Alfie Kohn
âThe Perils of âGrowth Mindsetâ Educationâ In the article, âThe Perils of âGrowth Mindsetâ Educationâ Alfie Kohn discusses his views on the education system while refuting Dwecksâ theory of a âgrowth mindset.â Kohn believes that Dwecksâ theory is completely wrong whether it is praising intelligence or praising effort, it is still praising therefore, having the same effects. Kohn believes that the focus should be diverted to the educational system. Alfie Kohn states that the education is failing, only useful for memorization of facts that will soon after be forgotten. Altough Kohn does state that students still get excited with the process of learning, but there is no doubt that Kohn believes that there is need for some improvement. Alfie Kohn uses various evidence types to back up his claim that it isnât the students that need fixing; it is the curriculum that needs the attention.  Itâs the evidence that is presented that is left up for questioning. As Kohn attempts to prove his point he refers to the evidence he gathered to help, but most of the evidence isnât as credible as some of his audience may want. While regarding examples of research he leaves out the most important piece, the source. In this article Kohn is referring his point regarding praise and achievements, as he tries to cite an example he states âA substantial research literatureâŠâ leaving the audience to wonder where the source of this interesting research came from. Therefore, leading to the questioning of the credibility of this article. Kohn  doesnât even site his own work. Later in the article he writes âAs Iâve explained in my books, and articlesâŠâ not giving a specific source so audience wonât be able to confirm or deny what he is stating. Kohn does leave a lot of his article in question on whether it can be deemed credible or not, but he does refer back to Dweck a lot.  He does this with John Stussel and Angela Duckworth. He uses their arguments to counter argue but also to support. It gives himself a little credibility since he does cite three different people. Overall Kohn writes a very interesting article with very strong points but his lack of sources and citing can hinder its credibility. Another one of Kohns focus was that âfixingâ studentâs mindsets diverts attention to other societal factors that influence learning such as sexism, poverty, economic, or political barriers. Kohn is stating that fixing a studentâs mindset will ultimately put the focus on social problems and away from the real educational problems. As he states that why don't females pursue a career in math or science, he writes "It's all a matter of mindset. We need only shift widespread perceptions over to the growth mindset- that is, to the perceptions of girls and women who are just trapped by their own faulty thinking." It is due to their way of thinking that they tend to focus on what they can't do and put the blame on other societal problems.