Alfie Kohn's The Myth Of The Spoiled Child

With the holidays quickly approaching, many consumers will have the pleasure of hearing a symphony of screams from children who pine for the latest creations Hasbro designed. While many will roll their eyes when a parent gives in, muttering under their breath about the sorry state of child rearing in the United States, those who have read Alfie Kohn’s The Myth of the Spoiled Child, will see these interactions in a completely different way. Kohn’s work attempts to shed light on the completely unfounded ideas that children today are too coddled, pampered, and spoiled and that parents concede too often to their children's whims. This book not only has important ideas for parents looking to better understand their children’s desires, but for educators

The first step to fostering this type of student is using what Kohn calls the “working with model”. A hallmark of this style is permitting a child to resist respectfully if what they were asked to do is ludicrous or unnecessary. This may sound foreign, but Kohn strongly highlights that setting up this model allows students to shake the traditionalist views that children should be seen and not hear. Students should question things they do to understand how it benefits them in the long run This key contribution is essential for teachers because students in the classroom a say in how they are graded and disciplined is important to helping a child take ownership of their education and learning. Additionally, giving them a safe and respectful environment in which to dissent, if it is justified, can assist them with becoming free thinkers. The ultimate goal for a teacher is to graduate a group of students who can think openly, crave knowledge for knowledge's sake, and to explore the world around them in order to find answers to the deeper meanings of life’s questions. Using Kohn’s model offers teachers a sliver of hope that they may