An Interview with California Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Torlakson

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

In early 2013, the Learning in Afterschool & Summer project conducted a video interview with California's Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Torlakson, to gather his views on the LIAS learning principles and his vision of afterschool and summer programs. Below are excerpts from that interview. 

Q: We are focusing our efforts on the idea of improving our approaches to how children learn. While these are related to what we know about youth development, we have chosen to stay close to the research on learning since many of our stakeholders and partners are educators. Do you see this as an important shift in talking about afterschool and summer programs? 

Tom Torlakson

A: There’s a shift occurring in afterschool and summer programs towards incorporating more hands-on learning, discovery, and looking at the new STEM opportunities. We can incorporate some of these principles of engagement, and add excitement by having students learning in teams, collaborating, and doing experiments together. Because it’s hands-on, it’s something they’re going to remember longer and have fun doing.

Q: Could you say a little bit about your vision of afterschool and its value in promoting academic and broader youth development?

A: Afterschool and summer programs are expanded learning opportunities. They are fantastic for our students in California. It helps them get deeper into the subject matter, it helps them explore areas that they don’t normally have a chance during the regular school day to explore.  Afterschool programs have always been a safe place for kids to go after school and a place where they can finish their homework.  But now we envision afterschool and summer programs as a way to really expand learning time.

Q: How are these LIAS principles related to what we are doing in school reform efforts?

A: One of the greatest things about these new principles around our afterschool and summer programs, is that they fit right in with the transformation of education during the school day.  We have new national standards in mathematics, science, and in language arts, calling for deeper and more critical thinking. Some call them “21st century learning skills”. Also, the call for more hands-on learning is in keeping with the transformation of the classrooms during the day. We’ll be seeing more emphasis on the hands-on experimenting, exploring, and discovering on their own, as part of problem solving, hands-on activities.

Q: Can you speak to one or more of these principles that most resonate for you when you think about creating learning environments and activities for kids?  

A: More meaningful learning can occur in our afterschool and in our summer programs when the learning is relevant and connects that student to real world experiences. This expands their horizons, their opportunities, as well as their time in learning. It connects to them personally in a greater way and connects them to other students, resulting in a deeper and richer learning experience that will last.

Q: Afterschool settings often offer opportunities for informal learning that is not structured in a way that we see in traditional classrooms. Can you say something about the importance of inquiry and discovery that is led by the child? 

A: As a science teacher, the expanded learning opportunities through quality afterschool and summer program learning is fascinating in terms of how it can connect to an individual student. It can give them the chance to explore things, to discover through hands-on, problem solving activities in a way that they normally don’t during the regular school day.

LIAS and Recent Trends in Education and OST (Part 2)

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

There are several new trends or movements as stakeholders look to improve the quality of formal education and learning outside of the classroom. They include the topics of school reform, Common Core Standards, extended learning opportunities, program quality measurement, STEM, 21st century learning skills, and social-emotional learning (SEL). We will dedicate this second blog post to briefly name and describe four more important trends and on the relevance of the LIAS learning principles according to leaders in each of these movements: 



OST PROGRAM QUALITY MEASUREMENT: Given the large federal and state investments in afterschool and summer programs, there has been a call to promote the quality of these programs. To this end, many organizations have developed tools and instruments to gauge the level of quality. The LIAS project conducted a crosswalk between leading quality measurement tools and the LIAS learning principles. This work revealed a high correlation between what the LIAS project calls for and what these instruments measured in the name of quality.   The one LIAS principle that was underrepresented in the program quality tools we examined was: expanding the horizons of program participants. 

Bill Fennessy

“The LIAS principles speak directly to the components required to create a quality instructional delivery framework.  When implemented, programs can truly engage the youth of today.  While many successful afterschool and summer programs already embody and demonstrate the LIAS principles, these principles now being clearly identified, defined, and articulated, will provide for an understandable and intentional approach to attain successful quality programming across the field.  In addition, the LIAS principles provide a common language for the field of afterschool that has been up until now missing and desperately needed.  I have personally seen the LIAS principles easily taught to line staff, which might not have been intuitive to them previously. I have witnessed the empowering affect it has had on them, resulting in improved program quality.  The LIAS principles have also given them the ability to understand for themselves, and communicate with others, their vital role and the value of afterschool and summer programming.”  - Bill Fennessy, THINK Together



STEM: There is a growing movement to increase young people’s interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).  However, STEM activities are meant to be more than just content – they need to be designed to motivate and excite young people so that they will be tempted to pursue STEM activities and eventual careers beyond the life of any one activity or program.

