Alfie Kohn's book, What To Look For In A Classroom...and Other Essays is a collection of nineteen essays that were previously published in professional journals and newspapers. The essays are divided into five sections: Classroom Mismanagement, American Ideology Goes to School, Unquestioned Assumptions About Children, Business as Usual, and Lessons Learned. I will review the six essays that were particularly meaningful and insightful to me in my role of elementary principal. Kohn cites research and poses questions on the skills approach, discipline, character education, Cooperative Learning, grading, and businesses' influence in education. He examines the "why" behind the practices and "what" we as educators are communicating as we support it.
In the essay titled "The Limits of Teaching Skills" Kohn discussed the preoccupation in schools with teaching isolated skills and losing sight of students' motivation. When educators focus on the skills approach, the need to preserve and enrich kids' desire to learn may be lost. Children, who are motivated and excited to learn, will acquire the skills through immersion in the topic. A good example of this is teaching children to read through the whole language or the phonetic approach. In whole language, students are naturally excited to read so when they are immersed in the printed word the skills develop naturally; as opposed to the phonetic approach, where students learn the basic phonetic skills before they interact with the literature and as a result motivation to read may be lost. The current concern in education is that the standards movement is focused on attainment of skills and not on the big picture of learning.
In "Beyond Discipline," Kohn talked about Lee Canter's Assertive Discipline program and how it and many other behavior programs dangle rewards in front of children so they act the way we as educators want them to act. When the teacher is not concerned with being in charge, students are less likely to misbehave. In classrooms where the curriculum is insufficiently engaging, student behavior problems are more evident. To help students in becoming ethical people we must help them figure out, for themselves and with each other, what to do not just merely "tell" them what to do.
In "How Not to Teach Values" Kohn talked about the isolated and detached set of skills incorporated in character education programs. He states that many educators realize that the skills approach or rote memorization is not the most effective method to teach math and reading; however, the same people believe it is effective to teach character skills in that format. Instead, through the use of literature, class meetings, and adult modeling, educators empower students to think for themselves.
The essay titled "Resistance to Cooperative Learning" reviewed the social and intellectual advantages for students when working collaboratively with others. Students learn from their peers and at the same time learn teamwork and tolerance of others. Opponents of Cooperative Learning argue for grading on the curve and the winner/loser mentality in schools, where others are seen as obstacles to success. The goal is for all students to improve and move forward in their learning, which is what the Cooperative Learning model promotes.
"Grading: The Issue Is Not Why But How" detailed the three rationales for grade-sorting, motivation, and feedback. When students are sorted by grades, is the data we are using to sort even valid? In regard to motivation, when extrinsic rewards are given, intrinsic satisfaction diminishes. When a student is promised a reward for completing an activity or attainment of a grade, he/she does not work as hard as those who were promised nothing. It is important to give feedback to students regarding their performance; however, grades focus on the success/failure component instead of clear feedback for the sake of improvement.
"The Five-Hundred Pound Gorilla" covers businesses' influence and power in education. Businesses strive to be number one, just as politically our nation strives to be number one internationally. Influence from business and political leaders is pushing schools to compete to be at the top or number one as evidenced in the standards movement. It is the "scientific management" paradigm that is evident in factories and drives the corporate view of educational standards. Kohn suggests by keeping standards narrow or specific is not a commitment to excellence but an outmoded, top down approach to controlling production. Instead, he suggests by keeping standards "as vague as possible" it allows educators the freedom to individualize and be responsive to the needs of individual learners.
In this review, I pulled in some of Kohn's main points that were meaningful to me. As an elementary principal, Kohn's research and review of the skills approach, discipline, character education, Cooperative Learning, grading, and businesses' influence gave me insight into "why" we do the things we do in schools. It is clear we have paradigms from the past that are still at work in the schools today and I found his collection of essays insightful and extremely thought provoking! It concerns me that we may be doing some things in the schools that appear beneficial for students in the areas of discipline, grading, character education; yet, when analyzing what we are actually teaching students, the practices may be detrimental to their success. Our strategies or techniques may be short-term solutions to motivate or control behavior, which may have negative long-term effects.

