How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character by Paul Tough

Dec 01, 2012 Aaron rated it 5 of 5 stars

*A full executive summary of this book is available here: http://newbooksinbrief.com/2012/09/17...

When it comes to a child’s future success, the prevailing view recently has been that it depends, first and foremost, on mental skills like verbal ability, mathematical ability, and the ability to detect patterns–all of the skills, in short, that lead to a hefty IQ. However, recent evidence from a host of academic fields—from psychology, to economics, to education, to neuroscience–has revealed that...more *A full executive summary of this book is available here: http://newbooksinbrief.com/2012/09/17...

When it comes to a child’s future success, the prevailing view recently has been that it depends, first and foremost, on mental skills like verbal ability, mathematical ability, and the ability to detect patterns–all of the skills, in short, that lead to a hefty IQ. However, recent evidence from a host of academic fields—from psychology, to economics, to education, to neuroscience–has revealed that there is in fact another ingredient that contributes to success even more so than a high IQ and impressive cognitive skills. This factor includes the non-cognitive qualities of perseverance, conscientiousness, optimism, curiosity and self-discipline–all of which can be included under the general category of `character’. In his new book How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character writer Paul Tough explores the science behind these findings, and also tracks several alternative schools, education programs and outreach projects that have tried to implement the lessons–as well as the successes and challenges that they have experienced.

To begin with, Tough establishes how studies have now shown that while IQ and scores on standardized tests are certainly highly correlated with academic and future success, that non-cognitive characteristics actually predict success better than cognitive excellence. For instance, the psychologist Angela Duckworth has found that students’ scores on self-discipline tests predict their GPA’s better than their IQ scores. Likewise, it has been shown that the related characteristic of conscientiousness is even more predictive of a student’s eventual success in college, and in their future earnings, than their scores on cognitive tests. Over and above this, it has also been found that both self-discipline and conscientiousness are highly correlated with all manner of positive outcomes, including in areas such as one’s likelihood of abusing drugs and alcohol; getting in trouble with the law; maintaining healthy social relationships—including getting and staying married etc. And the good news character traits do not end here. Indeed, similar results have been found regarding the personality traits of perseverance (or grit), curiosity and optimism et al.

Unfortunately, it has not been as clear just how we can cultivate these character traits in young people. Nevertheless, several promising avenues have been identified. To begin with, it has been shown that exposure to highly stressful and traumatic events in childhood can severely hamper the growth of character. However, it has also been shown that strong parental nurturance and attentiveness in response to these traumatic events can overcome the effect of the experiences themselves. In addition, the evidence is that the attentive and nurturing approach is effective even in the absence of traumatic events, as it is highly correlated with strong character development throughout the lifespan.

While nurturance is certainly the most important factor early on, Tough argues that the cultivation of character during later childhood and adolescence requires somewhat of a different approach. Indeed, while the field is quite a bit more speculative here, it would appear that what is needed at this stage is for a young person to have the opportunity to take risks (some of which will no doubt result in failure), and to learn how to manage their failures in a constructive way. Success has been achieved using this approach in such programs as Elizabeth Spiegel’s chess program at Intermediate School 318 in Brooklyn (while it remains a challenge at schools that cater to the wealthy, such as the Riverdale Country School in New York—on account of the fact that wealthy parents are increasingly shielding their children from failure).

Beyond this, we find that results have also been achieved among some young people simply by steeping them in a culture of character, and by informing them of how certain character traits can lead them to greater success, and allowing their own ambition to take over from there. Indeed, this type of approach is practiced both at the KIPP family of schools, and in the OneGoal education program in Chicago. While the approach itself may not be a silver bullet, early indications are that it can indeed have a very positive effect.

Tough's writing style is very readable, honest and unpretentious, and he does an excellent job of supporting the scientific evidence that he introduces with interesting and powerful anecdotes (indeed, many of these are enough to bring you to tears). This is a strong argument in favor of paying closer to attention to cultivating character in young people, both in our personal lives and in our public policy. A full executive summary of this book is available here: http://newbooksinbrief.com/2012/09/17...
A podcast discussion of the book is also available.(less)

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Oct 17, 2012 Nik rated it 4 of 5 stars

As a teacher, I really appreciated a lot of the issues brought to light by this book. When he quotes the principal at an extremely difficult school saying that its the first time she has considered that the student's environment outside of school has a major effect on performance in school, it seems unbelievable. However, this shows you how much brainwashing occurs throughout education where the people running schools and teaching in them are told that none of that matters and all that matters i...more

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Jan 20, 2013 Jane rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: children, education, parenting, psychology

This book makes an unbalanced argument in two ways. First, it claims that if schools could just help students develop non-cognitive skills such as grit, courage, kindness, that would have more impact on eventual success than cognitive skills. In truth it's both/and. You need knowledge AND habits of mind. Paul Tough alludes to this with a couple of stories of students who have learned to focus but don't have the background knowledge to score well on tests, yet keeps coming back to grit as the sol...more This book makes an unbalanced argument in two ways. First, it claims that if schools could just help students develop non-cognitive skills such as grit, courage, kindness, that would have more impact on eventual success than cognitive skills. In truth it's both/and. You need knowledge AND habits of mind. Paul Tough alludes to this with a couple of stories of students who have learned to focus but don't have the background knowledge to score well on tests, yet keeps coming back to grit as the solution.

Second, from my standing as an expert in psychological type, I'm concerned about how the book describes conscientiousness, one of these key non-cognitive skills that relates to the NEO-Pi, or Five-Factor personality model scale for Conscientiousness. This model measures traits, so absence of Conscientiousness is a problem. Solution presented: teach the habits of conscientiousness to those who don't have them.

