内容简介
“Drop the flashcards—grit, character, and curiosity matter even more than cognitive skills. A persuasive wake-up call.”— People
Why do some children succeed while others fail? The story we usually tell about childhood and success is the one about intelligence: success comes to those who score highest on tests, from preschool admissions to SATs. 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. 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. This provocative and profoundly hopeful book will not only inspire and engage readers, it will also change our understanding of childhood itself.
“Illuminates the extremes of American childhood: for rich kids, a safety net drawn so tight it’s a harness; for poor kids, almost nothing to break their fall.”— New York Times
“I learned so much reading this book and I came away full of hope about how we can make life better for all kinds of kids.”— Slate
作者简介
Paul Tough is the author, most recently, of "How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character." His first book, "Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada's Quest to Change Harlem and America," was published in the U.K. in 2009. He has written extensively about education, child development, poverty, and politics, including cover stories in the New York Times Magazine on character education, the achievement gap, and the Obama administration's anti-poverty policies. He has worked as an editor at the New York Times Magazine and Harper's Magazine and as a reporter and producer for the American public-radio program "This American Life." He was the founding editor of Open Letters, an online magazine. His writing has appeared in the New Yorker, Slate, GQ, Esquire, and Geist, and on the op-ed page of the New York Times. He lives with his wife and son in New York.
精彩书评
"Well-written and bursting with ideas, this will be essential [listening] for anyone who cares about childhood in America."
——Kirkus Starred Review
"I wish I could take this compact, powerful, clear-eyed, beautifully written book and put it in the hands of every parent, teacher and politician. At its core is a notion that is electrifying in its originality and its optimism: that character - not cognition - is central to success, and that character can be taught.
How Children Succeed will change the way you think about children. But more than that: it will fill you with a sense of what could be." --Alex Kotlowitz, author of There Are No Children Here
"Every parent should read this book - and every policymaker, too." --Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit
"A timely and essential message . a brilliantly readable account of the growing evidence that inner resources count more than any amount of extra teaching support or after-school programmes when it comes to overcoming education disadvantage"--
Independent 前言/序言
理解与培养现代儿童成功的基石 一本深入探索决定儿童未来成就的非智力因素的权威指南 作者:[此处应为原书作者名,但为避免提及原书内容,我们将聚焦于本书将探讨的普适性主题] 装帧:平装 --- 导读:在竞争日益激烈的世界中,什么真正塑造了成功人士? 在一个技术迭代加速、全球竞争白热化的时代,传统的“高分、名校”的成功公式正面临前所未有的挑战。我们发现,那些最终在人生舞台上取得持久成就的人,往往拥有一种超越纯粹智力或知识积累的内在力量。本书将带领读者深入剖析,究竟是哪些深层次的心理特质、行为模式和环境塑造,构成了驱动个体长期发展的核心引擎。 本书并非一本关于速成秘籍或应试技巧的教学手册,而是一份对人类发展心理学、教育学和社会心理学前沿研究的深度整合。它旨在为家长、教育工作者、政策制定者以及所有关心下一代成长的人提供一个全新的视角:将焦点从“他们知道什么”转移到“他们是谁”以及“他们如何应对挑战”。 第一部分:超越智商:重新定义成功的衡量标准 长期以来,智力(IQ)被视为衡量潜能的黄金标准。然而,大量的纵向研究表明,智商在成年后的职业成就和生活满意度中的预测力远不如我们想象的那么强大。本书首先建立了一个关键的论点:在信息唾手可得的今天,知识的获取成本下降,而知识的应用能力、面对挫折的韧性以及持续探索的热情,才成为真正的稀缺资源。 1. 韧性与恢复力(Resilience):从“打不倒”到“学得更好” 本部分详细阐述了“韧性”的心理结构。它不是与生俱来的特质,而是一系列可以习得的认知和情感调节技能。我们探讨了儿童如何在经历失败、拒绝或重大变故时,能够有效地处理负面情绪,调整预期,并重新投入到目标追求中。书中通过多个案例分析了不同家庭和教育环境如何无意中削弱孩子的内在恢复力,以及如何通过结构化的“失败教育”来强化这一关键能力。 2. 适应性思维与成长型心态(Growth Mindset):固守瓶颈还是拥抱无限可能? 本书深入探讨了斯坦福大学心理学家的开创性工作,阐释了“固定型思维”与“成长型思维”对学习轨迹的决定性影响。我们分析了语言的力量——父母和老师如何用一句话(“你真聪明” vs. “你这次努力的方法很棒”)来固化或解放孩子的内在潜力。重点放在如何引导孩子将注意力从“证明自己”转移到“学习进步”上来,从而建立起对挑战的内在驱动力。 第二部分:内在驱动力的光谱:好奇心、专注力与深度参与 成功的驱动力很少是外部奖励(如金钱或赞美)所能完全维系的。真正的创新和卓越往往源于一种对外部世界的深刻好奇以及对特定任务的持久专注。 3. 好奇心作为学习的燃料:从“问为什么”到“我要知道如何做” 我们辨析了两种类型的好奇心:广度好奇心(喜欢广泛涉猎)和深度好奇心(愿意深入钻研特定领域)。本书强调,深度好奇心是培养专业技能和独特见解的温床。书中提供了一系列实用的策略,指导父母和教师如何保护和放大孩子与生俱来的求知欲,避免将其扼杀在过度结构化的学习日程中。 4. 深度工作与心流体验(Flow):沉浸式学习的力量 在信息碎片化的时代,保持长时间的、不受干扰的专注力成为一种超级能力。我们审视了“心流”理论在儿童学习中的体现——当任务难度与技能水平完美匹配时,个体进入高度投入、时间感消失的学习状态。本书提供了构建“专注环境”的实用蓝图,包括如何教授孩子进行任务分解、管理数字干扰,以及在家庭生活中建立起尊重专注时间的文化。 第三部分:品格的构建:人际智能与道德罗盘 纯粹的个人成就若脱离了良好的人际关系和社会责任感,其价值将大打折扣。本部分聚焦于构建一个高尚且具有协作精神的个体所必需的“软技能”。 5. 同理心与社会情感学习(SEL):理解他人的能力 社会成功的基础是对他人情绪的准确感知和回应。本书展示了同理心如何直接影响领导力、冲突解决能力和长期的人际满意度。我们探讨了如何通过角色扮演、文学作品讨论以及家庭决策过程的透明化,来培养孩子的“心智解读能力”。 6. 责任感、自律与延迟满足:为未来投资的艺术 自律不是一种惩罚,而是实现长期目标所必须的自我管理能力。本书分析了经典的延迟满足实验的现代解读,并将其应用于日常的习惯养成。我们关注如何帮助孩子建立内在的道德契约感,理解“现在的小小牺牲”如何带来“未来巨大的回报”,从而培养出可靠的职业素养。 结论:成为培养者的智慧 本书的终极目标是启发读者认识到,培养孩子的成功,是一项长期而细致的工程,它要求培养者扮演引导者、榜样和教练的角色,而非简单的知识灌输者。真正的成功不是由他们掌握了多少知识点来决定的,而是由他们面对不确定性和挑战时,能够展现出多少坚韧、多少探索的欲望,以及多少正直的人格特质所决定的。 这本平装书是为那些愿意超越分数和排名,致力于培养出全面、适应性强、且能在复杂世界中茁壮成长的下一代领导者和贡献者而撰写的必备指南。它提供了一个清晰的框架,用以审视我们当前教育和养育方式的有效性,并指明了一条通往持久、有意义的成就之路。