Featured in Time, over two hundred appearances on television and radio
programmes, including two on "Oprah" (Cf. Independent
School, Fall 1999), Alfie Kohn is someone that every educator, student
teacher and parent should be acquainted with. He has tirelessly
campaigned for a truly democratic education based on a much more
positive trust in human nature. He wants schools to steer away from
tests and grading, punishment and rewards. In his vision of the
classroom, "students play an active role in decisions, teachers
work WITH students rather than doing things TO them, and the learners'
interests and questions drive much of the curriculum." (p. 277)
This theme runs through the 19 articles, mostly written since 1995,
collected here in this volume. He candidly owns up to having
something of a contrarian streak. He has used that gift well to
provoke people to rethink their conventional wisdom. I won't give any
key points since other reviews have already done a great job. I wish
he himself can write a more succinct summary of his philosophy of
education and all the basic proposals.

I was lucky enough to hear Alfie Kohn speak at a school inservice, and he really got people riled up! That is high praise; he really made people think. He goes against many standard educational practices and asks us to look at what we are REALLY teaching our students.

This book covers many of Kohn's "non-traditional" ideas. Some of his more compelling arguments address the ideas of giving rewards for reading (and the damage that does in the long run,) the over-inflation of grades, and the needless emphasis we put on grades and standardized testing. This book should be required reading for all teachers and educators!

The bottom line is . . . what do we value most for our kids? Do we want to teach them HOW TO THINK or do we want to teach them how to regurgitate information that WE feel is important? Do we empower our kids, or do we force them into obedience and repetition? Kohn offers insightful answers to these questions.

This book sheds light on the cases against standardized testing. As a future educator, I was please that my Professor chose this book. Riddled with great arguements against standard testing, it was a great jumping off point for papers and other class discussions. All future-educators should check this book out and see why standardized testing may be hindering our children's learning.

Tests are all too common for students, parents, and eductors. The Case Against Standardized Testing by Alfie Kohn takes the reader to the world of unfamiliarity and raises the challenge against the all too familiar standardized tests. With Kohn's six main points against standardized testing, he effectively dives into the reader's subconscious. Kohn takes you back to your negative experiences either as a test taker or as test administrator.

"Norm-referenced tests are not about assessing
excellence; they are about sorting students
(or schools) into winners and losers."

Kohn exposes what is wrong with standardized testing. He furhter exposes how this type of assessment is damaging the students and schools systems of today.

Kohn's strong voice on this controversial topic, to test or not to test, clearly defines and exposes the negative effects of standardized testing to students accross the board. His experience as a former classroom teacher brings him as one seasoned and well qualified to his claim against standardized testing. If you are looking for a strong voice to support in challenging the current education system, this is one book you'd like to start with.

With an ever increasing political pressure on student achievement in K-12 schools there is a concurrent and also expanding controversy on issues of assessment of student performance. At the core of many of these controversies is the use of standardized tests to compare individual student performance as well as a comparison among schools and school districts on a national level. Alfie Kohn's recently published book, The Case Against Standardized Testing presents a compelling case against the use of these tests as well as providing constructive suggestions for more meaningful processes for learning. The book is divided into 6 chapters. In Chapter one there is a discussion on the testing process in schools. Kohn provides numerous examples to substantiate his concern that the tests are politically driven, inappropriate as measures of learning substantive skills, and counterproductive. Chapter 2 describes negative characteristics of the most common tests currently being administered. Chapter 3 includes a summary of problems resulting from the tests, both for teachers and students. Chapter 4 provides a discussion on 5 compelling reasons to substantiate Kohn's concerns that standardized tests are especially ineffective and counter-productive for those students most in need of educational assistance - those from low income families. Chapter 5 deals with alternatives to standardized tests. Chapter 6 provides specific suggestions and advice on methods for changing the political pressures and requirements for standardized tests. In summary, Kohn has provided the American public with the basis for a spirited discussion on the issues involved in standardized testing. His alternative suggestions for assessing students are constructive and can serve as the basis for efforts to improve the present controversial situation.

