Paul Tough speaks Oct 1, 7 pm, UGA Chapel, free « Whatever It Takes: The Athens, Georgia Promise Neighborhood

This is not to be missed! Free and open to all.

Co-sponsored by:

Willson Center
Distinguished LecturerPaul Tough

Paul Tough is the author of Whatever It Takes: Geoffery Canada’s Quest to Change Harlem and America. His new book, How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character, will be published in September 2012.Monday, October 1, 2012
7 p.m.
The Chapel
University of Georgia
Free and open to the public

Here’s a little blurb about his new book (I’ve read it and definitely recommend it; you can get it at Avid Books and bring it for him to autograph, or you can buy it from Avid at the event and he’ll autograph it there):

How Children Succeed

Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character

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, not only affects the conditions of children’s lives, it can also alter the physical development of their brains. But innovative thinkers around the country are now using this knowledge to help children overcome the constraints of poverty. With the right support, 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.