Best Education Policy
But in How Children Succeed , Paul Tough argues that the qualities that matter more have to do with character: skills like perseverance, curiosity, 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. How Children Succeed is an attempt to answer those questions, which for many of us are big and mysterious and central in our lives: Why do certain children succeed while other children fail? Why is it, exactly, that poor children are less likely to succeed, on average, than middle-class children? That makes a huge difference in how children’s brains develop, and scientists are now able to trace a direct route from those early negative experiences to later problems in school, health, and behavior. And that’s a big part of why so many low-income kids don’t do well in school. Many readers were first exposed to your reporting on character through your article in the New York Times Magazine in September 2011, which was titled "What If the Secret to Success Is Failure?" A. That’s an idea that I think was best expressed by Dominic Randolph, the head of the Riverdale Country School, an exclusive private school in the Bronx where they’re now doing some interesting experiments with teaching character. That’s a skill that parents can certainly help their children develop--but so can teachers and coaches and mentors and neighbors and lots of other people. By not giving them the chance to learn to manage adversity, to cope with failure, we produce kids who have real problems when they grow up. *Starred Review* Debunking the conventional wisdom of the past few decades that disadvantaged children need to develop basic reading and counting skills before entering school, Tough argues that they would be better served by learning such skills as grit, conscientiousness, curiosity, and optimism. Tough (Whatever It Takes, 2008) spent two years interviewing students, teachers, and administrators at failing public schools, alternative programs, charter schools, elite schools, and a variety of after-school programs. He also interviewed psychologists, economists, and neuroscientists and examined the latest research on character education beyond the bromides of the Left and Right to discover what actually works in teaching children skills that will aid them in school and in life, whatever the circumstances of their childhoods. Most compelling are Tough’s portraits of adolescents from backgrounds rife with poverty, violence, drug-addicted parents, sexual abuse, and failing schools, who manage to gain skills that help them overcome their adversities and go on to college. Tough ultimately argues in favor of research indicating that these important skills can be learned and children’s lives saved.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Following the footsteps of Jonathan Kozol, Paul Tough employs his significant storytelling abilities to help readers see and feel the plight of children, families and communities trapped in cycles of failure and poverty. How Children Succeed challenges some conventional wisdom on causes of failure (poverty, teacher quality) and contends that nurturing character in children and young adults is the key to success. Adolescent Character Formation. ==============================. Paul Tough highlights the work of school and support programs that intentionally focus on forming the character strength habits that enable children to learn well in schools, form healthy relationships, and avoid the destructive decisions and behavior patterns modeled in their communities. Just as early intervention with parents and young children yields wide ranging benefits for families in poverty, so character interventions in adolescence can and do enable young adults surrounded by cycles of poverty to learn self-control, perseverance and focus that are critical for escaping the gravitational pull of their communities. Tough shows compellingly that parents and children in poverty can and do overcome the powerful environmental forces of their communities - and that this is a beautiful and essential component of breaking cyclical poverty."
"I bought this book because it is a requirement for a Character Education course that I am taking for re-certification."
"He states: "[S]cientists have demonstrated that the most reliable way to produce an adult who is brave and curious and kind and prudent is to ensure that when he is an infant, his hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis functions well. First, as much as possible, you protect him from serious trauma and chronic stress; then, even more important, you provide him with a secure, nurturing relationship with at least one parent and ideally two." Tough also cautions us parents to balance "our urge to provide everything for our child, to protect him from all harm" against "our knowledge that if we really want him to succeed, we need to first let him fail." But those who remember a time when they cared about other people's children will eat up what is essentially Tough's second book-length New Yorker article examining the intersection of education and poverty (the first, "Whatever It Takes," is arguably an even more interesting read). molded, in measurable and predictable ways, by the environment in which children grow up," and even after the most formative years "are very much changeable - entirely malleable, in fact. Tough skillfully splices their stories together and distills complicated concepts into easily digestible explanations (e.g., "mental contrasting ."