Alfie Kohn's book "No Contest: The Case Against Competition" articulates much of what I've always felt and knew to be true about competition, both in the economic sphere, in our personal lives and wherever the twain shall meet. Competition has ruined many more lives than it has benefitted. Even those it benefits are constantly looking over their shoulders. Kohn does a superlative job of debunking the myths, the "holy truths" about competition that we ALL have had rammed down our throats: that it's "human nature" (I'm really tired of that one) and that it "brings out our best". Too few of us stop to question this platitudinous common wisdom. Kohn goes a long way toward proving that co-operation is, indeed, a superior form of social organization that needs to be nurtured just as competition has for so long. Unfortunately, most experiments in co-operative (socialist) economics have either been destroyed from without (the US the all-time biggest despoiler) or have been forced to try to survive encircled by hostile, or competitive entities. I am pessimistic. Not enough people are aware of Kohn's research or writings and it's bound to have too little effect. I hope I'm wrong. The capitalist juggernaut rolls on with a monied interest in perpetuating conflict, the competitive ethic among children and adults everywhere while at the same time, ironically, seeking to crush competition. Is it any wonder we live in a conflict-ridden society where most peoples' prescription for this is more and "better" competition? "Lean and mean" has become the indivdual and corporate mantra. It all goes to confirm the Marxist maxim: "The ruling ideas are always the ideas of the ruling class."I

A friend recommended this to me because it changed her life. It is changing mine as well. Like the fish who has suddenly become aware of the water around him, I have become aware of the competitive environment in which we live - and how that environment is slowly poisoning us.

Kohn defines competition as "mutually exclusive goal attainment" - a situation where someone wins only if others lose. This type of structure, by its very nature, erodes human relationships. Kohn is not asking us to do away with incentives or tests - he is asking us to stop using them to determine a "winner." Kohn shows that people in a cooperative setting will attain a goal with more efficiency and creativity than people in a competitive setting.

But what about market competitiveness and the benefits for consumers? Yes, but think of the goal, the driving force behind this: making more money than the next company. That means polluting the environment (cleaner is usually more expensive), exploiting workers (the so-called minimum wage is not enough for anyone to live on), and even committing fraud. As Kohn explains, the nature of competition means that the goal becomes the most important thing. Everything else is merely an obstacle; everyone else an enemy.

Sometimes I wish I hadn't read this book - it has thrown my view of the world upside down and made me question my work at a management consulting company. But I realize this is just the initial discomfort one feels after walking out of a dark room into the sunlight. The glare may hurt at first, but after your eyes have adjusted, you appreciate the new world you see around you. This book may hurt at first, but give it a chance and see if it doesn't change your world and your relationships for the better.

In this inspiring and well-researched book Alfie Kohn describes how we, in our compulsion to rank ourselves against one another, turn almost everything into a contest (at work, at school, at play, at home). Often, we assume that working toward a goal and setting standards for ourselves can only take place if we compete against others. By perceiving tasks or play as a contest we often define the situation to be one of MEGA: mutually exclusive goal attainment.

This means: my success depends on your failure. Is this wise? No! Is this inevitable? No! This book brilliantly shows how: 1) competitiveness is NOT an inevitable feature of human nature (in fact, human nature is overwhelmingly characterised by its opposite - co-operation), 2) superior performance not only does not require competition; it usually seems to require its absence (because competition often distracts people from the task at hand, the collective does usually not benefit from our individual struggles against each other), 3) competition in sports might be less healthy than we usually think because it contributes to the competitive mindset (while research shows that non-competitive games can be at least as enjoyable and challenging as competitive ones), 4) competition does not build good character; it undermines self esteem (most competitors lose most of the time because by definition not everyone can win), 5) competition damages relationships, 6) a competitive mindset makes transforming of organizations and society harder (those things requiring a collective effort and a long-term commitment).

I think many people reading this book will recognize in themselves their tendency to think competitively and will feel challenged and inspired to change. And that's a good thing. Our fates are linked. People need to, and can choose to, build a culture in which pro-social behaviors and a co-operative mindset are stimulated. The competitive mindset can be unlearned. By developing a habit to see and define tasks as co-operative we can defy the usual egoism/altruism dichotomy: by helping the other person you are helping yourself.

When asked what a set of national standards should look like, former U.S. commissioner of education, Harold Howe II, stated, "They should be as vague as possible". Alfie Kohn makes a powerful stance against the use of specific standards and standardized testing in his book, The Schools Our Children Deserve.

