“Children learn how to make good decisions by making decisions, not by following directions”
The Homework Myth, chap. 10
Alfie Kohn is an American author and lecturer in the areas of education, parenting, and human behavior. He is a proponent of progressive education and has offered critiques of many traditional aspects of parenting, managing, and American society more generally, drawing in each case from social science research.Kohn's challenges to widely accepted theories and practices have made him a controversial figure, particularly with behaviorists, conservatives, and those who defend the practices he calls into question, such as the use of competition, incentive programs, conventional discipline, standardized testing, grades, homework, and traditional schooling. Wikipedia
“Children learn how to make good decisions by making decisions, not by following directions”
The Homework Myth, chap. 10
Published in Education Leadership, September 2005 http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/uncondtchg.htm
“It doesn't matter how motivated students are; what matters is how students are motivated”
"The Dangerous Myth of Grade Inflation," Chronicle of Higher Education
Punished by Rewards
can strike us as perplexing – and also, perhaps, a little unsettling. On general principle, it is a good idea to challenge ourselves in this way about anything we have come to take for granted; the more habitual, the more valuable this line of inquiry.
Punished by Rewards
"Unconditional Teaching," Educational Leadership
Source: Punished by Rewards, Chapter 4
The Brighter Side of Human Nature: Altruism and Empathy in Everyday Life, 1990.