Competition vs. Collaboration
For the third week, Alfie Kohn joins Deborah Meier on the blog.
Dear Debbie,
It goes without saying that we're not going to convince everyone—and, in this culture, we may struggle to convince even a substantial number —of the merit of any of the positions we support. That doesn't mean we don't keep trying, of course. But when you ask, "If [our views are] as sensible as you and I think, how come the world is still plagued by its obsession with punishment?", well, I guess we need to remind ourselves that the unpopularity of a viewpoint doesn't in itself constitute an argument against it.
At the same time, something we believe is wrong doesn't become right just because we've watered it down a little, such as by offering a few open-response items on a high-stakes test or making sure that children are punished by nice people whom they've trusted. I know we may have to settle for a compromise sometimes, but that doesn't mean the action isn't still troubling.
Things get more interesting when the moral questions really are unclear, as they may be when, to take your
Dear Debbie,
It goes without saying that we're not going to convince everyone—and, in this culture, we may struggle to convince even a substantial number —of the merit of any of the positions we support. That doesn't mean we don't keep trying, of course. But when you ask, "If [our views are] as sensible as you and I think, how come the world is still plagued by its obsession with punishment?", well, I guess we need to remind ourselves that the unpopularity of a viewpoint doesn't in itself constitute an argument against it.
At the same time, something we believe is wrong doesn't become right just because we've watered it down a little, such as by offering a few open-response items on a high-stakes test or making sure that children are punished by nice people whom they've trusted. I know we may have to settle for a compromise sometimes, but that doesn't mean the action isn't still troubling.
Things get more interesting when the moral questions really are unclear, as they may be when, to take your