Education heads the news around the nation today. Everywhere you hear the cry for tougher standards for teachers and students, and accountability for schools and districts. Headlines scream that American children are falling behind their counterparts in other countries. The solution: an educational system that is 'back to basics' and has 'tougher standards'. Is this the answer? Alfie Kohn states a resounding 'No'.

Mr. Kohn's book takes you on a journey to explore how the American educational system is really doing. He then presents standardized tests for what they are: norm-referenced tests in which 50% of all children taking the test will fail. Kohn dissects how the tests are created and changed from year to year, indicating that if too many students get an answer correct, it is thrown out of the test. He delves into how standardized test scores are published in newspapers, and used by the government and school districts to hold schools and teachers hostage. He shows how the use of such scores are creating an educational community that teaches to the test, is devoid of meaningful learning, and does not address the needs of the individual child.

The Schools Our Children Deserve is written for parents and educators alike. It aims to educate its readers, so that they can become informed participants in the design of the schools our children deserve.

W.Joy Lopez
Pepperdine University Doctoral Student

The Schools Our Children Deserve is a wonderful tribute to our children. Kohn writes with passion about reforming "traditional education" that follows a model of tougher standards, standardized testing, and top-down delivery or "dumping " of curriculum into students. Kohn takes to task such issues as grades, testing, behavior modification, Direct Instruction, and especially standardized testing. In Kohn's opinion, grades, testing and public reporting and ranking of schools are not necessary to motivate children to learn. He feels that these things promote competitiveness and individualism. Portfolios and narrative summaries on student progress are far more valuable and reliable indicators.

Many traditionalist teachers will be offended, as Kohn does not take a gentle, middle of the road stance on these issues. In his opinion it's all been done wrong. He feels that "traditional" schooling turns learning into a chore. While "progressive" educators create learning environments that make learning engaging and productive. He relies on the words of John Dewey and Jean Piaget to lay foundation for a hands on, project-based, learner centered education.

His arguments are backed by 124 pages of notes, references, and statistical information. As if he has obviously heard the quote, "This sounds good in theory but where is the evidence?" He goes into great detail as to why Whole Language is still the best way to teach kids to read. He endorses integrated curriculum and performance based assessment. Kohn acknowledges that switching gears from the old model to the new will be a difficult transition for students, teachers and parents. Students will think more and do more in a progressive, constructivist learning environment. Teachers will have to give up some control of their classroom environments in order to form a more democratic classroom where the students have a say in what they are learning. Parents will have to give up the notion that their kids have to be taught in the same way they were taught. What comes through in this book is Kohn's obvious regard for children. He understands the unwillingness of most people to gamble on our childrens' education and hence their future. He provides a passionate account of how our educational system can evolve into one that will produce contented, fulfilled, compassionate people with lifelong learning skills.

A very powerfully written book by a former teacher turned author and lecturer, Alfie Kohn. Kohn criticizes the theories of behaviorists and traditionalists accusing politicians, parents, and teachers of continuing to 'drill and kill' students on a `'bunch o' facts'. The Old School manner of rote memorization joined now with standardized testing is missing the mark on the urgency to motivate students from 'how they are doing in school' to 'why are they doing what they are doing in school.' Kohn uses a remarkable genre of resources from comparing John Dewey, Jean Piaget, and John Holt to B. F. Skinner, Edward K. Thorndike, and E. D. Hirsch, Jr. Stating various research articles and quotes, Kohn supports his theory that classrooms are not failing the schools the issue is that reform is not being grasped and integrated into the classrooms. Kohn presents the facts of previous educational theories by explaining in two parts, first, of how the schools are missing the mark on motivation, teaching and learning, evaluation, reform, and improvement. Secondly, providing suggestions for teachers and parents to reform whether through internal efforts in the classroom or in the community. Kohn walks the reader through each category defining exactly how his research has shown the schools are presently poorly handling the previously mentioned categories. He then follows up with a blue print on how to overhaul the schools by understanding from the conception of the school the intent while not overlooking the importance of reading, writing, and arithmetic yet allowing a move beyond grades and standardized tests to true achievement and motivation of students.