“At the Coalition for Science After School, we find that there is a lot of confusion and misunderstanding as to what high-quality STEM programming afterschool means. But once we apply LIAS principles to examine science afterschool, we can quickly identify what quality should look like and which promising practices we should support that may lead to increased youth interest and engagement in STEM. 

Carol Tang

LIAS principles outline the program characteristics most likely to foster scientific inquiry and sense-making in youth and help them recognize the relevance of science and technology to their future. LIAS principles help clarify what high-quality science in out-of-school settings should look like and makes STEM accessible to youth development and afterschool staff.  What I like best about LIAS is that it allows OST professionals to view STEM as a way to achieve their youth outcomes using existing best practices in youth development--science afterschool is seen as part of good youth development, rather than an added burden on afterschool program staff.”    - Carol Tang, Coalition for Science After School


21st CENTURY LEARNING SKILLS: In order for young people to be competitive in a knowledge-based economy of the 21st century, they need to learn to collaborate with others and connect through technology. The 21st century skills are broken into several categories:

• Ways of thinking - Creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, decision-making and learning
• Ways of working - Communication and collaboration
• Tools for working - Information and communications technology (ICT) and information literacy
• Skills for living in the world - Citizenship, life and career, and personal and social responsibility

Bernie Trilling

According to Bernie Trilling, Global Director at Oracle Education Foundation and co-author of 21st Century Skills: Learning for Life in Our Times, “The five Learning in Afterschool & Summer principles are perfectly aligned with a 21st century learning approach – active, meaningful, collaborative learning projects that provide opportunities to expand one’s horizons and master important knowledge and skills – this is the heart of 21st century learning.” 


SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING (SEL): SEL helps young people develop the skills to handle themselves and their relationships. These are also important skills for the workplace. They include recognizing and managing emotions, developing caring and concern for others, establishing positive relationships, making responsible decisions, and handling challenging situations constructively and ethically. “They are the skills that allow children to calm themselves when angry, make friends, resolve conflicts respectfully, and make ethical and safe choices.”  According to research, having these skills are related to more positive youth outcomes including academic outcomes.   

Joseph Durlak

“The LIAS principles of collaboration, meaningfulness, and expanded horizons are each consistent with the types of skills that compose SEL such as skills relating to managing one’s emotions, developing and maintaining satisfactory relationships with others, and enhancing self-awareness.  In general, the LIAS principles and the five SEL domains allows flexibility and adaptations to occur for work with different types of youth at different developmental stages, and with different needs and interests.” - Joseph Durlak, Emeritus Professor of Clinical Psychology, Loyola University, Chicago

LIAS and Recent Trends in Education and OST (Part 1)

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

There are several new trends or movements as stakeholders look to improve the quality of formal education and learning outside of the classroom. They include the topics of school reform, Common Core Standards, extended learning opportunities, program quality measurement, STEM, 21st century learning skills, and social-emotional learning (SEL). We will use the next two blog posts to briefly name and describe these important trends and on the relevance of the LIAS learning principles according to leaders in each of these movements: 

Pedro Noguera

SCHOOL REFORM: Beyond the discussions of how to change the structural elements of school, nearly everyone is talking about making learning more engaging. The LIAS learning principles serves as a clear guide on how to change our teaching methods to greatly increase the motivation and interest of young people involved in learning activities.

 “If you don't find a way to make learning matter to students then much of what the adults are trying to do in school reform, will fail.” – Pedro Noguera, NYU


COMMON CORE STANDARDS: The Common Core Standards were developed by the National Governor’s Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers. They have been adopted by 46 states, and focus on “fewer standards at a deeper level than do many of the models used in the past. The standards also emphasize higher order thinking skills; that is, they focus more on demonstrating understanding of content and analyzing written materials rather than on memorizing specific content.” Many of those working to draw a link between learning outside of the classroom point to the Habits of Mind, which focus on “knowledge, skills, and dispositions that operate in tandem with the academic content in the standards… and offer a portrait of students who, upon graduation, are prepared for college, career, and citizenship.”  

