Teaching kids to be successful

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I recently pored over this intriguing, 197-page text. Judging by the title, I thought it would be more of a how-to manual. Rather, it was a tale of two Americas, one rich, one poor. “How Children Succeed” is Tough’s attempt to determine how children in the most dire circumstances can compete in a society in which the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans can shower their children with every conceivable educational advantage, including exemplary private schools loaded with master teachers who oversee small classes, on-call private tutors, art and music workshops, sports camps, SAT courses, teen summer programs at Ivy League universities and months spent traveling through far-off lands, soaking up world culture.

How does a child of the projects, loaded with psychosocial baggage and no special advantages, including no connections to the world of work, get ahead?

Tough offers no definitive answers. There probably are none. He does, however, provide keen insight, gleaned from the latest scientific research, helping us to understand what poverty-stricken children need to succeed in school and in life. And, along the way, we come to better understand what any child needs, regardless of his or her parents’ socioeconomic stratum.

Yes, Tough concedes, rich children have many advantages. Their privileges, however, can become their disadvantages. According to “How Children Succeed,” wealthy children can lead such sheltered lives that they have little to no understanding of the world beyond their tony existence.

Tough profiles the celebrated Riverdale Country School in an upper-middle class section of the Bronx. Riverdale’s total annual cost of attendance is $43,600, according to its website.
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