Khon, Alfie (1993). Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A's as Praise, and Other Bribes. New York, Houghton Mifflin Company.

Punished by Rewards, by Alfie Kohn, is a book that explains the negative aspects of receiving rewards. The author describes in great detail the effects that rewards have on people of all ages. The book is concerned with operant conditional learning. The basis of the book reflects the favoring of behaviorism. This is because behaviorists believe that everything we do can be explained by the principle of reinforcement and the learning of how rewards work. The book is mainly about the reasons why rewards are not effective and proving that rewarding a person can be negative. The author's purpose in writing this book was to open a new perspective to people's minds. He wanted to show that rewards are not the only way to help a person succeed. A good amount of people feel that rewards are beneficial and can be a positive way to influence a person. Kohn wanted to show proof that rewards could be almost classified as a punishment by making a person lazy or less motivated. He gave many examples, experimental statistics, and facts to back up his theory. One consisted on a series of ten studies that found with preschoolers working for toys, older children for grades, and adults for money, that they all try to avoid challenges (65). Another example found that kids are constantly fearful of getting things wrong, which is why they do as little as they can get away with (159). At first, I could not decide if I supported the author or not. I am in favor of the reward system just because I think that a person should be rewarded. On the other hand, the author gave many examples to support his theory of no rewards. One idea that I did agree with was at the beginning of the book. "The more rewards are used, the more they seem to be needed" (17). I do agree that if you constantly give a person rewards, they will always want something in order to complete a task. But on the other hand, I disagree with idea that all rewards are negative or bad. I feel that some rewards can either motivate students to excel or help promote employees to increase in power at a workplace. The author has a list of seven suggestions to minimize the salience of grades: 1. limit the number of assignments of which you give a letter or number grade, or better yet, stop the practice altogether 2. limit the number of gradations 3. reduce the number possible grades to two, A and Incomplete 4. never grade students while they are still learning something 5. never grade for effort 6. never grade on a curve 7. bring students in on evaluation processes I would recommend this book to some people, but mainly teachers. This could possibly be beneficial in that, it could bring about new ideas to motivate a classroom. The teacher can decide on a new learning technique, if the present routine is not suitable or helpful for the children. It can help teachers by giving them opinions and criticisms from different areas of learning. An example would be "not to praise people, only what people do" (109). Saying something about what the person has done makes more sense than just saying "good job" to a person; being more specific is beneficial.

Punished by Rewards is a thought provoking book written for a general audience that argues that use of rewards undermines efforts to teach students, manage workers, or raise children. About one third of the book is devoted to educational issues, one third to parenting concerns, and one third to business concerns. This review is from an educator's perspective.

In this well-researched book, Alfie Kohn takes on the educational establishment dominated by experts who advise behavioristic classroom management plans. He challenges many current classroom management practices such as the contingent use of stickers, prizes, parties, gold stars, grades, honor rolls, awards assemblies, and praise. Any teacher working on improving classroom management and motivating students will benefit from reading this refreshingly original and persuasive book and will have a new perspective on some entrenched educational practices that often go unquestioned. As the author says, you don't have to accept everything he says to see the value in making some changes.

Kohn's central thesis is that it is misguided for teachers (and parents and bosses also) to rely on extrinsic motivators and reinforcers to assure quiet, orderly classrooms and manipulate students to behave in ways that are for the teacher's convenience. It is well acepted that punishment is not a way to motivate students. He contends that punishment and rewards are merely two sides of the same coin--and the coin doesn't buy much. Both approaches are applied and popularized behaviorism, a theory attributed to B. F. Skinner and his followers. Citing current research, he backs up his idea that rewards only succeed in the short term. Changes usually do not persist when there are no more "goodies" to be won. Many studies he cites show that performance is not improved and may actually be impaired by use of reward strategies.

