This is a book that I was very eager to read. I'm a fan of education around character and believe that schools are charged with more than qualifications. Paul Tough, himself a self confessed 'drop out' has taken the task of comparing intelligence with character. I felt that this book was a good read and focused well upon the hidden curriculum.
I felt myself linked closely to Paul's life experiences, he has a great chapter in there about being a father and looking deeply into the educational experience of children.
Much of How Children Succeed is based upon experience/case examples. All of the ideas Paul presents are illustrated with some real life people and their ability to succeed where they would not expected to be.
There were some very good quotes “The best way for a young person to build character is for him to attempt something where there is a real and serious possibility of failure.” (p. 85) I think that this is something that our modern educational system can be guilty with. We offer much of our assessment in 'low risk' assessments - I've never personally done a standard, I was raised in an examination environment where all the year was measured in a one off test. [my preference is not for a major one off exam].
Another thing for the plus side of How Children Succeed is the chapters he devotes to the study of chess and intelligence and determination.
I would recommend this book for teachers, especially those with children. Tough offers more in the way of observation than solution. I found myself agreeing with much of Paul's points and enjoyed his illustrative writing style.
Here is a nice YouTube clip where Paul is interviewed about his book.
This post relates to RTC #12 - "Engaging with professional literature and reflecting on ones practice and RTC#5
No comments:
Post a Comment