Rewards+System+-+Good+or+Bad+System

A’s for good grades, rewards for good behavior and consequence for bad behavior, sounds like an way of motivating and disciplining students young and old to succeed. As Lee Corso says,  “Not so fast my friend.”



According to author Alfie Kohn in an interview done in September of 1995, both rewards and punishments are ways of manipulating behavior that destroy the potential for real learning. Kohn believes that rewards and punishments are both ways of manipulating behavior. Rewards are most damaging to interest when the task is already intrinsically motivating. His belief is backed up by at least 70 studies showing that extrinsic motivators, including A’s, sometimes praise, and other rewards are not merely ineffective over the long haul but counterproductive with respect to the things that concern adolescents the most, the desire to learn and commitment to good values. He feels that motivation is something that kids start out with.

 Brandt, Ron. (1995, September ). Punished by rewards? A conversation with Alfie Kohn. Educational leadership, 53(1), 6.

HELPFUL SITES

[|ALFIE KOHN OFFICAL WEBSITE]

 [|Punished by Rewards]