"It should be clear that strong character is not a given for people and that we need instruction, correction and, to some degree, material assistance to develop it. Paul Tough lays out what, I suppose, must be presented as an existential appeal with stories about young people who overcome weaknesses in character."
The Smartest Kids in the World “gets well beneath the glossy surfaces of these foreign cultures and manages to make our own culture look newly strange....The question is whether the startling perspective provided by this masterly book can also generate the will to make changes” ( The New York Times Book Review ) . Kim, fifteen, raises $10,000 so she can move from Oklahoma to Finland; Eric, eighteen, trades his high-achieving Minnesota suburb for a booming city in South Korea; and Tom, seventeen, leaves a historic Pennsylvania village for Poland. Amanda Ripley, an American journalist, seeks to answer such questions in The Smartest Kids in the World , her fine new book about the schools that are working around the globe ….Ms. “[ The Smartest Kids in the World is] a riveting new book….Ripley’s policy recommendations are sensible and strong….The American school reform debate has been desperately in need of such no-nonsense advice, which firmly puts matters of intellect back at the center of education where they belong.” (The Daily Beast). “Gripping….Ripley's characters are fascinating, her writing style is accessible, and her observations are fresh….If you're interested in how to improve public schools, read Ripley's book today.” (The Huffington Post ). “In riveting prose...this timely and inspiring book offers many insights into how to improve America’s mediocre school system.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review ). “This book gives me hope that we can create education systems of equity and rigor—if we heed the lessons from top performing countries and focus more on preparing teachers than on punishing them." By drawing on experiences, successes, and failures in education systems in the highest-performing countries across the globe, Amanda Ripley lays out a course for what we must do to dramatically improve our nation's schools.” (Michelle Rhee, Founder and CEO of StudentsFirst ). Those stunned parents and teachers in New York State and elsewhere would do well to read this book first if they are inclined to blame their children’s/students’ poor results on a new test.” (OECD “Education Today” Blog ). “[Ripley] is a compelling storyteller who deftly plaits humorous anecdotes and hard data to whip you in the face with her findings.” (Kristen Levithan Brain, Child Magazine).
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I had long heard that Finland’s education was unique and crashing through testing markers, but until this book I didn’t really understand why."
"This is a balanced examination of current research and interviews with education experts around the world - INCLUDING the students so often excluded."
"Amanda Ripley Pulls no punches in her reporting on education systems."
"By looking at teacher training, student expectations (from the students themselves and their parents and school administrators), school spending and other criteria (think expensive high school football programs), Ms. Ripley paints an interesting picture of the stark differences between the schools here in the United States and schools in countries where they get it right."
"I generally dread the books on pedagogy and education that get handed to me, and this was no exception - until I actually started reading."
"Great book."
"It helps start an important discussion about schools in America and gives us pause for self reflection, both as parents and a system."
"This should be required reading for parents, educators, and politicians."
When Mark Zuckerberg announced to a cheering Oprah audience his $100 million pledge to transform the downtrodden schools of Newark, New Jersey, then mayor Cory Booker and Governor Chris Christie were beside him, vowing to help make Newark “a symbol of educational excellence for the whole nation.” But their plans soon ran into the city’s seasoned education players, fierce protectors of their billion-dollar-a-year system. Russakoff provides a close-up view of twenty-six-year-old Mark Zuckerberg and his wife as they decide to give the immense sum of money to Newark and then experience an education of their own amid the fallout of the reforms. For alongside the stories of those calling the shots, Russakoff tells the stories of those most profoundly affected by their decisions: teachers, students and their parents. Veteran journalist Dale Russakoff's narrative is rich with details and anecdotes that showcase the quality of her writing and bring Newark to life for people who have never lived or visited there….The story likely will unnerve educators, reformers, taxpayers, politicians, parents and students anywhere." “Washington Post reporter Russakoff’s fascinating study of the struggle to reform the Newark school system reveals the inner workings of a wide range of systemic and grassroots problems (charter schools, testing, accountability, private donors) plaguing education reform today… Russakoff’s eagle-eyed view of the current state of the public education system in Newark and the United States is one of the finest education surveys in recent memory.” — Publishers Weekly , STARRED. With The Prize , Dale Russakoff demonstrates why she is one of the great nonfiction voices of our time." "Dale Russakoff managed to get amazing access to the inside story of Mark Zuckerberg’s giant gift to Newark’s schools. "Dale Russakoff, one of America’s great journalists, illuminates one of the country’s great problems—the failure of inner city schools—with on-the-ground reporting that extends from the governor’s office and fancy philanthropies down (or up) to the small miracles performed every day by dedicated Newark classroom teachers. "With The Prize Dale Russakoff has brilliantly rendered the hopes, complexities, pitfalls, and flaws of the efforts to reform American education. With her deep ties to Newark, only Dale Russakoff could have told this poignant story. "The fight for, or over, the children of Newark might have been “merely” an important story about the future of public education in America, but in Russakoff’s accomplished hands—and with a cast of characters including Chris Christie, Cory Booker, and Mark Zuckerberg—it has become a Shakespearean spectacle of cross-purposes: ambition, altruism, and just about any human drive that invites an equal and opposite reaction."
