Repost: Education scholar, author Alfie Kohn to speak Nov. 18 at Concordia-Chicago on 'deadly effects of tougher standards'

Alfie Kohn is coming to the Chicago area!

http://www.cuchicago.edu/news/story/?sid=798

Oct. 14, 2009 – Internationally recognized education scholar, speaker and author Alfie Kohn will visitConcordia University Chicago Nov. 18 to discuss “The Deadly Effects of ‘Tougher Standards’: Challenging High-Stakes Testing and Other Impediments to Learning.”

Kohn will examine authentic challenges for students as opposed to what he describes as “mindless ‘harder is better’” mentality, and difference between standards as guidelines and standards as lists of facts students should know. Admission is free and the event is open to the public. Audience members are welcome to bring a copy of their book for Kohn to sign.

A nationally known speaker and scholar on human behavior, education and parenting, Kohn has appeared in hundreds of TV and radio interviews including on the Today show and The Oprah Winfrey Show. Time magazine has called Kohn "perhaps the country's most outspoken critic of education's fixation on grades [and] test scores."

The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times have profiled him, while his work is discussed and debated by critics, education experts, parents and teachers across the globe. As a frequent keynote speaker, Kohn lectures regularly at universities, for parent groups and for corporations, and conducts workshops and seminars for teachers and administrators.

Author of 11 books including The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing and No Contest: The Case Against Competition, Kohn has also contributed to publications including the Harvard Business Review and Psychology Today.

The presentation begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Chapel of Our Lord at Concordia University Chicago, 7400 Augusta St. in River Forest. Free handicapped-accessible parking is available in the University’s parking structure on Bonnie Brae Street.

Kohn’s talk is co-sponsored by the Concordia University Chicago College of Education, the Northeastern Illinois University College of Education and the Chicagoland Lutheran Education Foundation.

The College of Education at Concordia University Chicago prepares teachers, school leaders, school counselors and directors of Christian education (DCE) at the graduate and undergraduate levels. The University’s doctoral programs offer specialization in early childhood education, public school leadership and nonpublic school leadership.

Recognized as a leader in teacher education, Concordia graduates the state’s largest number of public school teachers among private Illinois colleges. More than 3,000 Chicagoland teachers and administrators seeking their graduate education degrees enroll at Concordia each year.

CONTACT:
Sarah Hickman, Communications Coordinator
708-209-3235 or sarah.hickman@cuchicago.edu