How Children Succeed

Peterson identified a set of strengths that were, according to his research, especially likely to predict life satisfaction and high achievement. After a few small adjustments, they settled on a final list of seven:1. grit2. self-control3. zest4. social intelligence5. gratitude6. optimism7. curiosity

Such a great and timely book for any parent thinking ahead to schooling for their kids, any parent currently in the mix of school choices and raising childre, or anyone---teacher, administrator, counselor, etc---who has the privilege of making an impact on a child's life.

How Children Succeed by Paul Tough

The following are excerpts taken from Paul Tough's How Children Succeed. Bold and italics are mine. Everything else is Paul's.

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Children who grow up in stressful environments generally find it harder to concentrate, harder to sit still, harder to rebound from disappointments, and harder to follow directions.--The reason that researchers who care about the gap between rich and poor are so excited about executive functions is that these skills are not only highly predictive of success; they are also quite malleable, much more so than other cognitive skills. The prefrontal cortex is more responsive to intervention than other parts of the brain, and it stays flexible well into adolescence and early adulthood. So if we can improve a child’s environment in the specific ways that lead to better executive functioning, we can increase his prospects for success in a particularly efficient way.--

THE 24 CHARACTER STRENGTHS

1. Creativity
2. Curiosity
3. Judgment
4. Love of Learning
5. Perspective
6. Bravery
7. Perseverance
8. Honesty
9. Zest
10. Love
11. Kindness
12. Social Intelligence
13. Teamwork
14. Fairness
15. Leadership
16. Forgiveness
17. Humility
18. Prudence
19. Self-regulation
20. Appreciation of beauty and excellence
21. Gratitude
22. Hope
23. Humor
24. Spirituality

Cultivating these strengths represented a reliable path to “the good life,” a life that was not just happy but meaningful and fulfilling.--Over the past couple of decades, a consensus has emerged among personality psychologists that the most effective way to analyze the human personality is to consider it along five dimensions, known as the Big Five:

1. agreeableness
2. extraversion
3. neuroticism
4. openness to experience
5. conscientiousness

--I/O psychology began using various personality assessments to help corporations identify those workers.--People high in conscientiousness get better grades in high school and college; they commit fewer crimes; and they stay married longer. They live longer—and not just because they smoke and drink less. They have fewer strokes, lower blood pressure, and a lower incidence of Alzheimer’s disease.--Duckworth felt that Levin, who was about her age, possessed some trait that she did not: a passionate commitment to a single mission and an unswerving dedication to achieve that mission. She decided she needed to name this quality, and she chose the word grit.--a test to measure grit, which she called the Grit Scale.--Was it better to spend your childhood, or your life, a little bit interested in a lot of things (as I tend to be), or a lot interested in one thing?--An American with a BA can now expect to earn 83 percent more than an American with only a high-school diploma.--You can buy the book here. :)