September 27, 2016 The Bonus Effect One Kind of Interest that Rewards Don’t Kill By Alfie Kohn For nearly half a century, research has raised troubling questions about the practice of dangling rewards in front of people to get them to do what we want. It doesn’t matter whether the people in question are male or female, children or adults. … Read More
“Your Hand’s Not Raised? Too Bad: I’m Calling on You Anyway”
January 29, 2016 “Your Hand’s Not Raised? Too Bad: I’m Calling on You Anyway” By Alfie Kohn Doctors in training call it “pimping.” A medical student or junior resident is abruptly put on the spot, sometimes during patient rounds, as an instructor fires off difficult questions about anatomy, diagnostic protocols, or surgical procedures.[1] The practice is defended in pretty … Read More
Learning Together
No Contest: The Case Against Competition, rev. ed. (Houghton Mifflin, 1992) Chapter 10 Learning Together A Defense and Analysis of Cooperative Learning By Alfie Kohn I consider…the tendency toward a selfish individualism one of the strongest counts against our customary…sit-alone-at-your-own-desk procedure….Whole-hearted purposeful activity in a social situation as the typical unit of school procedure is the best guarantee of … Read More
To Change What We Do, Consider What We Believe
Foreword to The Teacher You Want to Be 2015 To Change What We Do, Consider What We Believe By Alfie Kohn [This essay is adapted from the Foreword to The Teacher You Want to Be, edited by Matt Glover and Ellin Oliver Keene (Heinemann, 2015)] Creativity — in education and in general — might be defined as the capacity to … Read More
The Wrong Way to Get People to Do the Right Thing
May 12, 2015 The Wrong Way to Get People to Do the Right Thing By Alfie Kohn [This essay is adapted from The Brighter Side of Human Nature, which contains the complete references to research cited here.] Our culture may sing the praises of the heroically selfless, yet it also seems to disdain the very idea of helping. We … Read More
Unconditional Parenting – (Book)
Unconditional Parenting Moving from Rewards and Punishments to Love and Reason (Atria Books, 2005)(Tantor audio, 2016) Most parenting guides begin with the question "How can we get kids to do what they're told?" -- and then proceed to offer various techniques for controlling them. In this truly groundbreaking book, nationally respected educator Alfie Kohn begins instead by asking "What do ... Read More
Articles by Subject
Articles Arranged by Subject List Articles... alphabeticallychronologicallyby periodicalby subjectFor Alfie Kohn's blog posts, please click here. For a list of articles dealing with standards and testing, click here. Haga click aquí para ver la lista de artículos que han sido traducidos al Español. (*) = included in What to Look for in a Classroom ... and Other Essays (**) = included in What Does It Mean to ... Read More
Books Page
For a list of all translated editions of Kohn's books, click here. For a list of all of Kohn's titles available as audiobooks, click here. SCHOOLING BEYOND MEASURE: AND OTHER UNORTHODOX ESSAYS ABOUT EDUCATION (Heinemann, 2015) A collection of articles that were originally published between 2010 and 2014, dealing with topics ranging from play to parent involvement in schooling to ... Read More
Unconditional Parenting – (Lecture Topic)
UNCONDITIONAL PARENTING: Beyond Bribes and Threats Advice for raising children typically comes in two flavors: threats (known euphemistically as “consequences”) and bribes (“positive reinforcement”). Either we make kids suffer to teach them a lesson, or we dangle goodies in front of them for doing as they’re told. Rewards and punishments are two sides of the same coin, and unfortunately, neither … Read More
Beyond Bribes And Threats- (Lecture Topic)
BEYOND BRIBES AND THREATS: Realistic Alternatives to Controlling Students’ Behavior This workshop, by the author of Beyond Discipline: From Compliance to Community, addresses the nonacademic realm of school life – and specifically the ways that discipline or classroom management not only tends to backfire, but actively interferes with the process of helping students grow into responsible, compassionate people. We begin … Read More