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Required reading to fully understand what inner city poverty schools are up against and trying to change."
"The unfortunate reality is the children of Newark were not being served during educational reform movement or in the aftermath of the educational reform movement. With the background the book presents the reader can determine what other reformers are doing now and what does that mean for education in the future."
"Excellent and so needed deep understanding of the conflict between political aspirations and how painfully inadequate ambition is when the future for children is at stake."
"The author takes the reader to a public school and a charter school who have teachers who are excellent."
"Believe it or not, when he's up against a self-interested, political schmoozer like Corey Booker, Mark Zuckerberg, whose offer of a hundred million dollar grant got the whole sorry story rolling, comes off seeming, get this, sympathetic. What I found deeply horrifying was the way nobody engineering all of this "reform" paid much attention to the money going out to all of the "educational consultants" involved in the reform efforts, some of them earning a thousand dollars a day and mostly white, while poor kids, mostly black and low income, who needed say a reading tutor couldn't get one because, well you know, the money just wasn't there."
"This book shows how difficult a task it is to right the ship of public education, especially when there are forces tugging at it from all sides."
Best Education Policy & Reform
The Smartest Kids in the World “gets well beneath the glossy surfaces of these foreign cultures and manages to make our own culture look newly strange....The question is whether the startling perspective provided by this masterly book can also generate the will to make changes” ( The New York Times Book Review ) . Kim, fifteen, raises $10,000 so she can move from Oklahoma to Finland; Eric, eighteen, trades his high-achieving Minnesota suburb for a booming city in South Korea; and Tom, seventeen, leaves a historic Pennsylvania village for Poland. Amanda Ripley, an American journalist, seeks to answer such questions in The Smartest Kids in the World , her fine new book about the schools that are working around the globe ….Ms. “[ The Smartest Kids in the World is] a riveting new book….Ripley’s policy recommendations are sensible and strong….The American school reform debate has been desperately in need of such no-nonsense advice, which firmly puts matters of intellect back at the center of education where they belong.” (The Daily Beast). “Gripping….Ripley's characters are fascinating, her writing style is accessible, and her observations are fresh….If you're interested in how to improve public schools, read Ripley's book today.” (The Huffington Post ). “In riveting prose...this timely and inspiring book offers many insights into how to improve America’s mediocre school system.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review ). “This book gives me hope that we can create education systems of equity and rigor—if we heed the lessons from top performing countries and focus more on preparing teachers than on punishing them." By drawing on experiences, successes, and failures in education systems in the highest-performing countries across the globe, Amanda Ripley lays out a course for what we must do to dramatically improve our nation's schools.” (Michelle Rhee, Founder and CEO of StudentsFirst ). Those stunned parents and teachers in New York State and elsewhere would do well to read this book first if they are inclined to blame their children’s/students’ poor results on a new test.” (OECD “Education Today” Blog ). “[Ripley] is a compelling storyteller who deftly plaits humorous anecdotes and hard data to whip you in the face with her findings.” (Kristen Levithan Brain, Child Magazine).
