Quote

Each time I visit such a classroom, where the teacher is more interested in creating a democratic community than in maintaining her position of authority, I’m convinced all over again that moving away from consequences and rewards isn’t just realistic - it’s the best way to help kids grow into good learners and good people.

Alfie Kohn

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Alfie Kohn
Age: 67
Born: 1957
Born: October 15
Author
Teacher
Writer
Miami Beach
Florida
Good
Community
Democratic
Maintaining
Time
Help
Authority
Classroom
People
Moving
Interested
Visit
Helping
Creating
Realistic
Away
Grow
Consequences
Kids
Teacher
Rewards
Best
Position
Convinced
Way
Grows
Consequence
Learners

More quotes by Alfie Kohn

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There are different kinds of motivation, and the kind matters more than the amount.
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Saying you taught it but the student didn't learn it is like saying you sold it but the customer didn't buy it.
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If I offered you a thousand dollars to take off your shoes, you'd very likely accept--and then I could triumphantly announce that 'rewards work.' But as with punishments, they can never help someone develop a *commitment* to a task or action, a reason to keep doing it when there's no longer a payoff.
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The race to win turns us all into losers.
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Unconditional parenting: Moving from Rewards and Punishments to Love and Reason.
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People will typically be more enthusiastic where they feel a sense of belonging and see themselves as part of a community than they will in a workplace in which each person is left to his own devices
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We learn most readily, most naturally, most effectively, when we start with the big picture - precisely when the basics don't come first.
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Trying to be number one and trying to do a task well are two different things.
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We have so much to cover and so little time to cover it. Howard Gardner refers to curriculum coverage as the single greatest enemy of understanding. Think instead about ideas to be discovered.
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We can't value only what is easy to measure measurable outcomes may be the least important results of learning.
Alfie Kohn
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Those who know they're valued irrespective of their accomplishments often end up accomplishing quite a lot. It's the experience of being accepted without conditions that helps people develop a healthy confidence in themselves, a belief that it's safe to take risks and try new things.
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Educators remind us that what counts in a classroom is not what the teacher teaches it’s what the learner learns.
Alfie Kohn
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A preoccupation with achievement is not only different from, but often detrimental to, a focus on learning. Thoughts and emotions while performing an action are more important in determining subsequent engagement than the actual outcome of that action.
Alfie Kohn
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Students should not only be trained to live in a democracy when they grow up they should have the chance to live in one today.
Alfie Kohn
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If rewards do not work, what does? I recommend that employers pay workers well and fairly and then do everything possible to help them forget about money. A preoccupation with money distracts everyone - employers and employees - from the issues that really matter.
Alfie Kohn
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Being a team player should not imply a demand for simple obedience and conformity.
Alfie Kohn
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Very few things are as dangerous as a bunch of incentive-driven individuals trying to play it safe.
Alfie Kohn
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When was the last time you spent the entire day with only 42 year olds?
Alfie Kohn
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Whoever said there's no such thing as a stupid question never looked carefully at a standardized test.
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Maximum difficulty isn't the same as optimal difficulty.
Alfie Kohn