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barry_sweezey's review
This is the America I want to live in. Not one in which parents say, "I'm going to make sure my kid goes to a good school", but one in which our society says, "Let's make all schools good schools". Now we know how.
kw04readg's review
5.0
loved this profile of the Harlem Children's Zone. not just for telling readers about the work but also about the research that went into creating the programs. made me think about what my mom did and what i am doing to help my child be a contributing member of society.
jamesratner's review
3.0
My wife works with HCZ and this book provided interesting background to the stories she told at home.
thekarpuk's review
4.0
I bought this book on the strength of a piece Paul tough did about the Harlem project "Baby College" played multiple times on This American Life. The piece is incredibly uplifting, discussing a program Geoffrey Canada started in Harlem in an attempt to stop the cycle of poverty and violence. The task was to start out kids as early as possible with the right tools to succeed, teaching parents the techniques upper class parents use to give their children good linguistic and mathematical skills.
What I didn't expect in reading the full book is what a rocky and dramatic journey it actually was. Geoffrey Canada experienced a lot of setbacks and difficulties when he extended Baby College into Promise Academy, an attempt to start an elementary and middle school program to bring Harlem kids up to a level where they could become successful adults.
The book is full of heartbreaking stories, failure, and intelligent analysis all written with equal grace. He devotes a decent amount of time into the history of research on what makes people poor and what keeps them poor, discussing different philosophies. The biggest consensus seems to be that the earlier you can intervene in the lives of the less fortunate, the better.
Which is Canada's goal, to create a conveyer to bring as many children from infancy to successful adulthood as possible.
The quality of the story owes as much to Canada as it does to Paul Tough, as the failures and frustrations are given almost as much time as the successes and high ideals. In an acknowledgement Paul Tough actually highlights one of the lowest days Canada had during the entire period, and how he specifically invited Tough to the school to bear witness. He wanted the journalist to have a complete picture, to write the best, most thorough account possible.
It's odd to see the flipside of "Nurtureshock", where intensely concerned parents are told that their rabid affection may be leading their kids. "Whatever It Takes" concerns the kids who aren't really getting the attention at all. Together they form an interesting dichotomy of educational issues between haves and the havenots.
What's sad is that while most of the educational books I've read geared towards the middle class all focus on making kids better thinkers, happier people, and ultimately smarter adults, Promise Academy is obsessed with test scores and pushing the kids to whatever limits are necessary to get them. It's a sad contrast, between parents being encouraged to give their kids access to the upper limits of their potential and kids being given mammoth amounts of effort and funding just to have access to any kind of adulthood success. It's practically two different worlds of standards. The books for middle class kids seem to see test scores as irrelevant, as something that will fall in line naturally if a child is allowed to explore their world.
Everything about "Whatever it Takes" is well organized, presented with care, and it's one of the better books I've read on the topic of education.
What I didn't expect in reading the full book is what a rocky and dramatic journey it actually was. Geoffrey Canada experienced a lot of setbacks and difficulties when he extended Baby College into Promise Academy, an attempt to start an elementary and middle school program to bring Harlem kids up to a level where they could become successful adults.
The book is full of heartbreaking stories, failure, and intelligent analysis all written with equal grace. He devotes a decent amount of time into the history of research on what makes people poor and what keeps them poor, discussing different philosophies. The biggest consensus seems to be that the earlier you can intervene in the lives of the less fortunate, the better.
Which is Canada's goal, to create a conveyer to bring as many children from infancy to successful adulthood as possible.
The quality of the story owes as much to Canada as it does to Paul Tough, as the failures and frustrations are given almost as much time as the successes and high ideals. In an acknowledgement Paul Tough actually highlights one of the lowest days Canada had during the entire period, and how he specifically invited Tough to the school to bear witness. He wanted the journalist to have a complete picture, to write the best, most thorough account possible.
It's odd to see the flipside of "Nurtureshock", where intensely concerned parents are told that their rabid affection may be leading their kids. "Whatever It Takes" concerns the kids who aren't really getting the attention at all. Together they form an interesting dichotomy of educational issues between haves and the havenots.
