Most Popular Books by Alfie Kohn

Modern society has been conditioned into the behaviorist thinking of B. F. Skinner, contends Kohn, and rewards like incentive plans and candy actually undermine efforts to teach students, manage workers, and raise children. He sets out the scientific case against rewards, looks at rewards in practice, and considers motivation beyond rewards.

The author of Punished by Rewards and The Schools Our Children Deserve returns with a provocative challenge to the conventional ways of raising children. Kohn argues that all children have the need to be loved unconditionally, yet conventional approaches to parenting, such as punishment and reward, teach children that they are loved only when they please and impress parents. Kohn cites powerful research detailing the damage this can cause. Unconditional Parenting pushes parents to question their ideas of parenting and offers practical solutions to problems.

A compelling expose of homework--its negative effects, why it''s so widely accepted, and what we can do about it

What is most remarkable about the assortment of discipline programs on the market today is the number of fundamental assumptions they seem to share. Some may advocate the use of carrots rather than sticks; some may refer to punishments as "logical consequences." But virtually all take for granted that the teacher must be in control of the classroom, and that what we need are strategies to get students to comply with the adult''s expectations. Alfie Kohn challenged these widely accepted premises, and with them the very idea of classroom "management," when the original edition of Beyond Discipline was published in 1996. Since then, his path-breaking book has invited hundreds of thousands of educators to question the assumption that problems in the classroom are always the fault of students who don''t do what they''re told; instead, it may be necessary to reconsider what it is that they''ve been told to do—or to learn. Kohn shows how a fundamentally cynical view of children underlies the belief that we must tell them exactly how we expect them to behave and then offer "positive reinforcement" when they obey. Just as memorizing someone else''s right answers fails to promote students'' intellectual development, so does complying with someone else''s expectations for how to act fail to help students develop socially or morally. Kohn contrasts the idea of discipline, in which things are done to students to control their behavior, with an approach in which we work with students to create caring communities where decisions are made together. Beyond Discipline has earned the status of an education classic, a vital alternative to all the traditional manuals that consist of techniques for imposing control. For this 10th anniversary edition, Kohn adds a new afterword that expands on the book''s central themes and responds to questions from readers. Packed with stories from real classrooms around the country, seasoned with humor and grounded in a vision as practical as it is optimistic, Beyond Discipline shows how students are most likely to flourish in schools that have moved toward collaborative problem solving—and beyond discipline.

A critique on the American obsession with competition and it destructive influence on individuals and society.

Drawing from hundreds of studies in half a dozen fields, The Brighter Side of Human Nature makes a powerful case that caring and generosity are just as natural as selfishness and aggression. This lively refutation of cynical assumptions about our species considers the nature of empathy and the causes of war, why we (incorrectly) explain all behavior in terms of self-interest, and how we can teach children to care.

Mind-opening writing on what kids need from school, from one of education’s most outspoken voices Almost no writer on schools asks us to question our fundamental assumptions about education and motivation as boldly as Alfie Kohn. The Washington Post says that “teachers and parents who encounter Kohn and his thoughts come away transfixed, ready to change their schools.” And Time magazine has called him “perhaps the country’s most outspoken critic of education’s fixation on grades [and] test scores.” Here is challenging and entertaining writing on where we should go in American education, in Alfie Kohn’s unmistakable voice. He argues in the title essay with those who think that high standards mean joylessness in the classroom. He reflects thoughtfully on the question “Why Self-Discipline Is Overrated.” And in an essay for the New York Times, which generated enormous response, he warns against the dangers of both punishing and praising children for what they do instead of parenting “unconditionally.” Whether he’s talking about school policy or the psychology of motivation, Kohn gives us wonderfully provocative—and utterly serious—food for thought. This new book will be greeted with enthusiasm by his many readers, and by teachers and parents seeking a refreshing perspective on today’s debates about kids and schools.

Somehow, a set of deeply conservative assumptions about children -- what they''re like and how they should be raised -- have congealed into the conventional wisdom in our society. Parents are accused of being both permissive and overprotective, unwilling to set limits and afraid to let their kids fail. Young people, meanwhile, are routinely described as entitled and narcissistic . . . among other unflattering adjectives. In The Myth of the Spoiled Child, Alfie Kohn systematically debunks these beliefs -- not only challenging erroneous factual claims but also exposing the troubling ideology that underlies them. Complaints about pushover parents and coddled kids are hardly new, he shows, and there is no evidence that either phenomenon is especially widespread today -- let alone more common than in previous generations. Moreover, new research reveals that helicopter parenting is quite rare and, surprisingly, may do more good than harm when it does occur. The major threat to healthy child development, John argues, is posed by parenting that is too controlling rather than too indulgent. With the same lively, contrarian style that marked his influential books about rewards, competition, and education, Kohn relies on a vast collection of social science data, as well as on logic and humor, to challenge assertions that appear with numbing regularity in the popular press. These include claims that young people suffer from inflated self-esteem; that they receive trophies, praise, and As too easily; and that they would benefit from more self-discipline and "grit." These conservative beliefs are often accepted without question, even by people who are politically liberal. Kohn''s invitation to reexamine our assumptions is particularly timely, then; his book has the potential to change our culture''s conversation about kids and the people who raise them.

