How Children Succeed

Like his previous book, Whatever it Takes, this one is great. I especially appreciated his exploration of the relevance of (and challenges to developing ) grit and other character traits among both affluent and impoverished kids. An extended section on teaching and playing chess was so long and detailed almost to seem tangential, but it was actually my favorite part of the book. The Brooklyn chess teacher Elizabeth Spiegel's methods and experiences make an engaging read.

According to this book the most important indicator of success is how a child is treated as an infant. A scary thought. Much of character - which the author cites evidence as the most important factor that will get someone to a college graduation- is developed in infancy, by parents who treat their children with love and care.

For students who do not develop character through the proper nurture, it can be taught and learned. This is the main message of the book - our thoughts on education reform should focus on how we can provide children with the character to persevere through failure and to exhibit the hard work necessary for success.

So this book is kinda odd for me. I was considering a career in Pediatrics when I had heard the This American Life episode about this book last year and that peaked my interest enough to buy this book.

The book definitely outlines a lot of interesting points about the science behind cognitive and non-cognitive areas for kids in the first half and has some great excepts from interviews with professionals and children trying to improve the system. Whereas the second half kinda posits more about character features that help in the long run like grit, curiosity, perseverance, self-discipline etc and weirdly enough I ended relating to a lot of the people in the book and their struggles.

Currently at the time of finishing this book, I've moved away from that initial career path more towards Public health and with that comes a daunting new move forward into more education and that means that a lot of the character traits outlined in this book would be things I need to focus on. So almost in a way this book has been a self help book for me? It was definitely an interesting read and one I'd recommend to anyone interested in this field.

Also who names their kid Ellington??? lol