The world of psychological type, popularized through the MBTI, has a very different model. Conscientiousness is highly correlated (you can check the MBTI manual) with what we call having a preference for Judging, or coming to closure. Its psychological opposite is Perceiving, or preferring to stay open to more perceptions. Both are equally valuable ways of being.

Tough spends a few sentences admitting that one can be too Conscientious (i.e. OCD) and also that people like Steve Jobs didn't necessarily exhibit this--they are more Open in the model he refers to, what we'd call Intuition, in contrast to the down-to=earth Sensing approach to life (check my website for way better information on all of this!!)

But here's the deal: Tough is pretty much prescribing Sensing/Judging ways of succeeding. And what we know in the type world is that Intuitive/Perceiving types NEED DIFFERENT STRATEGIES. What works for J's like planning ahead and starting early HAS to take a different form for P's.

Tough admits that no school has figured out how to educate all students successfully. We won't figure it out until we acknowledge that these inborn differences have different needs for, and definitions of, success.(less)

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Russett I agree with Jessica and Melissa, and would like to add that I feel that the book very much addresses the need for actual book learning. The entire po...more
May 01, 2013 01:07am

Jane I'm finding this bizarre. I've reviewed over 900 books on this site and this is the only one where others have commented that my review is "wrong."

Fir...more
May 01, 2013 07:03am

May 14, 2013 Nicolas A. rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: teachers, parents, young adults, politicians, education policy-makers

Recommended to Nicolas by: Colorado Public Radio "This American Life"

Shelves: teacher-education, non-fiction

Some books amaze you with breath-taking aesthetic appeal, others with innovative and unexpected narrative elements, and then there are books that are amazing because the story they tell changes the way you see and understand the world.

What this book presents is an alternative to the cognitive hypothesis. This is a long-standing theory which posits that success (defined in this book as a happy, meaningful, and fulfilling life) is determined by one's cognitive abilities. What Tough's book suggest...more Some books amaze you with breath-taking aesthetic appeal, others with innovative and unexpected narrative elements, and then there are books that are amazing because the story they tell changes the way you see and understand the world.

What this book presents is an alternative to the cognitive hypothesis. This is a long-standing theory which posits that success (defined in this book as a happy, meaningful, and fulfilling life) is determined by one's cognitive abilities. What Tough's book suggests, through the examination of a wide-range of research studies and various personal interviews, is that incorporating the teaching of noncognitive skills (also referred to as "character") like grit, curiosity, self-control, follow-through, etc. (one research team came up with a list of 24) is not only a better way to graduate successful students, but that it is also a way to close and understand the persistent achievement gap. The book details its argument through a variety of discussions, such as the effects of stress on executive function, the importance of secure attachment, the hidden cost of affluence, and many others.

Tough's style was easy to read, his explanations and analyses of complex studies were accessible, his positive outlook was refreshing, and his questions were important, answered, and extremely relevant to the current conversations taking place about education. (What he included in his book yesterday, you will be hearing in teacher's lounges, policy meetings, and public discourse tomorrow.)

The only difficult thing for me about reading this book was that I constantly found myself reflecting my own childhood experiences, both at home and at school, looking for ways to interpret and understand my own struggles to succeed.

I would recommend this book to everyone and anyone, especially teachers (tenured and pre-service), parents, young adults, politicians, and education policy-makers. I believe that what is in this book has the potential to have a profoundly positive impact not only on this generation of students, but many generations, all that it will take is for more people to become aware of it.

The time for this book has come; the time for us to take its message to heart is now.
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Mar 05, 2013 Lacy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Excellent book that discusses the power of character/grit over IQ in the long-term success of a child. It discusses how educators focus on the results of standardized tests alone and makes the point that IQ is not the only thing that determines the potential of a child. There are a lot of smart, privileged kids, but it's the kids with grit and determination who often have the most success according to the many studies. It discusses how IQ is innate, but character malleable, therefore, we as pare...more

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May 13, 2013 Leon rated it 4 of 5 stars

Why do some children succeed while others fail?

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 educa

...more

Why do some children succeed while others fail?

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.

Early adversity, scientists have come to understand, can not only affect the conditions of children’s lives, it can alter the physical development of their brains as well. But now educators and doctors around the country are using that knowledge to develop innovative interventions that allow children to overcome the constraints of poverty. And with the help of these new strategies, as Tough’s extraordinary reporting makes clear, children who grow up in the most painful circumstances can go on to achieve amazing things.

This provocative and profoundly hopeful book has the potential to change how we raise our children, how we run our schools, and how we construct our social safety net. It will not only inspire and engage readers, it will also change our understanding of childhood itself.

Amazon.com Review Q&A with Paul Tough

Q. What made you want to write How Children Succeed?

A. In 2008, I published my first book, Whatever It Takes, about Geoffrey Canada and the Harlem Children’s Zone. I spent five years reporting that book, but when I finished it, I realized I still had a lot of questions about what really happens in childhood. How Children Succeed is an attempt to answer those questions, which for many of us are big and mysterious and central in our lives: Why do certain children succeed while other children fail? Why is it, exactly, that poor children are less likely to succeed, on average, than middle-class children? And most important, what can we all do to steer more kids toward success?

