LEARNING MAGAZINE October-November 1995 Discipline Is The Problem — Not The Solution By Alfie Kohn When things in my classroom hit bottom, there were days when I was convinced that the kids stayed up nights plotting ways to make my life miserable. It was only later that I realized their disruptions were basically just intended to make the time pass … Read More
Punished by Rewards?: A Conversation with Alfie Kohn
EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP September 1995 Punished by Rewards? A Conversation with Alfie Kohn By Ron Brandt Both rewards and punishments, says Punished by Rewards author Alfie Kohn, are ways of manipulating behavior that destroy the potential for real learning. Instead, he advocates providing an engaging curriculum and a caring atmosphere “so kids can act on their natural desire to find out.” The following … Read More
Newt Gingrich’s Reading Plan (*)
EDUCATION WEEK April 19, 1995 Newt Gingrich’s Reading Plan By Alfie Kohn Our culture is marinated in behaviorism. At work, at school, and at home, we take for granted that the way to get things done is to dangle goodies in front of people. Thus, it seemed perfectly reasonable to observers across the political spectrum when House Speaker Newt Gingrich … Read More
The Risks of Rewards
ERIC Digest December 1994 ERIC Identifier: ED376990 The Risks of Rewards By Alfie Kohn Para leer este artículo en Español, haga clic aquí. Many educators are acutely aware that punishment and threats are counterproductive. Making children suffer in order to alter their future behavior can often elicit temporary compliance, but this strategy is unlikely to help children become ethical, compassionate decision … Read More
The Truth About Self-Esteem (*)
PHI DELTA KAPPAN December 1994 The Truth About Self-Esteem By Alfie Kohn [For an updated and expanded review of the research on this topic, please see chapter 6 (“The Attack on Self-Esteem”) of The Myth of the Spoiled Child, published in 2014.] The very act of “debating” a controversial issue tends to reduce the number of possible positions to … Read More
Grading: The Issue Is Not How but Why (*)
EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP OCTOBER 1994 Grading The Issue Is Not How but Why By Alfie Kohn Why are we concerned with evaluating how well students are doing? The question of motive, as opposed to method, can lead us to rethink basic tenets of teaching and learning and to evaluate what students have done in a manner more consistent with our ultimate … Read More
Is Competition Ever Appropriate in a Cooperative Classroom?
COOPERATIVE LEARNING MAGAZINE 1993 – vol. 13, no. 3 Is Competition Ever Appropriate in a Cooperative Classroom? By Alfie Kohn Of the numerous benefits of cooperative learning (CL), the one that first appealed to many of us was its status as an alternative to competition. Some combination of observation, personal experience, and research has made it painfully clear that setting … Read More
A Closer Look at Reading Incentive Programs
Excerpts from Punished by Rewards (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993/1999/2018) A Closer Look at Reading Incentive Programs By Alfie Kohn All those reading incentive campaigns inflicted on elementary school children across the country provide sobering evidence of just how many parents and educators are trapped by Skinnerian thinking. They also illustrate the consequences of extrinsic motivators more generally. Asked about the likely … Read More
The Case Against Gold Stars
PARENTS MAGAZINE October 1993 The Case Against Gold Stars By Alfie Kohn Call it the “gold-star syndrome.” Sometimes we paste stars on a chart. At other times we offer toys or extra TV, candy or cash, pizza or special privileges. We reward kids for doing what we want instead of punishing them for disobeying. Pull out a child-care book at … Read More
For Best Results, Forget the Bonus
NEW YORK TIMES October 17, 1993 For Best Results, Forget the Bonus By Alfie Kohn “Do this and you’ll get that.” These six words sum up the most popular way in which American business strives to improve performance in the workplace. And it is very popular. At least three of four American corporations rely on some sort of incentive program. … Read More