Book eighteen: Punished by Rewards: the Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A's, Praise, and Other Bribes by Alfie Kohn

Hmmmm... I think I may live too far inside the behaviorism sphere to latch on to some of Alfie Kohn's more troublesome ideas about raising children. Like most other things I've found, in moderation his stuff makes total sense. Yes, a more nurturing and loving approach that allows my child to reach the conclusion I want him to without offering a bribe, being coerced, etc., is the better way to go. But sometimes, I have ten minutes to go and fifteen chores to do and there is no deeper issue at heart other than my boy just doesn't wish to cooperate at that particular time, not because he's a bad child but because rather than grocery shopping or heading to the dentist, he'd prefer to stay at home and play with trains or dinosaurs. I did often find myself wondering if Mr. Kohn had children of his own (he has two). I would really like to read his experience raising two and three year olds.

It isn't hard to see how making the workplace solely a place of competition or how placing too much emphasis on grades can have detrimental effects on employees and students. But that doesn't mean they can never be used, does it? I was motivated to do better not because I might get a bonus but because I liked doing the best job possible. If I happened to get a bonus, awesome. If not, that didn't mean I let my quality slip because extra money was no longer on the line. But I certainly worked with people who felt if they weren't going to get anything extra, they weren't going to put out more effort than was minimally required.

18 down plus 34 and volume 1 of the Norton Anthology of English Literature to go.