Alfie Kohn

Infobox Person


image_size = 150px
name = Alfie Kohn
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birth_date = birth date and age|1957|10|15
birth_place =
occupation = Author, Lecturer
main interests = Education, Psychology and Parenting
spouse =

Alfie Kohn (October 15, 1957) is an American lecturer and author in the fields of education, psychology and parenting. He earned a BA from Brown University and a Masters from the University of Chicago. [ [http://wik.ed.uiuc.edu/index.php/Kohn,_Alfie Alfie Kohn] .] Kohn is an outspoken critic of American work place management, certain aspects of public education, and many commonly accepted parenting techniques.

Education

Kohn has written many books on education. His stance against standardized testing and excessive homework has received the most attention. In a 2006 USA Today editorial, as well as his book called The Homework Myth: [ [http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2006/09/kids_may_be_rig.html Kids may be right after all: Homework stinks] . USA Today Sept 14, 2006 p. 13A] , Kohn argues that:

* There is no evidence that homework provides benefits in elementary school.
* In high school, any correlation effects are small, or disappear when compensating for other effects.
* No studies support claims of developing good work habits or other personal traits.

Books

No Contest: The Case Against Competition (Houghton MIfflin, 1986/1992)
You Know What They Say...: The Truth About Popular Beliefs (HarperCollins, 1990)
The Brighter Side of Human Nature: Altruism and Empathy in Everyday Life (Basic Books, 1990)
Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A's, Praise, and Other Bribes (Houghton Mifflin, 1993/1999)
Beyond Discipline: From Compliance to Community (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1996/2000)
What To Look For In A Classroom... And Other Essays (Jossey-Bass, 1998)
The Schools Our Children Deserve: Moving Beyond Traditional Classrooms and "Tougher Standards" (Houghton Mifflin, 1999)
The Case Against Standardized Testing: Raising the Scores, Ruining the Schools (Heinemann, 2000)
What Does It Mean To Be Well Educated? And More Essays on Standards, Grading, and Other Follies (Beacon Press, 2004)
Unconditional Parenting: Moving from Rewards and Punishments to Love and Reason (Atria Books, 2005)
The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing (Da Capo Books, 2006)

Edited by Kohn:
Education, Inc.: Turning Learning into a Business (Heinemann, 2002)

DVD

Unconditional Parenting: Moving from Rewards and Punishments to Love and Reason

References

See also

* John Caldwell Holt
* John Dewey

External links

* [http://wik.ed.uiuc.edu/index.php/Kohn,_Alfie WikEd page about Kohn]
* [http://www.alfiekohn.org/ Kohn's homepage]