Friday, September 21, 2012

Paul Tough - Very Significant - How Children Succeed

I heard Paul Tough speak last evening about his book: "How Children Succeed".

I highly recommend learning of his ideas!

He talks both of the issues faced by poor, inner-city children as well as upper-middle class children.

"The story we usually tell about childhood and success is the one about intelligence: success comes to those who score highest on tests, from preschool admissions to SATs.

But in How Children Succeed, Paul Tough argues that the qualities that matter most have more to do with character: skills like perseverance, curiosity, conscientiousness, optimism, and self-control.

How Children Succeed introduces us to a new generation of researchers and educators who, for the first time, are using the tools of science to peel back the mysteries of character. Through their stories—and the stories of the children they are trying to help—Tough traces the links between childhood stress and life success. He uncovers the surprising ways in which parents do—and do not—prepare their children for adulthood. And he provides us with new insights into how to help children growing up in poverty."

http://www.amazon.com/How-Children-Succeed-Curiosity-Character/dp/0547564651

Paul Tough's Website

Some other links to useful things in learning about Paul Tough's ideas (some links may eventually go bad)

What if the Secret to Success is Failure?   (great NY Times article primarily focused on work at both a Kipp school in Harlem and an elite private school The Riverdale Day School)




What Does Obama Really Believe In?   (New York Times Magazine article on Roseland neighborhood in Chicago - inner city poverty)



Podcast on Book - This American Life  - Source (same) (heavy, but excellent!!!) 


Elizabeth Spiegel's Blog (The Chess Teacher at Brooklyn's P.S. 318- whose [inner city] middle school chess teams have been dominant at winning major chess tournaments)

Thanks!





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