Q. Where did you go to find the answers?

A. My reporting for this book took me all over the country, from a pediatric clinic in a low-income San Francisco neighborhood to a chess tournament in central Ohio to a wealthy private school in New York City. And what I found as I reported was that there is a new and groundbreaking conversation going on, out of the public eye, about childhood and success and failure. It is very different than the traditional education debate. There are economists working on this, neuroscientists, psychologists, medical doctors. They are often working independently from one another. They don’t always coordinate their efforts. But they’re beginning to find some common ground, and together they’re reaching some interesting and important conclusions.

Q. A lot of your reporting for this book was in low-income neighborhoods. Overall, what did you learn about kids growing up in poverty?

A. A lot of what we think we know about the effect of poverty on a child’s development is just plain wrong. It’s certainly indisputable that growing up in poverty is really hard on children. But the conventional wisdom is that the big problem for low-income kids is that they don’t get enough cognitive stimulation early on. In fact, what seems to have more of an effect is the chaotic environments that many low-income kids grow up in and the often stressful relationships they have with the adults around them. That makes a huge difference in how children’s brains develop, and scientists are now able to trace a direct route from those early negative experiences to later problems in school, health, and behavior.

The problem is that science isn’t yet reflected in the way we run our schools and operate our social safety net. And that’s a big part of why so many low-income kids don’t do well in school. We now know better than ever what kind of help they need to succeed in school. But very few schools are equipped to deliver that help.

Q. Many readers were first exposed to your reporting on character through your article in the New York Times Magazine in September 2011, which was titled "What If the Secret to Success Is Failure?" How does failure help us succeed?

A. That’s an idea that I think was best expressed by Dominic Randolph, the head of the Riverdale Country School, an exclusive private school in the Bronx where they’re now doing some interesting experiments with teaching character. Here’s how he put it: "The idea of building grit and building self-control is that you get that through failure. And in most highly academic environments in the United States, no one fails anything."

That idea resonated with a lot of readers. I don’t think it’s quite true that failure itself helps us succeed. In fact, repeated failures can be quite devastating to a child’s development. What I think is important on the road to success is learning to deal with failure, to manage adversity. That’s a skill that parents can certainly help their children develop--but so can teachers and coaches and mentors and neighbors and lots of other people.

Q. How did writing this book affect you as a parent?

A. My wife and I became parents for the first time just as I started reporting this book, and our son Ellington is now three. Those are crucial years in a child’s development, and I spent a lot of them reading papers on the infant brain and studies on attachment and trauma and stress hormones, trying not to get too overwhelmed.

In the end, though, this research had a surprising effect: it made me more relaxed as a parent. When Ellington was born, I was very much caught up in the idea of childhood as a race--the faster a child develops skills, the better he does on tests, the better he’ll do in life. Having done this reporting, I’m less concerned about my son’s reading and counting ability. Don’t get me wrong, I still want him to know that stuff. But I think he’ll get there in time. What I’m more concerned about is his character--or whatever the right synonym is for character when you’re talking about a three-year-old. I want him to be able to get over disappointments, to calm himself down, to keep working at a puzzle even when it’s frustrating, to be good at sharing, to feel loved and confident and full of a sense of belonging. Most important, I want him to be able to deal with failure.

That’s a difficult thing for parents to give their children, since we have deep in our DNA the urge to shield our kids from every kind of trouble. But what we’re finding out now is that in trying to protect our children, we may actually be harming them. By not giving them the chance to learn to manage adversity, to cope with failure, we produce kids who have real problems when they grow up. Overcoming adversity is what produces character. And character, even more than IQ, is what leads to real and lasting success.

From Booklist

Starred Review Debunking the conventional wisdom of the past few decades that disadvantaged children need to develop basic reading and counting skills before entering school, Tough argues that they would be better served by learning such skills as grit, conscientiousness, curiosity, and optimism. It boils down to a debate about precognitive versus noncognitive skills of self-regulation or, simply put, character. Tough (Whatever It Takes, 2008) spent two years interviewing students, teachers, and administrators at failing public schools, alternative programs, charter schools, elite schools, and a variety of after-school programs. He also interviewed psychologists, economists, and neuroscientists and examined the latest research on character education beyond the bromides of the Left and Right to discover what actually works in teaching children skills that will aid them in school and in life, whatever the circumstances of their childhoods. Most compelling are Tough’s portraits of adolescents from backgrounds rife with poverty, violence, drug-addicted parents, sexual abuse, and failing schools, who manage to gain skills that help them overcome their adversities and go on to college. Tough ultimately argues in favor of research indicating that these important skills can be learned and children’s lives saved. A very hopeful look at promising new research on education. --Vanessa Bush

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Apr 20, 2013 Barbara Geffen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

My husband the Pediatrician recommended this book, and I add my endorsement. The author identifies ways that children should be encouraged to learn by testing their own limits, learning from failure as well as success, how to gain self-confidence and enthusiasm for the experience of education of all kinds. He challenges our notion of the value of standardized testing, and instead shows through example non-tradtional ways of teaching that reach children of even the most impoverished backgrounds....more

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Apr 18, 2013 Teresa rated it 5 of 5 stars

A must read for all educators!!!!! Paul Tough makes a compelling argument for educational reform. Through careful (and well documented) research, he posits that character traits such as "grit" are far greater indicators of academic success than are GPA's and standardized tests. This is something I'm sure many educators have believed for years.

Tough acknowledges the importance of good parenting and without judgement offers several strategies for supporting parents in need. While exploring case s...more

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Apr 08, 2013 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book, but I also found it disappointing at the same time. I am assuming that any people reading this review will have read the book, so I'm not spoiling the plot (does a nonfiction book have a plot?).