Deborah Vandell

According to Deborah Vandell, Founding Dean of the School of Education at UC Irvine, “Much of the school day is really spent in learning a set of material, so we’re going to need to get away from that.  Now part of the Common Core Standards is really pointing in this direction, of problem based learning, working in teams, a more sequential and deeper learning. I think that afterschool programs and summer learning, are about the same things, and I think we are going to be able to help schools see some new ways of learning.”

Elizabeth Devaney

“I think the LIAS principles are complementary, if not completely aligned with the Common Core. They represent the kind of teaching that will be necessary in order for students to achieve the Common Core. The main difference is that the LIAS principles really address the how of teaching and the Common Core is more focused on the what. But absolutely, teachers will need to shift their instruction to more closely match the LIAS principles in order for students to develop habits of mind and master the content standards.” - Elizabeth Devaney, Forum for Youth Investment


EXTENDED LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES (ELO): There is a growing call for schools to offer or link to extended learning opportunities for young people. For some, this movement represents lengthening the school day and increasing time on task or seat time. We join the many others who believe that we must be creative and flexible in our teaching methods in order to increase engagement and draw on community organizations and resources outside of school to fulfill any promise of ELO. 

Jennifer Davis

“A whole-school re-design, built upon a platform of expanded time, enables educators the opportunity to introduce fresh methods of teaching and learning. We are seeing many examples of hands on learning, deeper science experimentation, mastery around music and the arts across a number of expanded-time schools which align very well with the LIAS vision.” - Jennifer Davis, Co-Founder and President, The National Center on Time & Learning

Jennifer Peck

“The Learning in Afterschool & Summer effort is perfectly aligned and perfectly timed with the federal policy conversation around extended learning.  The LIAS principles and language support the very critical task of helping decision makers at all levels understand that after school programs are a place of learning, are worthy of continued and strengthened investments, and can be the foundation for new and innovative models of teaching and learning.” – Jennifer Peck, Partnership for Children and Youth

Protect 21st Century CLC

From the Afterschool Alliance:

Email your senators now & tell them to support afterschool programs during the budget process.This week, the Senate is expected to vote on a budget resolution for 2014. This vote is important—the resolution serves as a blueprint for Congressional committees on spending decisions for programs next year.

Senator Boxer

Sen. Boxer is offering an amendment to the Senate Budget Resolution to support funding for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) initiative—the only federal program dedicated exclusively to fund afterschool, before-school and summer learning programs.Take Action! Your senators need to hear from you as soon as possible. Send an email asking them to support the Boxer Amendment on 21st CCLC to protect funding for community programs that help families and children.

The Best Sites For Cooperative Learning Ideas

Larry Ferlazzo

The Learning in Afterschool & Summer project promotes 5 learning principles. We stress the importance of learning that is collaborative and learning that is active, which means incorporating project-based and problem-based learning. 

Larry Ferlazzo, a high school teacher in Sacramento, CA, offers a valuable list of favorite websites for cooperative and project-based learning. Click here to access this very valuable compilation.

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Larry Ferlazzo teaches Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced English Language Learners (as well as native English speakers) at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento, California. He has been a high school teacher for nine years after spending nineteen years working as a community organizer.

In addition to writing his blog and maintaining his website, he also has another blog entitled Engaging Parents In School. In addition, he writes regularly for the In Practice blog. “In Practice” is written by a group of teachers from around the world who teach in low-income communities. 

Expanded Learning, California Style

The article below first appeared in the Huffington Post on February 22, 2013. We are reposting this because we believe it is of particular interest to our readers.  
________________________

Superintendent Tom Torlakson

By Tom Torlakson, California State Superintendent of Public Instruction and Jennifer Peck, Executive Director, Partnership for Children and Youth

Jennifer Peck

In 2002, California made a historic investment that forever changed the landscape of our education system. With the passage of Proposition 49, an unprecedented half a billion dollars was devoted to after school programs -- more than all other states' investments combined. This money first went to work in 2007, at a time when we had no idea what was about to happen to our economy. But the six years since Proposition 49's implementation have been a powerful journey of collaboration and progress toward expanding learning opportunities for students in low-income communities across California.

