Paul Tough's new book, "How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character"

In September of 2011 we discussed an article from the New York Times Magazine by Paul Tough, dealing with the importance of resilience and character in successful students. Entitled, "What if the Secret to Success is Failure?" the piece explores the idea that non-cognitive qualities like character, grit, and a willingness to work hard are at least as important as IQ in student (and later, adult) success.

Just over a year later, Mr. Tough has come out with a book on the subject, entitled "How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character."

In a Washington Post interview this past October, Mr. Tough says these non-cognitive "skills" include, "...grit, curiosity, perseverance, conscientiousness, self-regulation, and optimism," and that while they can be taught, he doesn't "...think we yet have an ideal model for exactly how to teach them in the classroom." What we do have, he says, are schools and teachers working on ways to address the issue, such as talks and assemblies on character at Riverdale Country School (a private institution in the Bronx), and "character growth cards" the KIPP Academy in New York City. Describing these "character growth cards," Mr. Tough says:

"...a few times a year, every student at KIPP’s New York City middle schools is evaluated on all seven character strengths by each of their teachers...in practice, the character report card seemed to function more as a conversation piece than like a traditional report card...[that] In the conversations I observed, the simple fact of having this numerical assessment in front of them seemed to give parents, teachers, and students a way of talking about these important skills in a positive, non-confrontational, growth-oriented way. And that’s a rare occurrence in any school; those are often difficult conversations for teachers and parents to have. If the report card provides a vehicle for that kind of deep and collaborative discussion between parents and teachers and students, then it’s performing a valuable function."

Another element on which Mr. Tough touches is the way poverty, affluence, and stressful growth environments can have a detrimental effect on learning character. For example, the Washington Post interviewer wonders how "something like 'grit' would be seen less in children who live in poverty vs. children who don’t." Or how even children raised in affluence seem to "...have the same sorts of problems with grit, perseverance, self-regulation, optimism," as many of those growing up in poverty." To this Mr.Tough responds: 

"That’s a good point. I do think there are plenty of kids in poverty who have lots of grit – arguably more than the average well-off kid. But the problem with focusing too much on the resilience and grit of disadvantaged kids is that we run the risk of minimizing the often quite harmful consequences of growing up in poverty. Some children do become more resilient as a result of growing up in difficult environments – but many others are simply worn down and worn out by the experience. (That’s especially true for disadvantaged children who grow up without a close and supportive relationship with a nurturing adult.)"

With respect to difficulties for children in affluent communities: 

"That said, you’re quite right that kids who grow up in affluence face their own set of challenges in the realm of character. Madeline Levine and I both draw on the work of Suniya Luthar, a psychologist at Columbia University who has studied affluent children in depth. Luthar found significant psychological problems at the high end of the income spectrum, and in fact in one study she found higher rates of depression and substance abuse in high-income adolescents than low-income adolescents. These problems arise most often in those high-income homes where children feel simultaneously a great pressure to achieve and an emotional distance from their parents – a particularly toxic combination, according to Luthar and Levine."

So in short, both ends of the poverty-affluence spectrum can prove either helpful or harmful for "character" development. Challenge, feedback, and support all seem to be integral pieces of the "grit" puzzle, and Mr. Tough's book broadens our understanding of how interventions are improving practice in formal and informal education settings to that end. Sounds like an interesting read.

Happy Saturday, friends :)