Rewards fail for five reasons. First, rewards punish and control by seduction. The failure to win a reward or the threat to remove a reward is functionally identical to the threat to employ a punishment. Second, rewards rupture relationships both vertically (student/teacher) and horizontally (student/student). Both rewards and punishment are really about someone maintaining power and control over another and they induce a behavior pattern whereby the subordinate tries to curry favor and impress the rewarder rather than encourage a relationship of trust and openness. Also, rewards lead to destructive competition. Third, employing rewards can change superficial behavior effectively, but it ignores the underlying reasons for the problem behavior and so does not effect long-term change. Rewards are not solutions, they are gimmicks, shortcuts, quick fixes that mask problems. Fourth, rewards discourage risk taking, creativity, and taking on challenges because the task is now just something that stands in the way of gaining the prize. Finally, and most tragically, rewards change the way people approach the task. To reward someone for something that many find intrinsically interesting and enjoy doing is to destroy motivation. For example, the Pizza Hut "Book It" reading incentive and summer library reading incentive programs are, according to Kohn, very destructive. Reading is presented not as a pleasurable experience, but as something one has to be bribed to do with a food reward or other token.

Kohn devotes an entire chapter to the proposition that praise itself can have toxic effects upon the recipient. Praise is often given for the convenience of the praiser and to manipulate the recipient. It can impede performance by signaling low ability, making people feel pressured, inviting a low-risk strategy to avoid failure, and reducing interest in the task itself. Children can be hooked on praise and become too extrinsically motivated, too dependent upon approval from others. Kohn offers five or six solid and practical strategies for employing encouraging words and providing feedback without praising. This chapter of the book is eye opening, especially for parents.

So what is the alternative to manipulation by praise and tangible rewards? That depends upon the goals one wishes to achieve and the problem to be solved. Unlike the behaviorist method, the Kohn method offers no quick, easy solution to classroom management and student motivation problems. To his credit, Kohn devotes the last third of his book to addressing how to get beyond rewards. He fits himself into the constructivist philosophy with his emphasis on learning as discovery, enhancing student control and choice through class meetings, encouraging collaboration and revising content to follow students' natural interests. He points out that young children learn naturally because they are curious about how the world works. They are always seeking to solve their own questions to make sense of their world. Schools need to rethink curriculum and content. Teachers need to rethink whether they really need the control they seek with behavior management plans.

Teachers will find this book very useful. After explaining the theoretical underpinnings of his position, Kohn has many useful examples of the negative results from using reward strategies. Yet Kohn is realistic and recognizes that even if one agrees with him, change will take a long time. He presents many interim strategies teachers can use to reduce the negative impacts of entrenched practices and recognizes that teachers cannot single-handedly effect change if their entire school system depends upon manipulation through rewards. He recognizes that teachers are often judged by their superiors in ways that encourage them to go with the cheap behaviorist tricks that offer temporary solutions. He offers many specific ways teachers can slowly reduce their own dependence on such tactics.

In conclusion, this book offers a useful guide for action for any teacher who recognizes the limitations of the behaviorist methods in place in almost every classroom in America. For those who are unconvinced, Kohn says he'll be satisfied if they are at least questioning their teaching, parenting, or supervising after they close the book. In a sincere yet lighthearted way he invites the reader to "Ride my train as far as you can and get off when you have to. Maybe later you'll hop aboard again, a little closer to'working with' than 'doing to' and we can continue the journey." Interested readers will find it easy to continue journeying with Kohn as he is a prolific author of both books and articles and maintains a website.

Alfie Kohn, in his book Punished by Rewards, uses extensive documentation to support his conclusion that behaviorism is an ineffective tool when dealing with people, whether employees, students, or children. He argues that the using the carrot method of "do this and you'll get that" leads to extrinsic motivation, where the reward is obtained by any means. This leads to less intrinsic motivation and people ultimate lose interest or care about the quality of work, or amount of learning achieved. He seems to want to over-turn the mainstream theory that the only way to achieve success is by one person over-powering another through their authority and bribes. Current beliefs in education include: teacher-centered classrooms, behavior-management programs, and learning achieved through bribes and grades. Mr. Kohn wishes to completely change this method of thinking, and instead create a "3C" classroom, with: collaboration, content, and choice. These classrooms eliminate rewards as the basis for learning, and instead create classrooms where kids want to learn for the sake of knowledge itself. The teachers and students work together, often through cooperative learning groups, to obtain knowledge and understanding relevant and interesting to the students in their day-to-day lives.

