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literarylover37's review against another edition
3.0
I think the title is misleading on this one. This is a good book but it would be a better book if I wasn't expecting actual solutions (as based on the title). What this book really is, is a great compendium of research that has been done on various areas of child development and programs in schools. Most of the successful school examples though are from charter schools, independent programs, or private schools. This makes the struggle to execute these ideas all the harder because of the bureaucracy inherent in public schools. Again, a good compilation of studies (some new to me, some I'd heard of before) and some good broad ideas but little in the ways of actual execution.
retiredlibrarylady's review against another edition
5.0
Every teacher should not just read this book but own it. Affirming for the good teacher, inspiring for all. His focus is on teaching children in poverty, but these concepts and strategies make great teachers for all students. Amazing amazing book. Thank you NPR for letting me know about this one!!
adamrshields's review against another edition
4.0
Short Review: This is a short but very helpful look at why educating children from difficult backgrounds is harder and some of the promising areas education research. There is a mix here, it is both the difficult children's background (early development, stress, violence, low familial attachment, etc) and the institutions (focus on discipline, things that are easy to assess and institutional control) that contribute to the problem.
We can make changes to the environments of the children outside of school and we should work on that. But schools should be primarily concentrating on the institutional issues that make educating difficult children more difficult. I am happy that Tough does not present silver bullets. There are solutions, but the solutions are primarily long term environmental and institutional changes not short term program.
This is a very short book and so best thought of as an introduction and a good book for discussion. But it is surprisingly broad in its look at the issues for a book that is so short.
My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/helping-children-succeed/
We can make changes to the environments of the children outside of school and we should work on that. But schools should be primarily concentrating on the institutional issues that make educating difficult children more difficult. I am happy that Tough does not present silver bullets. There are solutions, but the solutions are primarily long term environmental and institutional changes not short term program.
This is a very short book and so best thought of as an introduction and a good book for discussion. But it is surprisingly broad in its look at the issues for a book that is so short.
My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/helping-children-succeed/
rarmknecht's review against another edition
4.0
Good material. Didn't realize the target audience was educators and education administrators instead of parents, but still an informative and thoughtful read.
rbogue's review against another edition
5.0
Compared to the average joe I read a lot. Books that I read (all non-fiction) tend to fall into one of two broad categories. They’re either helping you understand a problem, or they’re providing a recipe – a set of questions, actions, and behaviors that you can do to get the results that you want. When I read (and reviewed) How Children Succeed a few years ago, it definitely fell into the former category. There were great points, however, there was very little guidance. Paul Tough followed up on that book with Helping Children Succeed, which tilts the scale much more into the direction of a how-to book without completely forgoing his sense of necessity about knowing why things work.
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connieaw's review against another edition
4.0
This book deals more about children in poverty than you average child. Would be a great read for teachers.
katemc's review
informative
fast-paced
4.0
Enjoyed! A very quick, digestible read. I never read it through during undergrad when it was assigned so I don’t have anything now that it applies to in particular now but it’s always interesting as a nonprofit worker (and at a nonprofit focused on evidence based models) to read about evidence-based models used by (or that could be used by) nonprofits in other subject areas. The nonprofit industrial complex can be fraught, and it’s heartening to read about approaches (and groups studying/implementing those/new approaches) that can make meaningful, proactive differences, rather than simply attempting to ameliorate the effects of existing social inadequacies.
nbrickman's review against another edition
5.0
A concise overview of impactful research that is a great starting point for engaging us in ways we can change our behavior and thinking in order to help children succeed.
birdy1luv's review against another edition
3.0
Not a final product, as in these are the answers to how to develop grit in children. But a helpful update on where research is leading and what has been discovered so far.