Whatever it takes
Geoffrey Canada's quest to change Harlem and America
by Paul Tough · first published 2008
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3HN commenters
2009–2010first – last mentioned
33% recommend67% neutral
An intriguing portrait of African-American activist Geoffrey Canada, creator of the Harlem Children's Zone, describes his radical new approach to eliminating inner-city poverty, one that proposes to transform the lives of poor children by changing their schools, their families, and their neighborhoods at the same time.
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It also seems to help the claim that school dumbs you down. School can dumb you down. It seems that it can also smarten you up. See: hcz.org/our-results And the book Whatever It Takes by Paul Tough.
on “A 5 Minute Intelligence Test for Kids” ↗…an early age. The kids in Promise Academy's third grade classes (scoring 100% at or above grade level in one school, and 96% at the other), had been intensive preschool since age three. Read the book Whatever It Takes by Paul Tough for more details of one of the most hope-inspiring stories in education today. One thing to consider in deciding how much to spend on education for poor students is the effect this will…
on “Smart Child Left Behind” ↗…school students when they didn’t get good enough test scores to satisfy his board of trustees. This sad event was documented by Paul Tough in his laudatory account of Canada’s Har- lem Children’s Zone, Whatever It Takes (2009). Contrary to Guggenheim’s mythology, even the best-funded charters, with the finest services, can’t completely negate the effects of poverty. One might salvage the author's point by saying that…
on “The Myth of Charter Schools” ↗…as I know, there are no real criticisms of this program specifically yet. Most of what I have read from about KIPP comes from Paul Tough, both his series of NYTimes Magazine articles and also his book Whatever It Takes. He's clearly a supporter of KIPP, but in his book he also briefly acknowledges that the ideas underlying the program are not supported by science, unlike many recent initiatives to improve parenting…
on “Bill Gates's new website: The Gates Notes” ↗