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I had long heard that Finland’s education was unique and crashing through testing markers, but until this book I didn’t really understand why."
"This is a balanced examination of current research and interviews with education experts around the world - INCLUDING the students so often excluded."
"Amanda Ripley Pulls no punches in her reporting on education systems."
"By looking at teacher training, student expectations (from the students themselves and their parents and school administrators), school spending and other criteria (think expensive high school football programs), Ms. Ripley paints an interesting picture of the stark differences between the schools here in the United States and schools in countries where they get it right."
"I generally dread the books on pedagogy and education that get handed to me, and this was no exception - until I actually started reading."
"Great book."
"It helps start an important discussion about schools in America and gives us pause for self reflection, both as parents and a system."
"This should be required reading for parents, educators, and politicians."
Best School Safety & Violence
Early childhood educators, professionals, and families will find the latest research and information on many topics of significant concern, including food safety, emergency and disaster preparedness, childhood obesity, children's mental health, bullying, resilience, chronic and acute health conditions, environmental quality, and children with special medical needs. Professor Marotz has authored numerous invited book chapters in national and international publications about children's health and nutrition, legal issues, and environmental safety. She has been interviewed for numerous articles about children's health and nutrition and parenting that have appeared in national trade magazines, has served as a consultant for children's museums and training film productions, has presented extensively at international, national, and state conferences, and continues to hold appointments on national, state, and local committees and initiatives that advocate on behalf of children and their families.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I have had textbooks that didn't have the key terms in the index but had seemingly irrelevant topics listed, but this book has a very thorough index which is a plus!"
"The text was a good size and included a variety of vivid diagrams and pictures throughout."
"It's pretty informative and i found myself learning things i didn't know about healthy eating."
"Great guide for my kids look.."
"I know this is technically a textbook but I thought it would be easier to read."
"Very informational."
Best Education History
The Smartest Kids in the World “gets well beneath the glossy surfaces of these foreign cultures and manages to make our own culture look newly strange....The question is whether the startling perspective provided by this masterly book can also generate the will to make changes” ( The New York Times Book Review ) . Kim, fifteen, raises $10,000 so she can move from Oklahoma to Finland; Eric, eighteen, trades his high-achieving Minnesota suburb for a booming city in South Korea; and Tom, seventeen, leaves a historic Pennsylvania village for Poland. Amanda Ripley, an American journalist, seeks to answer such questions in The Smartest Kids in the World , her fine new book about the schools that are working around the globe ….Ms. “[ The Smartest Kids in the World is] a riveting new book….Ripley’s policy recommendations are sensible and strong….The American school reform debate has been desperately in need of such no-nonsense advice, which firmly puts matters of intellect back at the center of education where they belong.” (The Daily Beast). “Gripping….Ripley's characters are fascinating, her writing style is accessible, and her observations are fresh….If you're interested in how to improve public schools, read Ripley's book today.” (The Huffington Post ). “In riveting prose...this timely and inspiring book offers many insights into how to improve America’s mediocre school system.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review ). “This book gives me hope that we can create education systems of equity and rigor—if we heed the lessons from top performing countries and focus more on preparing teachers than on punishing them." By drawing on experiences, successes, and failures in education systems in the highest-performing countries across the globe, Amanda Ripley lays out a course for what we must do to dramatically improve our nation's schools.” (Michelle Rhee, Founder and CEO of StudentsFirst ). Those stunned parents and teachers in New York State and elsewhere would do well to read this book first if they are inclined to blame their children’s/students’ poor results on a new test.” (OECD “Education Today” Blog ). “[Ripley] is a compelling storyteller who deftly plaits humorous anecdotes and hard data to whip you in the face with her findings.” (Kristen Levithan Brain, Child Magazine).
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I had long heard that Finland’s education was unique and crashing through testing markers, but until this book I didn’t really understand why."
"This is a balanced examination of current research and interviews with education experts around the world - INCLUDING the students so often excluded."