It's entitled "How children succeed" but really it's not. It's about the children - well actually teenagers, there's not a lot about children- who don't succeed. Example after example, research studies and projects all illustrate how hard it is for the kids born to poor and dys...more I really enjoyed this book, but I also found it disappointing at the same time. I am assuming that any people reading this review will have read the book, so I'm not spoiling the plot (does a nonfiction book have a plot?).

It's entitled "How children succeed" but really it's not. It's about the children - well actually teenagers, there's not a lot about children- who don't succeed. Example after example, research studies and projects all illustrate how hard it is for the kids born to poor and dysfunctional parents to break that cycle. After hearing the author talk on the radio and reading an article about him, I bought the book for the Parenting Collecton for the library I work in. I had thought it might offer some insights for parents about parenting strategies. But the only strategies I can put into place as a result of reading the book are
1. Don't become poor
2. Don't put too much pressure on child to succeed in everything
3. Don't be emotionally distant from child
4. Child needs to fail at things sometimes

90% of this book's readers will probably be safe from these problems, so I think as a parenting book, it's a bit of a failure. As a piece of popular educational psychology/sociology, it's more successful. It's very much in the Malcolm Gladwell style of journalism. Take an interest, do lots of reading about it, speak to people, then write a book. It's not too difficult to read, just not too well defined. I did feel I needed a summing up at the end of each chapter, to make sense of all the studies and anecdotes that were given.

It's very American (despite the examples on the back cover of British school qualifications) and as I'm not American, I struggled with all the jargon of GPA, SAT, and the assumption that every English speaking person reading the book knows all about the American education system. And after finishing the penultimate chapter, I was sick of the assumption that "success" was a university degree. Plumbers, hairdressers, electricians - don't they count?

But then the author talked about his own life. he dropped out of university and went off travelling, and feels that both experiences were beneficial. And I would agree, but if he'd attended a KIPP school he'd be seen as one of their failures. One of the pluses of the book was hearing about the KIPP schools. The New Zealand government has indicated that it allow charter schools to be set up here, much to,the horror of the teachers union. After reading this book I can see that a school similar to KIPP would benefit our underachieving kids, but it's not the silver bullet.

The book is challenging and introduces the reader to research that is pertinent to why some children make it out of their disadvantaged backgrounds while others don't. It also takes a potshot at the privileged few at the top, whose children are so protected from failure they lack empathy and character. The author makes a good case for an almost cradle to tertiary study system of wraparound care and support for deprived families, and bravely points out that it might mean we have to talk about race. It doesn't say we have to talk about reforming the welfare but maybe that's too scary a conversation!
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Apr 05, 2013 Stan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Paul Tough's main point is that grit, curiosity, and character are as important—maybe more important—to a person's success in life as are intelligence and aptitude at taking tests. Intelligence is important, but the determination and stamina to develop that intelligence is more important. That makes sense.

I kept putting off reading this book even though I'm interested in this subject and felt the book would be important. I was afraid it would be overflowing with the most recent scientific studie...more Paul Tough's main point is that grit, curiosity, and character are as important—maybe more important—to a person's success in life as are intelligence and aptitude at taking tests. Intelligence is important, but the determination and stamina to develop that intelligence is more important. That makes sense.

I kept putting off reading this book even though I'm interested in this subject and felt the book would be important. I was afraid it would be overflowing with the most recent scientific studies by psychologists and sociologists looking, from numerous angles, at the education problem in the United States. It was. I grow weary of all the research studies sited in books like this. Sometimes it's like the story Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young. Six blind mice go out independently to determine what a new Something near their pond is. Each discovers a different part of the Something and returns with a vastly different description. The seventh mouse explores the whole and figures out the Something is an elephant. I'm not saying the research studies aren't important, it's just that it's dangerous to loose site of the big picture. Frequently when we look at the big picture, common sense provides an answer. Unfortunately, because common sense isn't scientific, it is often rejected by the scientific establishment. Paul Tough is trying to play the role of the seventh mouse, and he does it fairly well.

Tough also states that research (here we go again), in the form of opinion polls, indicates a considerable majority of Americans want the government to do something about the education problem. He seems to agree with that sentiment. Yet he explains that over the last six decades the government's war on poverty, which goes hand in hand with the education crisis, has been expensive and ineffective. The percent of the population living in poverty has gone up slightly despite all the money and effort the government has thrown at it. Why do we love the idea of our government being the solution to all our problems?(less)

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Apr 04, 2013 Jack Cheng added it

To begin, the main thrust of Tough's research for this book is explicated in his subtitle: Grit, Curiosity and the Hidden Power of Character. The book is not long, just about 200 pages and the writing is fluid and easy to read. That said, if you are interested in this topic and are a regular reader of the New York Times Magazine or listener to This American Life, you may find yourself back in stories that you've already encountered. That said, these are compelling stories.

