I wouldn’t normally consider myself a cruise ship vacation kind of guy. Overabundant opulence with a dash of seasickness tossed in? A confined setting where entertainment options run from smoky casino to overpriced spa? Descending upon destination harbors with hordes of other pasty-faced travelers to be met by pushy vendors selling questionably authentic goo-gaws? Toss [more…]
A Curious Resolution
Historically, I’ve considered curiosity among the list of core virtues. I’m drawn to those who demonstrate the quality; I aim to cultivate it in myself. When we wonder—or wander—about the world with open, welcoming eyes, we see differently. Life gains a vitality, a playfulness, a sense of possibility. Curiosity leads us to learn, to grow, [more…]
A Positive-Minded Primer on Punishment and Reinforcement–with a Buddhist Twist (Part 2 of 2)
[This is the second half of a two-part post. Part 1 can be found here.] Negative Reinforcement (R-) makes a wanted behavior more likely by taking away or reducing something the learner does not enjoy. It “eliminates an aversive,” as they say in the field. In this sense, it’s a kind of relief from unpleasantness. [more…]
A Positive-Minded Primer on Punishment and Reinforcement–with a Buddhist Twist (Part 1 of 2)
People often misunderstand positive reinforcement because those of us who espouse and employ the technique can get sloppy with our definitions. As we’ve discussed before, for example, the “positive” in positive reinforcement need not mean ‘happy,’ ‘kind,’ or ‘joyful.’ It simply means “added in,” as in the reinforcer added in to make a behavior more [more…]
4 Reasons We Avoid Our Inner Knowing–and 7 Things We Can Do About It
In you are natural powers. You already possess everything necessary to become great. –Chief Crow The above quotation hangs over the sink in our kitchen, a quiet touchstone for a truth so easily forgotten. It’s a message I want to pass along to every young person (and adult) I work with. It’s also a [more…]
Kohn of Uncertainty: Raising Questions About How to Raise Kids (or Why Positive Reinforcement Might Not Be All It’s Cracked Up to Be)
I’ve just started reading Alfie Kohn’s Unconditional Parenting: Moving from Rewards and Punishments to Love and Reason and I can already tell it will stir my pot. Kohn has no love for positive reinforcement. Quite the opposite, he considers it both dangerous and destructive. Given my investment in the topic and my eagerness to examine [more…]
The Death Show: A Perspective-Giving Production
This past weekend, my partner Melissa and I attended The Death Show (A Recital), an intriguing community theater production in Hudson, New York. Simultaneously provocative, poignant, peace-giving, harrowing, and hilarious, the evening has left me thinking about the impact of death in my life—and how to bring its air-clearing quality into my classroom more purposefully. [more…]
Queen of the Hill: Punishment or Principled Practice?
In general as a coach, I choose to avoid using punishment as a motivator. The method reeks of domination, intimidation, and fear, all of which poison the waters of learning. While punishment may sometimes ‘succeed’ in the short term—it also breeds resentment and disenchantment. Even then, as my friend and colleague Luca Canever points [more…]
Chicken Sexers, Plane Spotters, and the Elegance of TAGteaching
Neuroscientist David Eagleman’s Incognito mentions two fascinating stories of unexpected learning. Both attest to the mysterious powers of the human brain—and encourage a radical reexamination of how we teach and train. Eagleman explains how many in the poultry industry of the 1930’s turned to the Japanese for a technique for training chicken sexers, workers who [more…]
Why I Love BATS (Ode to an Improv Community)
For these past two months, I have reveled in the singularly delightful energy and ethos of Bay Area Theatresports (BATS).[1] Now that I’ve finished my many-miled journey back home to New England, I’ve had the chance to catch my breath and take stock of the group’s greatness. And, man, is it rich. Housed in the [more…]
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