"Amanda Ripley Pulls no punches in her reporting on education systems."
"By looking at teacher training, student expectations (from the students themselves and their parents and school administrators), school spending and other criteria (think expensive high school football programs), Ms. Ripley paints an interesting picture of the stark differences between the schools here in the United States and schools in countries where they get it right."
"I generally dread the books on pedagogy and education that get handed to me, and this was no exception - until I actually started reading."
"Great book."
"It helps start an important discussion about schools in America and gives us pause for self reflection, both as parents and a system."
"This should be required reading for parents, educators, and politicians."
Best Education Assessment
The Smartest Kids in the World “gets well beneath the glossy surfaces of these foreign cultures and manages to make our own culture look newly strange....The question is whether the startling perspective provided by this masterly book can also generate the will to make changes” ( The New York Times Book Review ) . Kim, fifteen, raises $10,000 so she can move from Oklahoma to Finland; Eric, eighteen, trades his high-achieving Minnesota suburb for a booming city in South Korea; and Tom, seventeen, leaves a historic Pennsylvania village for Poland. Amanda Ripley, an American journalist, seeks to answer such questions in The Smartest Kids in the World , her fine new book about the schools that are working around the globe ….Ms. “[ The Smartest Kids in the World is] a riveting new book….Ripley’s policy recommendations are sensible and strong….The American school reform debate has been desperately in need of such no-nonsense advice, which firmly puts matters of intellect back at the center of education where they belong.” (The Daily Beast). “Gripping….Ripley's characters are fascinating, her writing style is accessible, and her observations are fresh….If you're interested in how to improve public schools, read Ripley's book today.” (The Huffington Post ). “In riveting prose...this timely and inspiring book offers many insights into how to improve America’s mediocre school system.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review ). “This book gives me hope that we can create education systems of equity and rigor—if we heed the lessons from top performing countries and focus more on preparing teachers than on punishing them." By drawing on experiences, successes, and failures in education systems in the highest-performing countries across the globe, Amanda Ripley lays out a course for what we must do to dramatically improve our nation's schools.” (Michelle Rhee, Founder and CEO of StudentsFirst ). Those stunned parents and teachers in New York State and elsewhere would do well to read this book first if they are inclined to blame their children’s/students’ poor results on a new test.” (OECD “Education Today” Blog ). “[Ripley] is a compelling storyteller who deftly plaits humorous anecdotes and hard data to whip you in the face with her findings.” (Kristen Levithan Brain, Child Magazine).
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I had long heard that Finland’s education was unique and crashing through testing markers, but until this book I didn’t really understand why."
"This is a balanced examination of current research and interviews with education experts around the world - INCLUDING the students so often excluded."
"Amanda Ripley Pulls no punches in her reporting on education systems."
"By looking at teacher training, student expectations (from the students themselves and their parents and school administrators), school spending and other criteria (think expensive high school football programs), Ms. Ripley paints an interesting picture of the stark differences between the schools here in the United States and schools in countries where they get it right."
"I generally dread the books on pedagogy and education that get handed to me, and this was no exception - until I actually started reading."
"Great book."
"It helps start an important discussion about schools in America and gives us pause for self reflection, both as parents and a system."
"This should be required reading for parents, educators, and politicians."
Best Educational Software
A free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere: this is the goal of the Khan Academy, a passion project that grew from an ex-engineer and hedge funder's online tutoring sessions with his niece, who was struggling with algebra, into a worldwide phenomenon. "Since its founding in 2006, Sal Khan's project-the Khan academy-has revolutionized our thinking on the potential and promise of unfettered, open-access online education. In his new book The One World Schoolhouse, Khan presents his vision and blueprint for how online technology can, and should, play an integral role in educating communities across the globe, closing the opportunity gap and providing high-quality education for all. "I discovered Sal Khan and Khan Academy like most other people - by using these incredible tools with my own kids. Sal Khan's vision and energy for how technology could fundamentally transform education is contagious. "The world dreams of education reform, and Sal Khan is delivering. "Sal Khan is changing what we believe is possible in education. "When you read this book, you will understand how the dignity of each student is addressed by education's visionary, Sal Khan. "Sal Khan has developed the best and most cost-efficient way to use technology to bring high quality education, creativity and innovation to all countries, including the poorest.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Salman Khan is one of those people. I used to believe that math was something people could either do or they couldn't."
