from reading articles and books by contemporary proponents of character educationas well as the curriculum materials sold by the leading national programs.The impr
11、essionis only strengthened by visiting schools that have been signaled out for their commitmentto character education.To with:A huge,multiethnic elementary school in Southern California uses a framework createdby the Jefferson Center for Character Education.Classes that the principal declareswell be
12、haved are awarded Bonus Bucks,which can eventually be redeemed for an icecream party.On an enormous wall near the cafeteria,professionally painted Peanutscharacters instruct children:Never talk in line.A visitor is led to a fifth-gradeclassroom to observe an exemplary lesson on the current character
13、 education topic.Theteacher is telling students to write down the name of the person they regard as thetoughest worker in school.The teacher then asks them,How many of you are going tobe tough workers?(Hands go up.)Can you be a tough worker at home,too?(Yes.)A small,almost entirely African American
14、school in Chicago uses a framework createdby the Character Education Institute.Periodic motivational assemblies are used to givechildren a good pep talk,as the principal puts it,and to reinforce the values thatdetermine who will be picked as Student of the Month.Rule number one posted on thewall of
15、the kindergarten room is We will obey the teachers.Today,students in thisclass are listening to the story of Lazy Lion,who orders each of the other animals tobuild him a house,only to find each effort unacceptable.At the end,the teacher driveshome the lesson:Did you ever hear Lion say thank you:(No.
16、)Did you ever hear Lionsay please?(No.)Its good to always say.what?(Please.)The reason for using thesewords,she points out,is that by doing so we are more likely to get what we want.A charter school near Boston has been established specifically to offer an intensive,homegrown character education cur
17、riculum to its overwhelmingly white,middle-classstudent body.At weekly public ceremonies,certain children receive a leaf that will behung in the Forest of Virtue.The virtues themselves are not open to debate,theheadmaster insists,since moral precepts in his view enjoy the same status asmathematical
18、truths.In a first-grade classroom,a teacher is observing that its veryhard to be obedient when you want something.I want you to ask yourself,Can I have it-and why not?She proceeds to ask the students,What kinds of things showobedience?and,after collecting a few suggestions,announces that shes not go
19、ing tocall on anyone else now.We could go on forever,but we have to have a moment ofsilence and then a spelling test.Some of the most popular schoolwide strategies for improving students character seemdubious on their face.When President Clinton mentioned the importance of charactereducation in his
20、1996 State of the Union address,the only specific practice herecommended was requiring students to wear uniforms.The premises here are first,thatchildrens character can be improved by forcing them to dress alike,and second,that ifadults object to students clothing,the best solution is not to invite
21、them to reflecttogether about how this problem might be solved,but instead to compel them all to wearthe same thing.A second strategy,also consistent with the dominant philosophy of character education,is an exercise that might be called If Its Tuesday,This Must Be Honesty.Here,onevalue after anothe
22、r is targeted,with each assigned its own day,week,or month.Thisseriatim approach is unlikely to result in a lasting commitment to any of these values,much less a feeling for how they may be related.Nevertheless,such programs are takenvery seriously by some of the same people who are quick to dismiss
23、 other educationalprograms,such as those intended to promote self-esteem,as silly and ineffective.Then there is the strategy of offering students rewards when they are caught beinggood,an approach favored by rightwing religious groups 1and orthodox behaviorists butalso by leaders of-and curriculum s
24、uppliers for-the character education movement.2Because of its popularity and because a sizable body of psychological evidence germaneto the topic is available,it is worth lingering on this particular practice for a moment.In general terms,what the evidence suggests is this:the more we reward people
25、for doingsomething,the more likely they are to lose interest in whatever they had to do to get thereward.Extrinsic motivation,in other words,is not only quite different from intrinsicmotivation but actually tends to erode it.3This effect has been demonstrated under manydifferent circumstances and wi
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