Punished By Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, ... (ISBN 0395710901)

A very important book!:
I am extremely grateful to the author, Alfie Kohn, for writing this book. It has changed me forever. That sounds dramatic, but it is the truth. For me, it was paradigm shattering. I view myself, my children, and all people differently now. I can see more clearly what motivates me and all people. I feel more peace with myself, and that who I am and what I do is enough. I need not fear the judgments of others. I also have more compassion for my family and the whole human race. What a marvelously written book that is essential for all people to read. You will never be the same after pondering it's pages.

Take with a grain of salt - a large grain of salt:
The author must be one of those 60s liberal types who thinks that anyone will perform to the highest levels because, after all, nearly everyone has only the best of intentions and is always self-motivated to do the right thing. The problem is that such a view of the world is quite unrealistic. Rewards are necessary because a large number of workers are not intrinsically motivated, no matter what we would like to believe. To believe otherwise is fighteningly naive.

Rewards and Punishment Don't Work:
I've always been suspicious of the whole system of rewards and punishments as it is always dependent on the mood of the giver/depriver. Particularly as they are evaluating something about the child as acceptable or unacceptable without actually taking the time to understand the behaviour or the underlying need. Consistency is always a problem too as we are organically inconsistent and therefore prone to be human! This book spells out exactly the areas that rewards and punishment cause damage, ie in terms of internal emotional effect. It is written clearly and simply enough for parents, teachers and carers to understand. It is shockingly blunt and often humourous in it's approach and I applaud this. It has shaken me up, particularly in the area of praise where I didn't realise how much I praised in the hope of getting the child to change their behaviour. Personally I think all parents and teachers should be made to read this book in order to understand the subtle differences between internal and external motivation. I think that 'Time Out' and deprivation and punishment is a form of abuse - an abuse of power. When witnessing people using such methods I have always had a real feeling that they lack creativity and fall back on all they have known. Well the great news is that there are other ways of parenting and teaching where everyone can feel great and be respectful and self motivated. After all we are not dogs or rats!

This book is life-changing!:
It can't happen overnight what you learn in this book. This has to be gradual, as it is the exact opposite to what we've all been taught to learn. However, what it does say is amazing. I only give it 4 stars because it isn't as easy as I thought it was going to be, perhaps it could go into greater lengths to help those like me struggling to "get there" 100%. But all in all, fabulous, wonderful, great concept and you must buy it and see why for yourself!

A Very Clear Indictment of American Culture:
Having read some of the previous reviews on this topic I find them to be suitably erudite as the subject matter in this book is. Many do seem to still be thinking of this book in terms they were educated in and reluctant to move from that. It is indeed a radical book, as one review stated. I think suitably so. I came away from this book convinced of the complete need to eliminate punishments from my teaching lexicon. Having said that, I am a spiritual and yoga teacher, and not someone who comes to students in a classroom system that largely castrates the ability to practice what he would point out in this book without large systemic changes in how education is done. The fact is he presents the research to back up the utter uselessness of punishments and what appears to be their flip side (but isn't) rewards. This would seem to avoid the control disease that the entire English system of schooling has clearly built into it. There are certainly other ways of accomplishing happy and educated children- like the gurukula system of India- where the teacher's entire life and example serves to educate the student, not merely the content of their assigned 'topic'. I believe that rewards and punishments are an outgrowth of the control disease promoted throughout the world by England and it's educational system still in place to this day. Overall, a stellar book that I think of often in my mind when considering how to approach my students.