What's sad is that while most of the educational books I've read geared towards the middle class all focus on making kids better thinkers, happier people, and ultimately smarter adults, Promise Academy is obsessed with test scores and pushing the kids to whatever limits are necessary to get them. It's a sad contrast, between parents being encouraged to give their kids access to the upper limits of their potential and kids being given mammoth amounts of effort and funding just to have access to any kind of adulthood success. It's practically two different worlds of standards. The books for middle class kids seem to see test scores as irrelevant, as something that will fall in line naturally if a child is allowed to explore their world.
Everything about "Whatever it Takes" is well organized, presented with care, and it's one of the better books I've read on the topic of education.
tori430's review
3.0
Very interesting and somewhat inspiring read about lifting students up through education despite being born into poverty. Lots of focus on test scores, but I guess that's realistic. I wonder how the Promise Academy school is doing today.
yesiamnotonline's review
4.0
The book was moving and informative, but I wanted more of a resolution. I guess that doesn't happen all the time with non-fiction.
astropheems's review against another edition
2.0
Re/read this recently and still feel the same way. Augh! Warning: this is a rambly review.
It has all the fixings of a classic pro-charter movement, fancy neolib dressing and lots of talk of innovating ideas. However, the reality is that we live in a systemically and institutionally racist society, and on top of the environment/surroundings that the author describes, these solutions will really only serve a small few, rather than make larger meaningful changes. Additionally, other problems exist: either funding isn't consistent throughout or training or values of teachers and administrators and support staff isn't aligned. The Promise neighborhood programs I've seen has not yielded as many positive results. The ideas Canada sprouted have good intentions, but we really need some drastic and transformative changes at all levels (not just within the school environment) to really even begin to start. The program is a good effort, the book is a good look into someone/some organization trying to make a change at least. I should give this an additional star (to make it 3) because this really is a good case study/example of some classic social theories. Ultimately I am giving it 2 stars. I just believe in a greater change and type of social progress. I don't believe in reducing the inequalities of the world...and making it seem like the only solutions to combat the racial inequalities and policies that really impacts the lives of these students in a very real day to day way, is to develop personal or "psychological grit" to muster through and focus on your studies/programming and cross your fingers that you'll survive and somehow obtain a scholarship from fancy foundations so that you can make it into a 4 year college and somehow survive in a predominantly white and/or rich space. I just don't believe this is the answer. Maybe there should be a sequel written to this so we can get an update. Who knows. I just want us to dream more radically visionary futures than this.
It has all the fixings of a classic pro-charter movement, fancy neolib dressing and lots of talk of innovating ideas. However, the reality is that we live in a systemically and institutionally racist society, and on top of the environment/surroundings that the author describes, these solutions will really only serve a small few, rather than make larger meaningful changes. Additionally, other problems exist: either funding isn't consistent throughout or training or values of teachers and administrators and support staff isn't aligned. The Promise neighborhood programs I've seen has not yielded as many positive results. The ideas Canada sprouted have good intentions, but we really need some drastic and transformative changes at all levels (not just within the school environment) to really even begin to start. The program is a good effort, the book is a good look into someone/some organization trying to make a change at least. I should give this an additional star (to make it 3) because this really is a good case study/example of some classic social theories. Ultimately I am giving it 2 stars. I just believe in a greater change and type of social progress. I don't believe in reducing the inequalities of the world...and making it seem like the only solutions to combat the racial inequalities and policies that really impacts the lives of these students in a very real day to day way, is to develop personal or "psychological grit" to muster through and focus on your studies/programming and cross your fingers that you'll survive and somehow obtain a scholarship from fancy foundations so that you can make it into a 4 year college and somehow survive in a predominantly white and/or rich space. I just don't believe this is the answer. Maybe there should be a sequel written to this so we can get an update. Who knows. I just want us to dream more radically visionary futures than this.
srbender1's review against another edition
4.0
So poignant even 4 year later. Especially meaningful for urban school teachers that are "performing miracles" every day. It is hopeful, moving and stunning what was accomplished when investors target assistance in the right areas at the right times.
esstutts's review against another edition
5.0
Fascinating look at the Harlem Children's Zone - an attempt to elevate the area out of poverty by changing the lives of a core group of children. No easy solutions but plenty to think about.