[CALIBK12] Rewarding reading: turning play into work

[Stephen Krashen]

Sent to the Washington Post, Feb. 7, 2008

The Post carried a very brief note about a mayor in
Spain who wants to pay children a euro for every hour
spent reading at the library (“A wealth of
information, Today’s News, February 7, 2008).

Supplying a reward for doing an activity that is
intrinsically pleasant sends the message that the
activity is not pleasant, and that nobody would do it
without a bribe.  A number of scientific studies
support this, showing that rewarding a pleasant
activity can “turn play into work” and result in
an antipathy toward the activity.

I suggest that Mayor Jimenez read Alfie Kohn’s
insightful book, Punished by Rewards. No, I won’t
offer to pay him for reading it.

Stephen Krashen



A Wealth of Information

Concerned about a high dropout rate in his schools, a
small-town Spanish mayor wants to pay kids to study.

Mayor Agustin Jimenez wants to give every child in the
farming town of Noblejas a euro -- about $1.50 in U.S.
money -- for each hour spent reading at the library.

A recent study found that Spanish students were among
the worst readers in Europe.