"I also know there are a lot of children being taken out of regular class timr for special needs who miss what the others are being taught and never have a chance to catch up."
"As parents of an 11yr old boy and 12 yr old girl, the future of their education and the mind blowing costs are deeply troubling, time consuming preoccupations for us. Sal Khan's book says it doesn't have to be this way...that if we can move forward from the inertia of what is, toward the possibility of what can be.....self paced learning with deeply connected ideas and concepts, an educational foundation for all with 100% proficiency....we may have a future generation of real thinkers producing creative solutions and satisfying lives. As a women well educated by an elite prep school and private college, I remember all too well, though 30+yrs ago, how to work the system, get my A, high GPA, and diploma."
"I don't think that the quick and dirty approach will work for every subject-some subjects are visually rich, (think "Planet Earth") and some subjects don't lend themselves to being taught with simple little drawings. Of course it did not help the learning process that I was a target for Jeff Warpel who sat in the back of the class and had the ability to spit about 15 feet by forcing saliva at high pressure between the space in his two front teeth. He could hit anyone at will in the back of the neck. Since I was a "behavior problem" I was in the front row where Mrs. Henning could keep an eye on me."
Best School Management
Creating one of America's most beautiful college campuses, at Ole Miss, did not happen overnight and, inside these pages, Jeff McManus describes the joys, the defeats, the brilliant problem-solving and the "best laid plans" that are proven worthless...until the bigger picture is told. Jeff has been with the University of Mississippi since 2000 as Director of Landscape Services. Under Jeff’s leadership the Ole Miss campus has won the National Professional Grounds Maintenance Society Best Maintained Campus twice, Newsweek’s most beautiful campus in 2011 and was named by the Princeton Review as the 2013 most beautiful campus.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"No matter the industry or business you are in, this is one book that I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a way to change employees mindset or culture within an organization. Being a 4-H agent and working closely with youth to provide them with the skills and mindset to make a difference and change their worlds, this book gives insight into the world of encouraging growth and leadership."
"By creating leaders within the department, a culture of pride and accountability, while inspiring his team to push for more, Jeff created the most beautiful college campus in America at Ole Miss. I'm now inspired and ready to make positive changes in my own departments once again!"
"Spend an hour and read the secret behind why Ole Miss is continually voted the most beautiful campus in the US."
"It's a quick read, but packed full of great leadership tips."
"Although this book is set in a landscaping environment, the lessons McManus teaches the reader are pertinent to any work environment and very pertinent to our own personal character."
"Growing Weeders Into Leaders is an easy and quick read that will challenge you to evaluate yourself and workforce views and practices and makes excellent suggestions to implement and try."
"Jeff McManus' book "Growing Weeders into Leaders" shows how the amazing landscape department at Ole Miss achieves this."
Best College Guides
This new edition not only revisits schools listed in previous volumes to give readers a comprehensive assessment, it also addresses such issues as homeschooling, learning. disabilities, and single-sex education. Hilary Masell Oswald lives in Denver, Colorado, where she writes about education, architecture and design, and public policy.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"High school students who want and need a different but successful way-to-learn NEED to share this book with their parents!"
"Great for students trying to figure out where they want to invest their time and money in the future."
"Detailed narratives about these schools."
"Recommended to us by a psychologist."
"Great book for anyone looking at colleges."
"An insightful look into schools not on most people's radar as we navigate the tortuous college search and application period."
"The analysis and examples being biased towards small, inclusive colleges and against the large ones and the Ivy League ones, but it's valuable nonetheless."
"A recruiter from a college listed in this book recommended it to us during one of those mass "college night" events that can seem so very overwhelming."