Alfie Kohn

About

Alfie Kohn writes and speaks about behavior, education, and parenting. His 14 books include Punished by Rewards, The Schools Our Children Deserve, and Unconditional Parenting. Kohn has been described in Time magazine as "perhaps the country's most outspoken critic of education's fixation on grades [and] test scores." His criticisms of competition and rewards have helped to shape the thinking of educators -- as well as parents and managers -- across the country and abroad. Kohn has been featured on hundreds of TV and radio programs, including the "Today" show and two appearances on "Oprah"; he has been profiled in the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times, while his work has been described and debated in many other leading publications. He lives (actually) in the Boston area and (virtually) at www.alfiekohn.org.

Books by Alfie Kohn

Recent Posts

Effacing Facts

We (and our kids) don't remember most of what we were taught, but that's not an argument against school. It's an argument against traditional, "bunch o' facts" schooling.

Is It Enough for Students to Be "Engaged"?

It's good when kids are absorbed by something they're doing. It's better—and more likely to be intellectually beneficial—when what they're doing is driven by their curiosity.

The Case for Cooperative Games

We've been raised to assume that playing a game means struggling to defeat other people. But activities without winners or losers actually reveal how much fun competition isn't

Schooling Is Never Values-Free or Apolitical

Why is it "political" to teach the history of racism in this country but apolitical to ignore it? Or do conservatives actually fear kids' being taught to think for themselves?

What Makes a True Skeptic?

When conspiracy theorists, anti-vaxxers, and climate science deniers claim to be brave truth-tellers and skeptics, how do we distinguish that from genuine skepticism?

The Progressive Teacher's Role in the Classroom

What's harder than either traditional or hands-off teaching? Artfully complicating students' thinking. And being in control of putting kids in control.

Lessons About Education: Dewey, Piaget, and Frosted Mini-Wheats

A meditation on why sugarcoating is best avoided, both literally (in cereals) and figuratively (in education and parenting).

The Tests Are Lousy, So How Could the Scores Be Meaningful?

Why do so many teachers privilege test scores (falsely endowing them with "objectivity") over their own, more meaningful knowledge of how kids are faring?

Fame Is the Name of the Game

The pervasive (and poignant) desire to be known by millions of strangers—or to bask in the reflected glory of famous people—is an intriguing psychological puzzle.

All of Us Are Smarter Than Any of Us

There's a substantial cost to students, and perhaps especially to working-class students, of our extreme ideology of individualism.