#78, "Helping Children Succeed"

"Helping Children Succeed: What Works and Why"
Paul Tough

In the summer, I read Tough's first book, "How Children Succeed" (my Goodreads review here), which was an examination of why developing character traits such as determination, grit, conscientiousness, and optimism in students is as important as teaching them reading and writing. This follow up is a response to the question that has been asked of him ever since that book was published: "What do we do now?" That is, how do we take the concepts of character and interleave them into our educational policies and classrooms, especially in order to close the achievement gap and make a difference for disadvantaged children? This is a very tough subject, because there are so many theories, ideas and studies that seek to answer that very question. Again, Tough takes the role of a journalist, a reporter, parsing the data and filling in the blanks between.

Educators will not be surprised to hear Tough report that this battle is begun at home. Home environment has an enormous effect on the well-being and future success of children, starting almost from birth. The nurturing, loving interaction of an adult in the first 3 years of life can make an impact that gives a child psychological and cognitive strength that lasts a lifetime; the absence of this starts a child's life behind, sometimes devastatingly. For teachers, with whom most schoolchildren spend more time than their parents, the establishment of a healthy, nurturing, ordered and sensible environment is of utmost importance. Tough stresses (like Dweck, Brown, and Willingham) the importance of having and encouraging a growth mindset: the belief that, through hard work and perseverance, one can become smarter. Children need to believe that hard work makes a difference, even in adverse conditions. That can be the difference between catching up, getting ahead, and falling behind--both in school and in life.

Overall, the book is clearly written. Tough doesn't always nail his ideas perfectly, but the bulk of the material is good. The tricky part about writing on psychological research is that there are so many studies, you can nearly draw any conclusion you wish if you aren't careful. That being said, as Tough's conclusions have been echoed in different ways by so many others, I think his large points are salient and important. #whatIreadin2017