Scaling up an initiative of this size -- nearly $700 million total in state and federal funds for after school and summer programs -- has been a challenge. It has taken time to build infrastructure, professional development opportunities and communication systems that are necessary to the success of any education initiative. But California has made great strides in maximizing this investment thanks to unique partnerships between policymakers, advocates and practitioners. Together we have:

• Focused on ways schools and community partners can plan and implement together, teach collaboratively, share data in the interest of continuous improvement and bolster student success;
• Built a team at the California Department of Education that is solely focused on administering our significant investments in expanded learning programs;
• Engaged practitioners in the task of defining what quality looks like and in shaping the state's investments in training and technical assistance;
• Placed greater focus on summer, in addition to after school, as a critical time to provide engaging learning opportunities to students;
• Initiated important conversations about how our significant expanded learning investment can support California schools in other priority areas such as Common Core implementation, bringing science education to more students, and building college and career readiness.

There is a great deal of discussion nationally about the need to add learning time to the school day and the school year -- and varying points of view on the ways in which to tackle this challenge. Many of these discussions have focused on "time" as the operative factor. However, what we know from research and from experience bears out what Paul Tough recently wrote about how children succeed: time isn't enough.

Students need meaningful ways to engage with their learning experiences, to build trusting relationships that keep them present and motivated, and to be exposed to opportunities that broaden their horizons beyond the walls of their neighborhood or their school building. We firmly believe that high-quality expanded learning programs, whether they take place after school, in the summer, through school schedule redesign efforts or otherwise, are the way to provide this for all our students.

We are very proud of what we have collectively accomplished in our state. We have made serious investments in expanded learning programs, and we are serious about making these investments as effective as possible. We recognize that we are constantly learning about what works best, and we have much more to do to ensure all students receive a strong, well-rounded education. We believe the only way to move closer to that goal is through partnerships -- between policymakers and stakeholders; between school districts and community partners; within and across all kinds of public agencies; and between students, parents and their schools.

Click here to read the full article about the strategies California employed after the passage of Proposition 49.
_______________________
Tom Torlakson is California's 27th State Superintendent of Public Instruction. As chief of California's public school system and leader of the California Department of Education, Superintendent Torlakson applies his experience as a science teacher, high school coach, and state policymaker to fight for our students and improve California's state's public education system.

Jennifer Peck was a founding staff member of the Partnership For Children and Youth in 2001 and became its Executive Director in 2003. Jennifer leads a coalition of California organizations advocating for new federal policies to improve the effectiveness of after-school and summer-learning programs. 

The Journal of Expanded Learning Opportunities (JELO)

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

My long-time colleague, Kim Boyer, Executive Director of the Central Valley Afterschool Foundation, will be working with Logan Robertson and Matilda Soria to launch a new afterschool and expanded learning journal called The Journal of Expanded Learning Opportunities (JELO). I'm honored to support their efforts by serving as a peer-reviewer. Kim recently released a call for papers for the first edition of the journal. Click here to view. Below I ask Kim to tell us more about this journal. 

Q: You and the Central Valley Afterschool Foundation are launching a new journal on afterschool and summer programs entitled “Journal of Expanded Learning Opportunities (JELO)”. Can you describe the purpose of this journal?

Dr. Kim Boyer

A: The aim of this journal is to promote scholarship and consciousness of the ways in which students’ engagement in afterschool and expanded learning activities contributes to their learning and development by publishing original empirical, practical, and theoretical manuscripts. The JELO will connect research and promising practices throughout California and the nation, fostering a dialogue that engages both researchers and practitioners in the field. 

Q: There are a couple of journals that share the purpose of your new journal. Why did you decide to launch this?

A: There is a growing need to bring awareness to the positive impact of afterschool and out-of-school time learning. While there are journals that focus on this, we wanted to launch something that looks at the unique programs in California, as well as bring awareness to the term expanded learning opportunities and how it is very much connected to afterschool programming. 

Q: You describe the JELO as peer-reviewed. What do you mean by this and what advantages does it offer you, the editor?

A: What we mean by peer–reviewed or refereed is the process of subjecting an author's paper to careful review/scrutiny by others who are experts in the same field. This process needs to be done before a paper can be published in a journal like the JELO. The work may be accepted, considered acceptable with revisions, or rejected. The associate editors and I wanted to implement this process with the journal submissions in order to ensure papers published in the JELO are considered quality manuscripts. 

