內容簡介
11+, GCSEs, A levels - it sometimes seems like the story of our children's lives is of one academic test after another. We're convinced that a good performance in these exams will lead to success later on in life. But what if we're wrong?
In fact, studies are increasingly showing that the qualities most likely to ensure a better degree, a better job and, ultimately, a more fulfilling life are perseverance, curiosity, conscientiousness, optimism, and self-control. These are qualities known to economists as 'non-cognitive', to psychologists as 'personality traits' but to the rest of us as 'character'.
How Children Succeed introduces us to a new generation of researchers and educators who 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 - acclaimed journalist Paul Tough traces the links between childhood stress, childhood cosseting, and life success. He uncovers the surprising ways in which parents prepare - or fail to prepare - their children for adulthood. And he provides new insights into the best ways to help children growing up in poverty.
Early adversity, scientists have come to understand, not only physically affects children's lives, it can also alter the neurological development of their brains. But now educators and doctors are using that knowledge to develop innovative interventions that allow children to overcome the constraints of poverty. And with the help of these new strategies, as Tough's eye-opening reporting makes clear, even children who grow up in the most painful circumstances can go on to achieve amazing things.
This is a provocative and profoundly hopeful book that will change the way you think about raising and educating children.
作者簡介
Paul Tough is the author of Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada's Quest to Change Harlem and America and the author of a series of acclaimed articles on character and childhood in the New York Times Magazine and the New Yorker. He is a contributing editor to the New York Times Magazine and a frequent contributor to the public-radio program This American Life. He lives with his wife and son in New York.
精彩書評
"Drop the flashcards - grit, character, and curiosity matter even more than cognitive skills. A persuasive wake-up call."
—People Magazine
"In this absorbing and important book, Tough explains why American children from both ends of the socioeconomic spectrum are missing out on these essential experiences. … The book 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."
—Annie Murphy Paul, The New York Times Book Review
"An engaging book that casts the school reform debate in a provocative new light. … [Tough] introduces us to a wide-ranging cast of characters — economists, psychologists, and neuroscientists among them — whose work yields a compelling new picture of the intersection of poverty and education."
—Thomas Toch, The Washington Monthly
"Mr. Tough’s new book, How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity and the Hidden Power of Character, combines compelling findings in brain research with his own first-hand observations on the front lines of school reform. He argues that the qualities that matter most to children’s success have more to do with character – and that parents and schools can play a powerful role in nurturing the character traits that foster success. His book is an inspiration. It has made me less of a determinist, and more of an optimist."
—Margaret Wente, The Globe and Mail
"How Children Succeed is a must-read for all educators. It’s a fascinating book that makes it very clear that the conventional wisdom about child development is flat-out wrong."
—School Leadership Briefing
"I loved this book and the stories it told about children who succeed against big odds and the people who help them. … It is well-researched, wonderfully written and thought-provoking."
—Siobhan Curious, Classroom as Microcosm
"How to Succeed takes readers on a high-speed tour of experimental schools and new research, all peppered with anecdotes about disadvantaged youths overcoming the odds, and affluent students meeting enough resistance to develop character strengths."
—James Sweeney, Cleveland Plain Dealer
"[This] wonderfully written new book reveals a school improvement measure in its infancy that has the potential to transform our schools, particularly in low-income neighborhoods."
—Jay Mathews, Washington Post
"Nurturing successful kids doesn’t have to be a game of chance. There are powerful new ideas out there on how best to equip children to thrive, innovations that have transformed schools, homes, and lives. Paul Tough has scoured the science and met the people who are challenging what we thought we knew about childhood and success. And now he has written the instruction manual. Every parent should read this book – and every policymaker, too."
— Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit
"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
"Turning the conventional wisdom about child development on its head, New York Times Magazine editor Tough argues that non-cognitive skills (persistence, self-control, curiosity, conscientiousness, grit and self-confidence) are the most critical to success in school and life....Well-written and bursting with ideas, this will be essential reading for anyone who cares about childhood in America. "
— STARRED Kirkus Reviews
“This American Life contributor Tough (Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada’s Quest to Change Harlem and America) tackles new theories on childhood education with a compelling style that weaves in personal details about his own child and childhood. Personal narratives of administrators, teachers, students, single mothers, and scientists lend support to the extensive scientific studies Tough uses to discuss a new, character-based learning approach."
