How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character Paperback – July 2, 2013
Author: Visit Amazon's Paul Tough Page | Language: English | ISBN: 0544104404 | Format: PDF, EPUB
How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character – July 2, 2013
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You can download How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character Paperback – July 2, 2013 for everyone book with Mediafire Link Download Link Direct download links available for How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character – July 2, 2013
- Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: Mariner Books; Reprint edition (July 2, 2013)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0544104404
- ISBN-13: 978-0544104402
- Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
- Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #665 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Children's Studies
- #1 in Books > Education & Teaching > Schools & Teaching > Education Theory > Educational Psychology
- #1 in Books > Education & Teaching > Schools & Teaching > Education Theory > Reform & Policy
Following the footsteps of Jonathan Kozol, Paul Tough employs his significant storytelling abilities to help readers see and feel the plight of children, families and communities trapped in cycles of failure and poverty. How Children Succeed challenges some conventional wisdom on causes of failure (poverty, teacher quality) and contends that nurturing character in children and young adults is the key to success. As a former NYC Teaching Fellow who has lived and worked in multiple communities of cyclical poverty, I'm convinced that Tough has nailed some critical pieces of breaking those cycles.
Here is the argument in brief:
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There exists in our society a troubling and growing achievement gap between the have and the have-nots. The cause of that gap is neither merely poverty nor IQ, but a specific set of non-cognitive skills including executive function and conscientiousness, which Tough calls "character." Children who acquire these skills can break historic cyclical patterns of failure.
Malleability of Character and Intelligence
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Whereas IQ is hardly malleable, executive function and character strengths - specifically grit, self-control, zest, social intelligence, gratitude, optimism, curiosity and conscientiousness - are far more malleable. These skills are better predictors of academic performance and educational achievement than IQ and therefore ought to be the direct target of interventions.
Attachment and Lifelong Health
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Tough sees two key areas of influence for those who care for those trapped in cycles of poverty. The first is secure early attachment to parents.
Paul Tough sets out to answer a rather heady question in a rather slim 200 pages: what makes children succeed? To his credit, Tough packs in a dense barrage of different perspectives (economic, social, psychological, and medical) and he supports his points well with ample research. The resulting book is interesting reading and provides a great deal of food for thought. I appreciate Tough's contribution, but I have to quibble with some of his conclusions.
Tough begins his book talking about the rise of cognitive interventions in early childhood. Ever since some studies showed some positive effects of various kinds of early childhood stimulation, parents have rushed to play Mozart for their developing fetuses, companies have marketed products guaranteed to get your baby reading, and competition for the "best" preschools has become a blood sport. But Tough argues that these interventions, while well intentioned, are ultimately misguided. While cognitive skills are certainly important, and early stimulation can boost these skills somewhat, there may be a different, over-arching set of skill which may be more important to overall success in life. These skills are the non-cognitive skills commonly grouped under the rubric of "character".
As Tough dives into the meat of his exploration, he opens with a look at the negative effects of poverty, its correlations with trauma and adverse childhood events (abuse, witnessing violence, neglect, malnutrition, etc.), and how these factors affect an individual through his life - cognitively, emotionally and even physically. He explores attachment theory and the role of attachment in soothing and undoing the effects of early adverse events.
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