From self-esteem to school uniforms, from grade inflation to character education, Kohn raises a series of provocative questions about the status quo in this collection of essays. He challenges us to reconsider some of our most basic assumptions about children and education. Whether he is explaining why cooperative learning can be so threatening or why detracking is so fiercely opposed, Kohn offers a fresh, informed, and frequently disconcerting perspective...

Questions the widely held assumption that human beings are selfish and aggressive by nature and presents knowledge gained in the last twenty years about the socialization practices and experiences that shape caring, helpful, and altruistic persons.