I think that Mr. Kohn's theory was well researched, explained, and is believable. He clearly explains the basic problem existing throughout American society with the use of rewards. As a future teacher, thinking about ideas to use in the classroom, I am eager to try his methods with "kids today." I would definitely recommend this book to anyone dealing with kids, who wants them to start caring about each other, or the material they are learning, rather than just doing the work to get the "A" and then forgetting about it. I support his assessment of education strategies today, especially the honors students on the "fast-track" to college. Having just graduated with such a group, I know all about the all-night crams, cheating, copying, and generally doing anything besides learning the material to obtain the grade. Although I agree with the problem he addresses, I wonder if his solution of a school without grades is feasible. He does not require this as part of his "formula for success," merely suggests it. Additionally, I would like to see the argument and supporting evidence against his theory. Obviously, he believes that the mainstream theory does this constantly in the real world, so he need not show the opposite side. However, I was left wondering what studies and success stories the behaviorists might pull out to prove his theory wrong.

Overall, I believe that each teacher needs to create an individual learning environment in his or her classroom. Creating a "perfect mold" for all successful teachers will lead to cookie-cutter teaching. The diversity of American teaching should be as diverse as American society. Teachers need to sort through the various theories and beliefs, and pick out those which best suite their style and ability of teaching. No matter how revolutionary and possibly effective Mr. Kohn's theories might be, some teachers may simply fail when trying to implement them. This does not make them bad teachers, only people with different beliefs on what education is and how to effectively relate learning to students. I, however, hope to find a way to implement Mr. Kohn's ideas in my classroom, because I think that some of them might help me move my students from empty minds to fill with knowledge into excited and active learners.

I find all of Alfie Kohn's books to be thoughtfully, lucidly, and gracefully written; and this one is no exception. He deals here with an important philosophical question--which also has practical ramifications--in a way that makes it both instructive and entertaining. A shot in the arm for those of us who are more and more depressed by the seemingly endless stream of atrocities reported each evening on the news--a non-pollyanna-ish ray of hope!

The subtitle captures well the thrust of the book. Alfie Kohn continues to ask probing questions to challenge our assumptions and beliefs and prods us to see things from the child's perspective. Instead of being concerned with classroom management and control--getting children to do what we want, we should first ask, "What do children need?," and "How can we meet those needs?". Very often discipline problems arise, not, as it is commonly believed, out of the students' personal problems or the need for attention or power. Rather it is just because the adults' demands may be unreasonable, or the curriculum may be irrelevant. "When students are 'off task', our first response should be to ask, 'What's the task?'" (p.19). Coercion, use of punishment and rewards, any control measures are not achieving our common goals in fostering depth of understanding, independence of thinking, continuing motivation to learn and concern for others. Students should have their say, participate in making decisions, be given autonomy and responsibility. Students must feel cared about and be encouraged to care about others. Only caring relationships build community. Competition is the worst enemy. Suggestions on building community, solving problems together were given. Also answers to ten common objections. For educators who value democracy, this is a worhtwhile book.

When I first started reading Alfie Kohn's book "Beyond Discipline" I thought it would be just another book about discipline. It turned out to be pretty good. Although he was negative toward the other methods of discipline, he did a good job explaining why he felt that those methods were not the correct way in dealing with children. I think we all, sometime in our life, have punished children for doing wrong, and rewarded them for being good. The way he explained why those methods, as well as others he listed, helped me open my eyes to see his point of view. I always thought those were good methods to use, but when he talked about building a community I seemed to like that idea better. I don't believe that method will work in every classroom because each classroom & child is different. However, it would be nice if it could work in every school; would have less problems. The part about the book that will always stick with me is where he is talking about how we need to look at our own actions to see why children are misbehaving or having problems. Kohn stated, " Label a particular child a troublemaker and watch him become one." I am not saying this book has all the answers when it comes to discipline, but it does make some interesting points. Everyone can learn something from this if they keep an open mind....it's not just for teachers.

I found the book,Beyond Discipline, to be very insightful. Yes Alfie Kohn criticizes all other methods but I think hearing the criticisms helps one to understand the constructive points that follow. I feel his criticisms are intended to make educators evaluate the accepted methods of discipline from a different viewpoint - that of the children.