Somehow, deeply conservative assumptions about how children behave and how parents raise them have become the conventional wisdom in our society. It's widely assumed that parents are both permissive and overprotective, unable to set limits and afraid to let their kids fail. We're told that young peo[...]

Argues that competition is inherently destructive and that competitive behavior is culturally induced, counter-productive, and causes anxiety, selfishness, self-doubt, and poor communication[...]

Two forces now dominate the theory and practice of American education. The first, using the language of "tougher standards" and "accountability," is a heavy-handed, top-down, test-driven version of school reform which assumes that harder is always better. The second is an aggressive traditionalism t[...]

The author of Punished by Rewards and The School Our Children Deserve builds on his parenting theories of working with children rather than trying to control them, argues against practices that teach children that they must earn a parent's approval, and presents techniques that promote desired child[...]

A century of education and education reform along with the last three decades of high-stakes testing and accountability reveals a disturbing paradox: Education has a steadfast commitment to testing and grading despite decades of research, theory, and philosophy that reveal the corrosive consequences[...]