Q: What kind of articles will the journal feature? 

A: The journal solicits original papers in two categories: 

• Research-based: presentation of new research using data that includes an abstract, an introductory paragraph, a brief literature review, methods (quantitative and/or qualitative), results and implications.  An example would be an academic or field study. 
• Practitioner-based: presentation of an essay or brief focused on a specific promising practice that includes an abstract, introductory paragraph, discussion of the practice and recommendations for implementation, sustainability and scaling.  An example would be a review of a program project/activity.  

Q: You state in your call for papers that suggested topics are inspired by the Learning in Afterschool and Summer (LIAS) principles that include: learning that is active, collaborative, is meaningful to participants, supports mastery, and expands horizons. Why did you decide to cite the Learning in Afterschool & Summer learning principles as a framework to guide the development of your new journal? 

A: It is an exciting time in the field of afterschool and out-of-school time learning. Collaboration and input from the field is being encouraged and celebrated. The LIAS learning principles serve an important framework for quality afterschool programming and is being encouraged/implemented not only at the program level but at at the California Department of Education level.  Like many others, the associate editors and I embrace these principles and feel it should be interwoven throughout all of the work being done in this field and at all levels. This includes the JELO. 

Q: When can we expect that the journal will be available to readers? How will they be able to access it? 

A: Depending on the number of paper submissions, we are planning to publish the inaugural issue of the JELO sometime between May and August, 2013. When it is ready, the JELO will be open–access and available online through our website.  

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Dr. Kimberley Boyer is the executive director of the Central Valley Afterschool Foundation. She has seven years experience working directly with children as an elementary school teacher in Los Angeles, and as an afterschool program coordinator and project specialist in Fresno. While at CVAF, Kim helped design and facilitate the Region VII ASSETs Learning Community, in addition to providing support to develop high quality elementary afterschool programs through trainings and onsite coaching. She continues to be involved in the sustainability of high school ASSETs programs, in the development of tools and resources to support Quality Self-Assessment, in curriculum development, in field research and in the implementation of English language learner support in afterschool.Kim holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from UCLA, a master’s degree in education from California State University, Fresno and a doctorate in educational leadership from Fresno State. 

Remembering the Broad Shoulders of Richard Murphy

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

The field of youth development lost an important leader and friend recently when Richard Murphy passed away at 68. 

When I served as the first director of the San Francisco Beacon Initiative, Richard Murphy was an important mentor to me. As many people on the west coast may not know, Richard was a pioneer in New York City opening public schools in the afternoons and evenings to serve as neighborhood community centers for youth. He called these centers Beacons. 

Richard Murphy

One of the many lessons I learned from Richard was "when windows of opportunity to serve large numbers of youth open, don't think you have to have it all figured out. Jump through the window and you'll figure out how to land on the way down." This was very reassuring as the San Francisco Beacon Initiative represented an "open window", which many of us jumped through. I was reminded of this advice again with the launching of California's afterschool initiative that was funded by Prop. 49. 

The youth development and the afterschool movement owes a great debt to the creativity and courage of Richard Murphy. His passing is an important reminder that we all stand on the shoulders of leaders who came before. For a full obituary, click here. To read a fine remembrance by Karen Pittman (Forum for Youth Investment) and access other articles about Richard, click here. 

5 Ways to Give a Talk that Matters and Wows

By Guest Blogger, Lynn Johnson 

Lynn Johnson

I recently gave a “TED-like” talk at the How Kids Learn II Conference in San Francisco entitled "Igniting a Compassion Revolution". My 18 minute talk was about igniting a compassion revolution by putting girls center stage. Judging from the responses I got afterwards, I did a good job. I heard stuff like: “Stunning!” “A real highlight!” “You were so f#@ckin’ amazing!!”  More formal testimonials and video to come.  

I learned a lot.  I want to make sure I capture that learning so that I can do even better next time.  Hopefully, this learning can help you too.

1. Start Strong.  End Strong.  A good talk is a call to action; an opportunity to connect with future members of your tribe.  So, you gotta connect with them right at the very beginning.  Pull out all the stops.  But I don’t just mean with fancy technological bells and whistles.  Those are cool but it’s more important to connect with the audience heart-to-heart.  Same thing with the end.  Leave them wanting more of what you got.

