Management Articles by Alfie Kohn

• The Case Against Competition   view details
  "after investigating the topic for several years, looking at research from psychology, sociology, biology, education, and other fields, I'm now convinced that... Competition is bad news... but it's not just that we overdo it or misapply it. The trouble li

• For Best Results, Forget the Bonus   view details
  originally published in the New York Times - October 17, 1993.

• Challenging Behaviorist Dogma: Myths About Money and Motivation   view details
  Originally published in Compensation & Benefits Review, March-April 1998.

• In Pursuit of Affluence, at a High Price   view details
  Originally published in the New York Times (Science Times), February 2, 1999. Examines the data showing that focusing on getting rich results in unhappy lives. Could a similar result befall organizations where the focus in on profit instead of serving t

• Tougher Tests = Lower Standards   view details
  Originally published as an Op-Ed piece in the Boston Globe September 29, 1999.

• From Degrading to De-Grading   view details
  Originally published in the High School Magazine.

• The Costs of Overemphasizing Achievement   view details
  Originally published in the School Administrator, November 1999.

• Discipline Is The Problem - Not The Solution   view details
  Originally published in Learning magazine October-November 1995.

• The Trouble With 'Back-to-Basics' and 'Tougher Standards'   view details
  Originally published in School Board News, September 14, 1999.

• Newt Gingrich's Reading Plan   view details
  Originally published in Education Week, April 19, 1995.

• Students Don't 'Work' - They Learn   view details
  Originally published in Education Week, September, 1997. Managers can learn a great deal from Kohn. Here he explores the potential problems with the misapplication of management improvement in schools.

• Only for My Kid: How Privileged Parents Undermine School Reform   view details
  Originally published in Phi Delta Kappan, April 1998.

• Choices for Children: Why and How to Let Students Decide   view details
  Originally published in Phi Delta Kappan, September 1993.

• Grading: The Issue Is Not How but Why   view details
  "Only by abandoning traditional grading and performance assessment practices can we achieve our ultimate educational objectives."

• Turning Learning Into a Business: Concerns About Total Quality   view details
  "Before we jump on another corporate bandwagon, let's recall the primary difference between business and education. Workers produce goods like automobiles?the only things students should be making is meaning."

• The Folly of Merit Pay   view details
  "It may be vanity or, again, myopia that persuades technicians, even after the umpteenth failure, that merit pay need only be returned to the shop for another tuneup. Perhaps some of the issues mentioned here can be addressed, but most are inherent in the

• Feel-Bad Education   view details
  "That so few children seem to take pleasure from what they?re doing on a given weekday morning, that the default emotional state in classrooms seems to alternate between anxiety and boredom, doesn?t even alarm us."