—Publishers Weekly
前言/序言
好的,這裏為您創作一個關於一本名為《無畏的探索:培養未來領袖的內在驅動力》的圖書簡介,內容詳實,旨在探討教育、品格塑造與個人成長,但完全不涉及您提供的原書信息。 --- 無畏的探索:培養未來領袖的內在驅動力 導言:迷失在標準化的十字路口 在二十一世紀的教育浪潮中,我們似乎陷入瞭一種怪圈:過度依賴量化的評估,將學習簡化為分數和排名,卻忽略瞭真正驅動個體走嚮卓越的那些難以捉摸卻至關重要的內在品質。今天的學校和傢庭,都在努力應對一個共同的挑戰:如何在高度競爭的環境中,培養齣不僅能適應未來,更能塑造未來的人纔? 《無畏的探索:培養未來領袖的內在驅動力》正是在此背景下誕下的一部具有前瞻性的指南。本書深入剖析瞭當代教育體係中被忽視的維度——那些支撐個體穿越不確定性、激發持久學習熱情、並最終實現深層價值的“軟性力量”。我們不再滿足於培養“聰明的孩子”,而是緻力於塑造“有韌性的探索者”和“有遠見的行動者”。 第一部分:重塑“成功”的定義——超越分數綫的視野 傳統的成功觀往往將認知能力置於至高無上的地位。然而,本書認為,真正的成功是一種動態的平衡,它建立在堅實的情感基礎和強大的適應能力之上。 1.1 認知與情境的鴻溝: 我們將首先探討現代智力測試與真實世界復雜性之間的顯著差距。高智商並不自動導嚮高成就,尤其是在麵對顛覆性變革時。本書通過大量案例研究,展示瞭那些在學術上錶現平平,但在創新領域大放異彩的人們的共同特質。 1.2 價值錨點的建立: 真正的驅動力來源於清晰的內部價值體係。我們探討瞭如何幫助青少年識彆並內化一套超越物質迴報的道德指南和職業使命感。這包括對“意義感”的構建,以及如何在快速變化的社會中保持道德羅盤的穩定。 1.3 適應力而非記憶力: 未來的工作環境將是流動的、非綫性的。本書提齣瞭一種“情境學習模型”,強調個體處理模糊信息、快速切換視角和從失敗中提取教訓的能力。這不僅僅是“恢復力”,而是一種主動利用逆境進行結構性重塑的能力。 第二部分:內在驅動力的解剖學——好奇心、專注力與自我效能 內在驅動力並非神秘的力量,而是一係列可被培養和強化的心理機製。《無畏的探索》將這些機製細緻解構,並提供瞭實用的工具箱。 2.1 好奇心:從“被動接收”到“主動探尋”: 我們區分瞭兩種好奇心:錶層的好奇(對新奇事物的短暫興趣)和深層的好奇(對事物底層邏輯的持續追問)。本書著重介紹如何通過設計“有張力的學習環境”來激發後者,鼓勵孩子提齣“為什麼不?”而不是僅僅接受“為什麼是?”的答案。 2.2 深度專注力的重建: 在數字信息爆炸的時代,持續、不受乾擾的深度工作能力已成為稀缺資源。本書分析瞭分散注意力的神經學基礎,並提齣瞭“心流契閤度”的培養方案。這包括對“微習慣”的運用,以及如何建立與環境的“數字邊界”,從而重新奪迴對注意力的主權。 2.3 自我效能感的螺鏇上升: 自我效能感——相信自己有能力完成任務的信念——是行動力的核心。本書將自我效能的建立分解為“小勝利的積纍”和“可控性歸因”兩個關鍵步驟。我們闡述瞭父母和教育者如何巧妙地退齣“直接乾預”,轉而成為“賦能的觀察者”,讓孩子真實體驗到掌握任務的成就感。 第三部分:教育者的角色重塑——從知識的傳遞者到成長的催化劑 培養未來領袖,需要教育者和傢長自身先完成一次觀念的轉變。本書認為,成人的角色必須從“答案的提供者”轉變為“問題的引導者”和“潛能的激發者”。 3.1 授權式反饋的藝術: 低效的錶揚和批評都可能扼殺孩子的內在動機。我們提齣瞭一種基於“過程觀察”的反饋框架,它側重於識彆孩子在策略選擇和努力程度上的優缺點,而非僅僅評價結果。這種反饋使孩子將注意力從“我是否足夠聰明”轉移到“我如何能做得更好”上。 3.2 培養“建設性失敗”的文化: 恐懼失敗是扼殺創新的頭號元凶。本書詳細闡述瞭如何在傢庭和課堂中建立一個“安全失敗區”。我們分享瞭如何引導孩子進行“失敗復盤會議”,將每一次挫摺視為昂貴卻寶貴的實驗數據,從而將負麵情緒轉化為前瞻性的學習機會。 3.3 榜樣力量的微妙性: 成年人的行為比說教更具穿透力。本書探討瞭父母和教師如何通過展示自身的“成長型思維”——例如,公開承認自己的知識盲區並積極學習新技能——來潛移默化地影響下一代。真正的領導力是從承認自身局限開始的。 第四部分:麵嚮未來的實踐路徑——從傢庭到社群 本書的最終目標是提供一套可落地的、跨越年齡段的實踐框架,確保內在驅動力能夠在真實世界中得到檢驗和磨礪。 4.1 項目式學習的深度應用: 我們倡導超越膚淺的興趣班,轉嚮需要跨學科整閤、長期承諾和社區反饋的深度項目。這些項目不僅是技能的學習,更是對責任感、時間管理和協作精神的綜閤考驗。 4.2 跨代際的知識傳承: 介紹如何設計傢庭和社區活動,讓青少年有機會指導年長者掌握新技術或新觀念。這種“反嚮指導”不僅提升瞭青少年的溝通和教學能力,更極大地鞏固瞭他們的自我價值感和專業自信。 4.3 應對“即時滿足”的挑戰: 現代科技鼓勵快速迴報,而深層次的成就往往需要延遲滿足。本書提供瞭一係列策略,幫助傢庭在不切斷與數字世界聯係的前提下,重建對“長期迴報”的耐心和期待感,例如通過設定“價值裏程碑”而非“時間目標”。 結語:塑造擁有內在羅盤的人 《無畏的探索》不是一本關於如何讓孩子在考試中取得高分的秘籍,而是一份關於如何培養他們終生學習的熱情、堅韌的品格以及自主解決問題的能力的宣言。當我們不再將教育視為一場臨時的競賽,而是視為一場持續一生的內在旅程時,我們纔能真正為孩子裝備好,讓他們有勇氣和能力去探索未知的世界,並最終成為那個值得信賴的、有遠見的未來領袖。 ---