Quote

Trying to do well and trying to beat others are two different things. Excellence and victory are conceptually distinct . . . and are experienced differently.

Alfie Kohn

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

Alfie Kohn
Age: 67
Born: 1957
Born: October 15
Author
Teacher
Writer
Miami Beach
Florida
Two
Distinct
Wells
Differently
Well
Experienced
Different
Excellence
Trying
Beat
Things
Beats
Victory
Others
Conceptually

More quotes by Alfie Kohn

Image
There are different kinds of motivation, and the kind matters more than the amount.
Alfie Kohn
Image
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
Image
Whoever said there's no such thing as a stupid question never looked carefully at a standardized test.
Alfie Kohn
Image
The late W. Edwards Deming, guru of Quality management, once declared, 'The most important things we need to manage can't be measured.' If that’s true of what we need to manage, it should be even more obvious that it’s true of what we need to teach.
Alfie Kohn
Image
The overwhelming number of teachers ...are unable to name or describe a theory of learning that underlies what they do.
Alfie Kohn
Image
Sometimes we have to put our foot down, ... but before we deliberately make children unhappy in order to get them to get into the car, or to do their homework or whatever, we need to weigh whether what we're doing to make it happen is worth the possible strain on our relationship with them.
Alfie Kohn
Image
Being a team player should not imply a demand for simple obedience and conformity.
Alfie Kohn
Image
The race to win turns us all into losers.
Alfie Kohn
Image
In outstanding classrooms, teachers do more listening than talking, and students do more talking than listening. Terrific teachers often have teeth marks on their tongues.
Alfie Kohn
Image
Maximum difficulty isn't the same as optimal difficulty.
Alfie Kohn
Image
Don't let anyone tell you that standardized tests are not accurate measures. The truth of the matter is they offer a remarkably precise method for gauging the size of the houses near the school where the test was administered.
Alfie Kohn
Image
The value of a book about dealing with children is inversely proportional to the number of times it contains the word behavior.
Alfie Kohn
Image
Educational success should be measured by how strong your desire is to keep learning.
Alfie Kohn
Image
Children, after all, are not just adults-in-the-making. They are people whose current needs and rights and experiences must be taken seriously.
Alfie Kohn
Image
Someone who thinks well of himself is said to have a healthy self-concept and is envied. Someone who thinks well of his country is called a patriot and is applauded. But someone who thinks well of his species is regarded as hopelessly naïve and is dismissed.
Alfie Kohn
Image
When test scores go up, we should worry, because of how poor a measure they are of what matters, and what you typically sacrifice in a desperate effort to raise scores.
Alfie Kohn
Image
If faculty would relax their emphasis on grades, this might serve not to lower standards but to encourage an orientation toward learning.
Alfie Kohn
Image
Do rewards motivate people? Absolutely. They motivate people to get rewards.
Alfie Kohn
Image
The Legacy of Behaviorism: Do this and you'll get that.
Alfie Kohn
Image
Children learn how to make good decisions by making decisions, not by following directions.
Alfie Kohn