This is more of a polic...more

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Mar 20, 2013 Laura Hughes rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: psych-medicine

I read this book after hearing Paul Tough lay out some of these ideas on the "This American Life" episode "Back to School." Interesting, inexpensive ideas for improving schools arise when the pieces of the argument fall together:

- Noncognitive skills such as perseverance, resilience, self-control and curiosity--also known as character--predict life success better than IQ

- Even smart kids do badly in school if they give up too easily, don't recover well from failure, can't control their emotions,...more

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Mar 17, 2013 Lauren rated it 4 of 5 stars

So here's where I'm coming from: I run after-school programs in a low-income public housing community where I see mostly middle school and high school students. My background is not in education, though, but rather social work, and the deeper I get in my work with these kids and their families the more I wish I knew about education. So. I know that teachers can be great at their jobs and still have students who perform poorly by state/national standards, and I even have some glimpses of perspect...more So here's where I'm coming from: I run after-school programs in a low-income public housing community where I see mostly middle school and high school students. My background is not in education, though, but rather social work, and the deeper I get in my work with these kids and their families the more I wish I knew about education. So. I know that teachers can be great at their jobs and still have students who perform poorly by state/national standards, and I even have some glimpses of perspective into the difficulties in running a school district that not only supports schools in meeting AYPs but just in helping students get to school every day. I have much respect for all these people who actually do work in education and also know our systems need reform. I even have a very close friend who teaches at a charter school and I see the ups and downs there, too. So. Ok. I get that this is all really complicated and that, structurally speaking, no matter who you are, it's much easier to see problems than solutions.

But here's my dog in this fight. I come from a community-based setting and I think any distinction made between education that happens in schools and any education that happens when kids are not in school is pretty much false, or rather, if we make them discrete we all do everyone a big disservice. So I read this from the perspective of someone trying to learn more about what's happening in education reform conversations and schools in other parts if the country to address what we all (hopefully) know about the great tragedy among us of low-income students of color missing out on quality education. So? I got what I was looking for.

I wanted to know more about about current buzz words that I mostly hear in conversations with funders like grit and conscientiousness and other supposedly "non-cognitive" (read: non-academic) skills that they're looking for in program outcomes. (By the way, out-of-school time programs have been focusing on these things forever! It is our job! We know it well!) And I did get some good if not terribly theoretical information about how researchers are talking about this. I also wanted to explore some ideas of how bigger programs and especially educators are using this information, and I read some interesting stories about some who are. So there are some pieces missing from the book as a whole and it's not serious theory about what's happening and what we might do about it. It's popular fiction. But hey, I learned things AND I enjoyed reading it after long work days even though it made me think about work some more (I'm often a more escapist reader.) So. I have more to learn but this was a great start. I'll recommend it to others who are already thinking about these things in some capacity, and maybe then they will want to learn more, too.(less)

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Mar 13, 2013 Ben rated it 4 of 5 stars

The subtitle of the book is a bit misleading. (I should even say the title was misleading as it deals more with adolescents than with children.) I had (foolishly) hoped for a book that more clearly catalogued true traits the girder success and how they can be instilled in children. While it does spend much of its time looking at the "character" traits that help children succeed, it is broader focused than just character development, with many portions dwelling on evaluation of a variety of educa...more The subtitle of the book is a bit misleading. (I should even say the title was misleading as it deals more with adolescents than with children.) I had (foolishly) hoped for a book that more clearly catalogued true traits the girder success and how they can be instilled in children. While it does spend much of its time looking at the "character" traits that help children succeed, it is broader focused than just character development, with many portions dwelling on evaluation of a variety of education focuses and reforms, both past and present, and many detailed ancillary stories. And, more importantly, Tough comes as the bearer of the truth that even if there is some distinguishable set of traits that brings success, there is no certainty on how these traits can be endowed or taught fully, or even partially. The book also focuses heavily on the education issues for those teaching disadvantaged students. In this way, it is more a book about policy and education engineering than one for parents looking for cues in raising their already advantaged kids. To be fair though, there were some small portions probing the problems that over-advantaged students can face, such as lack of experience dealing with adversity and a failure-avoidance mentality.

While the book is well written and an easy page turner, I did grow a bit weary of it as I made my way through it. In the end though Tough redeemed the book with a final chapter that did a real good job of tying all the loose chapters and anecdotes together. This was a refreshing relief from the typical obligatory final chapter that simply summarizes what has already be said. It's this chapter that most truly reveals the books as a treatise on the state of the intertwined war against poverty and disadvantages in education in America. I don't know that Tough has answered any questions whatsoever with this book, but he has taken a great snapshot of what we know and where we are (hopefully) headed on the path to meaningful educational reform. (less)

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Mar 03, 2013 Linda Quinton-Burr rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: parenting, child-development

Well written book summarizing numerous research studies which, taken together, appear to show that it is not the cognitive skills we should be worring about with preschoolers -- that what leads to ultimate success are personality variables such as resilience, stick to itiveness, ability to get along with other children and ability to delay gratification. The long-term difference in achievement between high school graduates and those earning GED certificates is interesting because the cognitive s...more

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Mar 01, 2013 Kathy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-march-2013, nonfiction

Well worth the read. It's only about 200 pages, and it is packed with interesting summaries of research and sippets of detail from the lives of real people.

Probably the most important thing in the life of a happy and successful person is a responsive and caring relationship with an adult during the first year or so of life. Not the kind of thing you can arrange for yourself. But young parents can be taught to do a better job of this.

High school GPAs are more indicitive of success in college than...more

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Feb 25, 2013 Brooke rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really wanted to dive into another novel, but this book had finally come in from the library, and I had waited too long to send it back. I'm so glad I read it! It felt good to get my head back into education reform although that is definitely not his only topic. Tough is taking a broader approach than just education to look at poverty as a whole. It really reminded me of some of my coursework from other periods in my professional career. I loved his compelling way of telling stories to convey...more

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Feb 23, 2013 Matthew rated it 3 of 5 stars

There's a certain kind of book that journalists like to write that I used to like, because I found it very convincing. It's the kind of book that reads something like this: "We all used to think that XXX. But then Professor AAA of the University of BBB did a study and it turns out that it's YYY."