2. Focus on your Why.  In my talk, I wasn’t just sharing the whats of my Go Girls! program, I was sharing the why.  When Simon Sinek taught me to “Start with Why,” I took it to heart.  Don’t just share what you do, share the underlying beliefs that inspire you to do it in the first place.  That is what will inspire your audience.

3. Tell the Truth.  I discovered yesterday that it is okay to make the audience a little uncomfortable.  I decided to start my talk by performing an original poem (see point 1).  In it, I allowed myself to get vulnerable as I shared feelings and experiences from my own girlhood.  Doing this made my audience trust me, even though I was saying things that weren’t so easy to hear.  And you don’t have to scream and be aggressive with the truth.  The truth is powerful enough by itself.  As long as you authentic, you can always make a connection.


4. Never Apologize.  Allison and I teach girls all time how important it is not to apologize for each and every mistake.  We women do this all the time.”Oh, I’m sorry, I don’t know how to use this.” or “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t get enough time to practice.”  Or whatever.  Don’t do this.  Ever.  If a mistake you make hurts someone physically, emotionally or spiritually, then, apologize.  Otherwise, just let it be a mistake.  Let “oops” replace “sorry.”

5. Look Good. Just like you spend time crafting and rehearsing your talk, working on your timing, prepping your slides/cue cards, etc, you should also spend some time to work on how you will look while giving the talk itself. I know some of you won’t want to hear this but, believe it, this point is very important. But make sure you look like yourself. Don’t dress to look like some character of what you think you should look like.  Take my experience.  In my ongoing quest to become the bad ass power lesbian, Bette Porter, I had it in my mind to buy a suit.  That felt like what I should wear to speak in front of important people.  So,  I shopped everywhere. In stores.  Online.  Nothing looked right.  Then, I found a dress on the coolest website ever.  I bought it and it looked incredible on me.  The color, the fit, the style perfectly matched my body (which is nothing like Bette Porter’s) and my personality.  And I looked great.  So, I felt great.  And that always helps.  So, please, do yourself a favor and look good.

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Lynn Johnson is the Co-Founder & CEO of Glitter & Razz Productions. She knew that she wanted to be an actor when she was just 5 years old and has spent her whole life centered around the learning, teaching, and creation of theater.

After graduating from Northwestern University, she founded TurnStyle Teen Theatre, a multicultural teen ensemble. The company used the process of creating original productions to explore themes central to the lives of its members. Later, in Chapel Hill, NC she designed and directed a number of community-based educational programs that focused on literature, oral history, community building, and personal narrative.

Lynn transferred her direct youth service experience to work as a trainer and organizational development consultant at the Community Network for Youth Development (CNYD). Lynn is also a founding member of OutLook Theater Project (with Rebecca Shultz), a community-based professional theater company that explores social issues from a queer perspective.

Expanding Minds and Opportunities: Leveraging the Power of Afterschool and Summer

By Sam Piha

I was honored to be a contributor to an important new book that was just released entitled Expanding Minds and Opportunities: Leveraging the Power of Afterschool and Summer Learning for Student Success. 

This compendium was edited by Terry K. Peterson, Ph.D. and includes a number of studies, reports, and commentaries by "more than 180 thought leaders including community leaders, elected officials, educators, researchers, advocates, and other prominent authors. This landmark collection of nearly 70 articles is being met with great acclaim, as it presents bold and persuasive evidence and best practices from the field that quality expanded learning opportunities:

Terry K. Peterson, Ph.D.

• promote student success and college and career readiness,
• build youth assets such as character, resilience and wellness,
• foster partnerships that maximize resources and build community ties, and
• engage families in their children’s learning in meaningful ways". (You can view an email that describes this new release and share it with friends.)

Every article in the book is available for free download by clicking here and the entire book is available on hard copy through Amazon.com. Check it out! 

During my years at CNYD, I managed a team project to create a guide to introduce California's burgeoning afterschool movement to CNYD's youth development framework. That publication entitled Youth Development Guide: Engaging Young People in After-School Programming is now available as a free download. It is an excellent guide that has withstood the test of time.  

