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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.

Alfie Kohn

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Alfie Kohn
Age: 67
Born: 1957
Born: October 15
Author
Teacher
Writer
Miami Beach
Florida
First
Precisely
Naturally
Picture
Start
Bigs
Learn
Basics
Firsts
Readily
Come
Effectively

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Grades dilute the pleasure that a student experiences on successfully completing a task.
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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.
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Most of us would protest that of course we love our children without any strings attached. But what counts is how things look from the perspective of the children
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The overwhelming number of teachers ...are unable to name or describe a theory of learning that underlies what they do.
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The Legacy of Behaviorism: Do this and you'll get that.
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Punishments erode relationships and moral growth.
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What can we surmise about the likelihood of someone's being caring and generous, loving and helpful, just from knowing that they are a believer? Virtually nothing, say psychologists, sociologists, and others who have studied that question for decade
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We can't value only what is easy to measure measurable outcomes may be the least important results of learning.
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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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Punishments and rewards are two sides of the same coin and that coin doesn't buy you much.
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When we do things that are controlling, whether intentional or not, we are not going to get those long-term outcomes.
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There are different kinds of motivation, and the kind matters more than the amount.
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If unconditional love and genuine enthusiasm are present, praise isn't necessary. If they're absent, praise won't help.
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To control students is to force them to accommodate to a preestablished curriculum.
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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.
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Maximum difficulty isn't the same as optimal difficulty.
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Independence is useful, but caring attitudes and behaviors shrivel up in a culture where each person is responsible only for himself.
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How we feel about our kids isn't as important as how they experience those feelings and how they regard the way we treat them.
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Do rewards motivate people? Absolutely. They motivate people to get rewards.
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