I used to like this because when you're young, you think the world is screwed up, and it's refreshing to find somebody that purports to demonstrate that your instincts are right and up is actually down a...more There's a certain kind of book that journalists like to write that I used to like, because I found it very convincing. It's the kind of book that reads something like this: "We all used to think that XXX. But then Professor AAA of the University of BBB did a study and it turns out that it's YYY."

I used to like this because when you're young, you think the world is screwed up, and it's refreshing to find somebody that purports to demonstrate that your instincts are right and up is actually down and black is actually white, and then you want to turn the world upside down so this huge problem that everybody has been trying to solve the wrong way can now be fixed.

This book is kind of like that. It says we've been trying to teach poor kids to read and write, and professors AAA and BBB and CCC say what they really need is "grit." Or "character." Or "resilience."

It's a very appealing argument: if you have grit, you'll succeed in life regardless of what falls down around you. The problem is, none of the professors have much evidence that it can be taught. They have a lot of evidence that it comes from your family. So if you're a parent, this book will reassure you, as it should. If you love your child and show him that you love him, support him when he needs it and let him fail but stick out a safety net, he'll do fine.

If you're an educator, though, the book is likely to be frustrating. It seems to be saying that although you signed up to be a math teacher in the worst neighborhood around, your job is useless if those kids' families don't do what the rich families do. In fact, it's even more frustrating, because it implies that the rich kids aren't getting ahead because of what they HAVE; they're getting ahead because rich families love and support their kids better and protect them better from traumatic experiences that will kill their chances at success.

But of course, that IS what good teachers do in the worst neighborhoods, and the best. They care about their students' lives, in the classroom and out. They get them and their families help when they can, and even when they can't, they show them the joy that comes from learning math or Spanish or biology or history. Not one study mentioned in this book focused on what teachers can do for their students instead of what they can't.

It's also going to frustrate public school teachers because it, like so many books on education these days, has a hard-on for charter schools, and particularly the miraculous KIPP schools. The KIPP schools do teach values: some might say they successfully teach their students to be the automatons that the capitalist world so desperately desires from its proletariat. You might say, better those students learn to be robots and get a college degree if the alternative is rotting in jail, and I'd agree. But I wonder if we can't also agree that there's got to be a third way, and this book doesn't really provide it.(less)

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Feb 22, 2013 Gerald Kinro rated it 4 of 5 stars

Test results have long been the predictors of success, especially in the academic world from childhood to college. In “How Children Succeed,” however, the author claims a different set of parameters to predict success. These deal with character—perseverance, resilience, curiosity, conscientiousness, optimism, and self- control. A handful of researchers and educators recognize this and are using science to understand character and, in turn, educate their students. The reality is that most parents...more Test results have long been the predictors of success, especially in the academic world from childhood to college. In “How Children Succeed,” however, the author claims a different set of parameters to predict success. These deal with character—perseverance, resilience, curiosity, conscientiousness, optimism, and self- control. A handful of researchers and educators recognize this and are using science to understand character and, in turn, educate their students. The reality is that most parents do not prepare their children for the real world. Childhood stress correlates with adulthood failure. The author provides new insights on assisting students growing up in poverty so that they may go on to greater achievement. Yes, there is hope.
The author chooses to limit his definition of success to admission to and successful completion of college, for good reason, I might add. The earning power for a college graduate is greater than for one who is not. These concepts have been written about in the past. The author alludes to “The Bell Curve” which claims that intelligence and test scores are an accurate predictor of later successes. He does not, probably because of the limits of his definition of success, mention two other works that touch on similar subjects: “Emotional Intelligence” by Daniel Goleman and “Creative Intelligence” by Alan Rowe. The latter two works go beyond college and into the solving of problems working world and on to real life itself.

It is complex. I am not an educator or social scientist. Nevertheless, if one had asked me to define “smart” several decades ago, I could have come up with a direct and simple answer. No more. I have seen too many who fit my old definition of “smart” fail miserably in their personal lives and get reduced to babbling idiots under pressure. Others succeed. I feel there are different kinds of smart. The general public got to see an important kind of “smart” during the successful operation against Osama Bin Laden. During the crucial phase of the mission, a helicopter failed. The mission commander had a few seconds to decide the next best course of action. He did.

Nevertheless, this is a good book and an interesting read. We can all agree that something is wrong with the way we are spending our educational dollars. The ideas Tough proposes are worth a serious try (Again. Many of these ideas were the norm when I attended school decades ago.) I laud the author for bringing the problem and the efforts to solve it out in this very readable book.
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Feb 20, 2013 David Glad rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: all-your-brains-are-belong-to-me, exploring-society, education, child-development, ideas, willpower, habits

I was lucky to get a copy of this audiobook, considering this seems quite popular with my library and the surrounding ones.

Nice overview of methods of instruction and culture at schools that emphasize certain aspects: Riverdale, a highly competitive private school in the South Bronx for very wealthy families. (Kennedy children, CT senator Blumenthal, and a lot of others who think they are better than us.)

Interesting how the author thinks the school more a "floor" (only so far one might fall due...more I was lucky to get a copy of this audiobook, considering this seems quite popular with my library and the surrounding ones.

Nice overview of methods of instruction and culture at schools that emphasize certain aspects: Riverdale, a highly competitive private school in the South Bronx for very wealthy families. (Kennedy children, CT senator Blumenthal, and a lot of others who think they are better than us.)