Arguing against the tougher standards rhetoric that marks the current education debate, the author of No Contest and Punished by Rewards writes that such tactics squeeze the pleasure out of learning. Reprint.

Kohn''s central message is that standardized tests are "not a force of nature but a force of politics--and political decisions can be questioned, challenged, and ultimately reversed."

Alfie Kohn challenges conventional notions on everything from students'' self-esteem to school uniforms in this witty, passionate, and provocative collection.

Few writers ask us to question our fundamental assumptions about education as provocatively as Alfie Kohn. Time magazine has called him''perhaps the country''s most outspoken critic of education''s fixation on grades [and] test scores.'' And the Washington Post says he is ''the most energetic and charismatic figure standing in the way of a major federal effort to make standardized curriculums and tests a fact of life in every U.S. school.'' In this new collection of essays, Kohn takes on some of the most important and controversial topics in education of the last few years. His central focus is on the real goals of education-a topic, he argues, that we systematically ignore while lavishing attention on misguided models of learning and counterproductive techniques of motivation. The shift to talking about goals yields radical conclusions and wonderfully pungent essays that only Alfie Kohn could have written. From the title essay''s challenge to conventional, conservative definitions of a good education to essays on standards and testing and grades that tally the severe educational costs of overemphasizing a narrow conception of achievement, Kohn boldly builds on his earlier work and writes for a wide audience. Kohn''s new book will be greeted with enthusiasm by his many readers and by any teacher or parent looking for a refreshing perspective on today''s debates about schools.

Everyone knows that boys are better than girls at math, spicy foods upset the stomach while milk is soothing, you should never have sex before the big game, carrots are good for the eyes, and beauty is only skin deep. The only problem with these truisms is that they''re false. A captivating look at scores of common beliefs--are they nuggets of truth or fool''s gold?

Was denken Eltern über ihre Kinder? Was empfinden sie für ihre Kinder? Wie handeln sie? Liebe und Eigenständigkeit ermuntert uns, genau hinzuschauen. Das lohnt sich, denn es gibt einen Weg, unsere Kinder respektvoll und in Liebe zu begleiten. Ein Weg, der uns in einen tiefen und klaren Kontakt mit unseren Kindern bringt und uns sogar über die Zeit der Pubertät hinaus mit unseren Kindern zu verbinden vermag. Doch noch fragen wir uns häufig, wie wir es erreichen können, dass unsere Kinder das tun, was wir von ihnen wollen. Genau hier stecken wir in den Sackgassen gewohnter Erziehungsversuche fest. Alfie Kohn steht uns zur Seite, indem er mit den Mythen und Wunschvorstellungen eingefahrener Erziehungslehren aufräumt und uns an jenen Punkt zurückführt, an dem das Fragen wirklich Sinn macht: "Was brauchen Kinder und wie können wir diese Bedürfnisse erfüllen?" Ein Grundbedürfnis aller Kinder ist es, bedingungslos geliebt zu werden. Zu wissen, dass sie auch dann angenommen sind, wenn sie mal voll aufdrehen oder wenn ihnen etwas misslingt. Übliche Erziehungsmethoden wie Bestrafung oder Belohnung versagen an dieser Stelle. Sie setzen auf Kontrolle und vermitteln unseren Kindern so, dass sie nur dann geliebt werden, wenn sie uns gefallen oder wenn sie uns beeindrucken. Alfie Kohn verweist auf umfassende aber wenig bekannte Forschungsergebnisse, die belegen, welchen Schaden es anrichten kann, Kindern den Eindruck zu vermitteln, sie müssten sich unsere Anerkennung "verdienen". Denn das ist die Botschaft, die den meisten der heute weit verbreiteten Erziehungsmethoden zugrunde liegt - ob wir es wollen oder nicht. Eine Vielzahl praktischer Beispiele rundet Liebe und Eigenständigkeit ab. Sie zeigen uns ganz alltagsbezogen, wie wir mit Kindern zusammenarbeiten können, statt sie nur als Objekte zu behandeln. Sie zeigen uns, wie wir Lob durch bedingungslose Unterstützung ersetzen können - jenes Elixier, das Kinder so sehr brauchen, um zu gesunden, warmherzigen und verantwortungsbewussten Menschen heranzuwachsen. Doch Achtung! Dieses Buch öffnet einem die Augen, erschüttert eingefahrene Denkmuster und hilft uns am Ende, zu unserer eigenen Intuition zurückzufinden und bessere Eltern zu werden.

Traditional Chinese edition of The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing. The author questions the value of homework with valid arguments. In Traditional Chinese. Distributed by Tsai Fong Books, Inc.