Paul Tough, How Children Succeed and Non-cognitive Skills

By Sam Piha

Reporter, Paul Tough, recently authored a book entitled How Children Succeed.  It has stimulated conversation among educators and afterschool and summer providers. This book can be ordered by clicking here, and Paul can be heard on a recent This American Life radio broadcast by clicking here. 

Paul Tough, Author, How Children Succeed

Mr. Tough was unable to attend our recent How Kids Learn II conference but offered the responses below, many of which are drawn from his own website. 

Q: What made you want to write How Children Succeed?

A: In 2008, I published my first book, Whatever It Takes, about Geoffrey Canada and the Harlem Children’s Zone. I spent five years reporting that book, but when I finished it, I realized I still had a lot of questions about what really happens in childhood. 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? 

Q: Where did you go to find the answers?

A: My reporting for this book took me all over the country, from a pediatric clinic in a low-income San Francisco neighborhood to a chess tournament in central Ohio to a wealthy private school in New York City. And what I found as I reported was that there is a new and groundbreaking conversation going on, out of the public eye, about childhood and success and failure. It is very different than the traditional education debate. There are economists working on this, neuroscientists, psychologists, medical doctors. They are often working independently from one another. They don’t always coordinate their efforts. But they’re beginning to find some common ground, and together they’re reaching some interesting and important conclusions.

Q: What’s new?

A: Until recently, most economists and psychologists believed that the most important factor in a child’s success was his or her IQ. This notion is behind our national obsession with test scores. From preschool-admission tests to the SAT and the ACT – even when we tell ourselves as individuals that these tests don’t matter, as a culture we put great faith in them. All because we believe, on some level, that they measure what matters.

But the scientists whose work I followed for How Children Succeed have identified a very different set of skills that they believe are crucial to success. They include qualities like persistence, curiosity, conscientiousness, optimism, and self-control. Economists call these non-cognitive skills. Psychologists call them personality traits. Neuroscientists sometimes use the term executive functions. The rest of us often sum them up with the word character.

Q: Who are the big thinkers behind these ideas?

Economist, James Heckman

A: The central scholar in this movement is James Heckman, a Nobel prize–winning economist at the University of Chicago. He’s the one who did some of the first work identifying and quantifying these non-cognitive skills. And in recent years he has been working to pull together thinkers from lots of different disciplines — psychologists and economists and neuroscientists and geneticists — to get them to share ideas and find connections between their theories.

The book includes plenty of others doing important research, from Angela Duckworth, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania who studies self-control and grit; to Michael Meaney, a neuroscientist in Montreal who found a remarkable connection between a mother rat’s licking-and-grooming habits and the future success of her offspring; to Suniya Luthar, a psychology professor at Columbia University who has written about the unique stresses faced by kids who grow up in affluence.

Q: How do these ideas play out in the lives of actual kids?

A: There’s a lot of science in How Children Succeed, but much of the book is taken up with stories of young people trying to improve their lives, and the teachers and counselors and doctors trying to help them, often using unorthodox methods.

Sometimes these kids are achieving great things: Take James Black Jr., a student who just graduated from Intermediate School 318 in Brooklyn. He grew up in a low-income neighborhood, he has siblings who’ve spent time in prison, and he doesn’t do great on traditional tests of cognitive ability. But he might be the best thirteen-year-old chess player in the country. I followed him for a year, trying to figure out why he’s so successful.

James Black, Jr. was featured in a recent documentary
entitled Brooklyn Castle

When I started my reporting, I thought what everyone thinks: that chess is the ultimate intellectual activity, a skill inextricable from IQ. But to my surprise, I found that many chess scholars now believe that chess success has more to do with non-cognitive skills than with pure IQ. James’s chess teacher at IS 318 is a woman named Elizabeth Spiegel. She’s a great teacher, and I think what makes her so good is that she’s able to help her students develop their non-cognitive skills to high levels — in James’s case, to very high levels.

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A contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine, Paul Tough is also the author of Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada's Quest to Change Harlem and America, which focuses on the steps necessary to improve the lives and education of underserved children. Through the case study of the Harlem Children's Zone, Tough describes the inspiring struggle to establish a way to combat poverty that could be replicated nationwide. Tough has also contributed to This American Life and The New Yorker, where he has honed his focus upon education, poverty, parenting, and politics.