Interesting how the author thinks the school more a "floor" (only so far one might fall due to all the connections made at the school) rather than acting as a ceiling on one's potential.
Obviously the main thrust of this book was on experiments/studies of how inner-city type children who seem to have no expectation of getting a college bachelors (or even accepted by good colleges) can be successful. This is why "grit" is in the book's subtitle, while the "curiosity" part played a minor role (maybe very early childhood development), while character played an out-sized role. (Topics of conscientiousness where clerical tasks were done excellently by military recruits while they typically -- so the sample group anyway went -- scored lower on measures of intelligence.) Book makes favorable mention of author Martin Seligman ("Learned Optimism") and his latest book on character development.

Strong talk of persistence and willpower, as a study suggested grades not being enough to explain achievers. On that note, the grid and character aspects shine stronger than ever on students who face adversity and need to demonstrate resilience. (Seems a familiar topic of children who go through most of their life being told how smart and accomplished they are and a question of what happens when they encounter their first real brick wall.. even if I would think they would be competitive enough to find a way to overcome.) Perhaps ties into the idea of how success often starts with failure.

One of the longer segments of the book discusses Brooklyn's Intermediate School (IS)318's elite chess program and their fanatical instructor Elizabeth Spiegel. (Public school that has typically underprivileged youths who have little to no chess knowledge, yet the school's reputation means other students hold their chess champions in high esteem.) It is quite interesting to hear how she develops their thought processes and even coolly analyzed (which made have made the student realize why it played out the way it had) a playground argument one of her students had that nearly turned to violence versus most other teachers who would take either a disciplinarian perspective or just naively wonder why the students are unable to get along.

Should seem interesting author Paul Tough's emphasis on striving for a college education when he himself dropped out of Columbia early on. (He would also admire the late Steve Jobs's own curiosity in dropping out to selectively take courses of interest versus the standard curriculum that perhaps stamps out creativity for some.) Equally curious is it came shortly after he mentions author Charles Murray and the idea that some students "aren't smart enough" for college Tough took issue with. (Would think that was just one of the points Murray was trying to make, as his book "Real Education: Four Simple Truths for Bringing America's Schools Back to Reality" in the description discusses how students have different learning styles which surely traditional education lacks the ability to serve the needs of. Along with how if underachieving students are going to college and getting these degrees in oddball topics along with tons of student loan debt, how much are these degrees really worth?)

Other college preparatory academic programs whose ideas are mentioned are KIPP and OneGoal. (Might look further at their approaches at a later point.)

As for getting back to high school, the book mentions GPA (such as a 3.5) as a strong indicator of college success irrespective of whether the high school is in a poverty area or high class neighborhood even while including vastly different standardized (SAT/ACT) scores. Mentions one of the problems of the current high school model is it was designed for preparing people to enter the industrial workforce. ("Show up and manage to stay awake" to get your diploma.)

Books I have read with similar themes: The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
by Charles Duhigg and Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength
by Roy F. Baumeister(less)

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Feb 17, 2013 Andy rated it 2 of 5 stars

This guy hangs out at some inner-city schools and tells us touching stories about programs that "seem" [his word] to help rescue the underprivileged, undereducated kids who are already failing. We don't need "seem to work." From a book with a title like "How Children Succeed" we should learn about what is proven effective. Unfortunately, we're left with the impression that nothing out there works.

He doesn't talk at all about the experience of the schools in Raleigh, North Carolina, which as far...more This guy hangs out at some inner-city schools and tells us touching stories about programs that "seem" [his word] to help rescue the underprivileged, undereducated kids who are already failing. We don't need "seem to work." From a book with a title like "How Children Succeed" we should learn about what is proven effective. Unfortunately, we're left with the impression that nothing out there works.

He doesn't talk at all about the experience of the schools in Raleigh, North Carolina, which as far as I know is the one example of an entire metropolitan area with children succeeding in school: see hope and despair in the american city. He does mention Perry preschool briefly; I would have liked much more about that and other programs that actually work.

Instead, the author devotes much of the book to trendy brain science psycho-babble including rat studies (!!!! rat studies for crying out loud!!!) and he tries to extrapolate all that to policy implications. He tells us about KIPP, but points out that KIPP so far has failed in the long-term despite impressive isolated short-term results. There's a huge section on chess clubs but the practical point of that is sort of a mystery. He holds out hope for the Gates Foundation efforts, but leaves out that their educational interventions to date have been massive failures. Etc., etc. etc.

There is some accurate information in here that may be of interest to some people, but how much of a revelation is it, for example, that having a horrible childhood is bad for people?

Moreover, much of the potentially useful information is presented in a confusing fashion. As the title indicates, much of the book is about "character." Eventually, it turns out that what he means by that is learned skills and behaviors, what I think educational psychologists actually call "comportment." He also points out how it's possible to change those behaviors at an individual level using tools from CBT (cognitive behavior therapy). Calling it "character" is confusing because what that word denotes normally is something that is in one's nature like personality. He also refers to these skills frequently as "non-cognitive" even though they are obviously cognitive. I think what he means by "non-cognitive" is non-academic. There are of course effective evidence-based programs in existence for teaching non-academic comportment skills to children who don't learn them from their parents (e.g. Coping Power). But he doesn't really talk about those.

I was very disappointed by this book. It's nice to have Hollywood stories about poor kids, and theories about what is wrong, but I expected something more about what works.

