What role do grit, curiosity and character play in a child's success in school?

Since No Child Left Behind was enacted, a growing and heartfelt opposition to what is considered too much standardized testing has echoed across the country. What should we do instead? Join Indya Kincannon, Knox County Schools board member and former chair, for a discussion of How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character by Paul Tough in this month’s Books Sandwiched In, Wednesday, August 21, 12:00 p.m. in the East Tennessee History Center auditorium, at 601 South Gay Street.

“Paul Tough highlights the non-cognitive skills that lead to positive outcomes for kids and families,” Kincannon says. “ Academic (cognitive) skills are helpful, but what truly changes lives are traits like persistence, impulse control, and grit. Fortunately, his book shows that these traits are malleable. Schools and communities can nurture them, and we are doing so here in Knox County.”

Kincannon points to Birth to K and Community Schools initiatives as ways that Knox County schools nurtures healthy character. “These programs address kids non-academic needs - basic stuff like physical and mental health, nutrition, glasses,” she says, “but also give kids and their families the tools they need to develop important traits like persistence, impulse control, patience.”

Where does the funding for these programs come from? “Schools get funded for academics, so we need to support these non-academic needs through other community sources, such as hospitals, Helen Ross McNabb, UT and others.” Kincannon says.

Kincannon has served on Knox County Board of Education since 2004 and as Chair from 2008 to 2011. In addition to experience as a high school Spanish teacher and as tutor for inner city elementary and high school students, she supports her community with involvement in a number of organizations including Great Schools Partnership, Project GRAD, Knoxville Empowerment Zone, and North Knoxville Business and Professional Organization. Kincannon completed a Master’s in Public Affairs and Urban & Regional Planning at Princeton University and a B.A. in History at Haverford College.

In How Children Succeed, Paul Tough asks why do some children succeed while others fail? The story is usually about intelligence: success comes to those who score highest on tests, from preschool admissions to SATs. But, 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. Through their stories—and the stories of the children they are trying to help—Tough reveals how this new knowledge can transform young people’s lives. 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 improve the lives of children growing up in poverty.

“Having a low-income is not an intrinsic risk factor for a child's success--it's the stress that is often associated with poverty that can be a huge obstacle, Kincannon says. “This book shows that effective parenting can overcome these stresses. The question we have to ask ourselves is how can our community best support parents? Schools can help, but we can't do it alone.”

Tough has written extensively with a focus on education, poverty, and child development for national publications such as the New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Slate, the New York Times. He has served as editor at the New York Times Magazine and Harper’s Magazine, and as producer for NPR’s “This American Life.”
The public is invited to join the conversation. Bring your favorite sandwich or pick up something from a downtown restaurant. Copies of the books are available at the Library if you'd like to read one before the program.

Books Sandwiched In will continue September 18 with Chad Hellwinckel, Research Assistant Professor, UT Agricultural Analysis Center, discussing The One-Straw Revolution: An Introduction to Natural Farming by Masanobu Fukuoka. On October 17, Duncan Maysilles, Author and Atlanta practicing attorney, will discuss his own book Ducktown Smoke: The Fight over One of the South's Greatest Environmental Disasters. On November 20, Marshall Stair, City Councilman and practicing attorney, will discuss What Then Must We Do?: Straight Talk about the Next American Revolution by Gar Alperovitz.
For more information, please call Emily Ellis at (865) 215-8723. On December 4, Jerry Burgess, President and CEO of Community Health Alliance, will discuss The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care by T. R. Reid.