A preoccupation with achievement is not only different from, but often detrimental to, a focus on learning. Thoughts and emotions while performing an action are more important in determining subsequent engagement than the actual outcome of that action.
Alfie KohnStudents should not only be trained to live in a democracy when they grow up; they should have the chance to live in one today.
Alfie KohnTo be well-educated is to have the desire as well as the means to make sure that learning never ends.
Alfie KohnIf I offered you a thousand dollars to take off your shoes, you'd very likely accept--and then I could triumphantly announce that 'rewards work.' But as with punishments, they can never help someone develop a *commitment* to a task or action, a reason to keep doing it when there's no longer a payoff.
Alfie Kohn