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Feb 08, 2013 Dave rated it 4 of 5 stars

I’m sure there are hundreds of books out there calling for radical change in the way we think about education, but this is a pretty good one. Mr. Tough writes well, mixing in a wide range of research citations with anecdotes that are sometimes reportorial and sometimes personal. His argument centers around the idea that teaching cognitive skills is vastly overrated and overdone, because what really makes kids successful in life is character—and not the moral integrity you might think about when...more

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Feb 05, 2013 Clint Cypert rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: education, non-fiction

This book was very different from most books I have read on education. Instead of looking at what schools can do better to improve curriculum, teachers, or programs, Paul Tough looks at the reasons behind student success and failure. What he found was that character, grit, and intrinsic motivation tend to be the keys to success for children (there is no surprise from me in regards to his findings). Unfortunately for educators, he found that students’ home lives are the key to having grit, fortit...more

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Jan 24, 2013 Gloria Denoon rated it 3 of 5 stars

A great book on how we should balance the current focus on cognitive performance with character-building.

Mr. Tough showed in great length how ultimate success is correlated with social character like: perseverance, diligence, self control, professionalism, resilience, and integrity. He also show how attentive/attached parenting plays an essential role in the formation of those character traits. For children from disadvantaged background, they need to have truly attentive teachers and mentors to...more

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Jan 23, 2013 Teresa rated it 4 of 5 stars

As a teacher I have often wanted to put a sign in my classroom, "Many a student has failed because you can't send mom and dad to the principal's office." We cannot fix what's wrong with U.S. educational system until we fix what's wrong with families, or the lack of family. Tough finally addresses in the last chapter the elephant in the room, which educators and politicans acknowledge behind close doors that the family a child is born into will predict how well a child will succeed in school and...more

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Jan 23, 2013 Stacy rated it 5 of 5 stars

I really liked this book - I think it is a must read for parents. While the book talks a lot about the educational challenges of children in poverty, the concepts and ideas apply to all children. Success in college and in life is not solely determined by academic measures (IQ, SAT) - "non-academic" factors like optimism, persistence, and character play an equally if not more important role in actually making it through college and being successful in life beyond college. He also talks about an i...more

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Jan 23, 2013 Alex Templeton rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is an excellent and thought-provoking book about what qualities really help kids of all stripes succeed. As should be a complete non-surprise to anyone who is an educator, character qualities have been proven to matter more than standardized test scores. Tough writes about students who either inherently have the passion and "grit" (as he refers to it) to pursue their goals, and those who are encouraged to develop these qualities through a school program, mentorship, etc. These students are...more

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Jan 22, 2013 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Based on research by neuroscientists, psychologists, educators and more, Tough argues that character contributes to success at least as much as intelligence.

In the beginning, Tough discusses research that shows early stress and trauma alter the brain and body, resulting in lifelong health and learning problems. It is also crucial that babies have healthy attachments to their caregivers, as this attachment can somewhat shield against the negative effects of stress. The take away message is to be...more

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Jan 22, 2013 Bonnie J. rated it 4 of 5 stars

In my current position as an English teacher at a private girls' school, I found Tough's treatment of the concerns of private school educators personally relevant. Grit, he said, can only be developed by facing failure; and failure of any kind is in short supply at private schools, because it implies criticism of one's employers - i.e.,the parents, who pay the hefty bills.

This got me thinking about similarities and differences between public and private institutions altogether. Of course, the ul...more In my current position as an English teacher at a private girls' school, I found Tough's treatment of the concerns of private school educators personally relevant. Grit, he said, can only be developed by facing failure; and failure of any kind is in short supply at private schools, because it implies criticism of one's employers - i.e.,the parents, who pay the hefty bills.

This got me thinking about similarities and differences between public and private institutions altogether. Of course, the ultimate employers at a public school are also the parents, who pay local property taxes. And yet they are too often not treated as such because of the lack of one-to-one correspondence between the school or district hierarchy and the local taxpayers. As a public school teacher, I am hired and fired by the principal, who is hired by the district superintendent, who is hired by the school board, which is elected by an eensy-weensy proportion of voters (who may or may not be homeowners, and if they are, they may or may not have school-age children). In addition, the state Board of Education has an immense say in what happens in my classroom - and, depending on which statewide tests are administered, so does what I sometimes call the educational-industrial complex. There are many layers of accountability between me and the parents; in private school, there is only one and that's the administration. So I am in a much more delicate political position as a private school teacher, and theoretically I have to balance my livelihood with academic rigor and the kind of character education Tough describes in this book. (Luckily for me, the parents who pay my school's bills seek exactly the kind of rigor that I want for my students.)

But what fascinated me most in HOW CHILDREN SUCCEED was Tough's analysis of how the poverty debate in this country has been transformed into a school reform debate. I suppose I am as likely as the next progressive Democrat to see a right-wing bogeyman hiding under the bed of every major social change like this, but I don't think that is what has happened over the past 40 or so years. It's been a subtle conflation of issues as we redefine both what it means to be poor and what it means to be educated in the 21st century, and Tough's contribution toward disentangling these questions is an important one.

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Jan 15, 2013 sleeps9hours rated it 5 of 5 stars

Exactly what I look for in a non-fiction book. Well-researched, well-organized, straightforward, with captivating stories.

Tough tackles the complicated and controversial subject of what it takes for children to grow into successful adults. What defines success could be a book in itself, but here Tough is primarily concerned with academic achievement, ideally leading to completion of a 4-year college degree.

When this goal is not met, Conservatives tend to mistakenly blame individuals alone for t...more

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Education Matters...: Intervention	1	5	Mar 04, 2013 06:37pm
K12 Parents' Book...: K12 Parents' Book Chat today!	2	3	Jan 22, 2013 01:39pm
Science and Inquiry: 'How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character' by Paul Tough	6	39	Nov 28, 2012 07:51am

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