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

by Paul Tough
Hennepin County Library hardcover 201 pages
genre: non-fiction, education and research

Tough did a lot of research for this book and organized it by these sections: How to Fail (and How Not to), How to Build Character, How to Think, How to Succeed, and A Better Path. My favorite section was How to Think which primarily looked at the impact of studying chess on students' achievement. I also appreciated the specific students' experiences that he wrote about (and his observations of his parenting in light of all he learned in the course of writing this book).

page 21 - looking at executive function as malleable. ". . . researchers have found that there is something uniquely out of balance about the adolescent brain that makes it especially susceptible to bad and impulsive decisions." How do we teach teens to have better impulse control? One big factor appears to be nurturing parenting (surprise, surprise).

page 30 - affection and attention have an impact on development. First found in studies with rats (licking and grooming), the results were seen in humans as well (with other nurturing behaviors exhibited by mothers).

page 33 - " . . . regular good parenting - being helpful and attentive during a game of Jenga - can make a profound difference for a child's future prospects."

page 37 - "The early nurturing attention from their mothers had fostered in them a resilience that acted as a protective buffer against stress. When the regular challenges of life emerged, even years later - . . . - they were able . . . to assert themselves, draw on reserves of self-confidence, and make their way forward."

page 60 - talked about traditional character education being ineffective. This reminded me of the time I tried to get Alex out of a class at JHS that I knew was a filler class for a teacher's load. It was not "required" by the state of MN for graduation, but it was required by JHS. Bogus. As though a quarter-long class on character ed was going to make these 14 and 15 year olds become respectful, responsible people . . . this also makes me think about our efforts in advisory. What is our purpose?

I really love the idea of working with kids and emphasizing that both intelligence and character are malleable! Instead of acting as though kids are "done" as thinkers and be-ers by the age of 13 . . . we need to stress to them the importance of continuing to develop their intelligence and their character. That said, I definitely see a world of difference between high intelligence and low intelligence as students walk in the door. I just need to think about HOW they can CHANGE and help them to see their role in changing their intelligence and character.

Middle school . . . young enough to change and old enough to be metacognitive. Perfect!

page 116 - chess teacher "I try to teach my students that losing is something you do, not something you are." I definitely loved this "how to think" section best!

page 120-1 "Perhaps what pushes middle-school students to concentrate and practice as maniacally as Spiegel's chess players do is the unexpected experience of someone taking them seriously, believing in their abilities, and challenging them to improve themselves."

page 161 - "And so the traditional American high school was never intended to be a place where students would learn how to think deeply or develop internal motivation or persevere when faced with difficulty - all the skills needed to persist in college. Instead, it was a place where, for the most part, students were rewarded for just showing up and staying awake."

In some ways, this book has so much going on that I want to re-read it. In other ways, I am glad to be done with it. This might be one to read during the school year and think more deeply about my own students. Right now, I'm too immersed in summer.