Paul Tough

Writer & Speaker

Print Articles & Interviews

= Highly Recommended


Opinion: Why university presidents are under fire

Fareed Zakaria, CNN, December 10, 2023

Paul Tough Shares Insights on Addressing College’s ‘Inequality Machine’

Peter Dunau, Gonzaga News, October 27, 2023

GU hosts lecture about inequalities in higher education and its impact

Natalie Keller, Gonzaga Bulletin, October 26, 2023

America’s higher education consensus is breaking up: responding to Paul Tough

Education writer Bryan Alexander reviews and responds to Paul’s recent article in the New York Times Magazine. September 27, 2023

Paul Tough on Fixing Higher Education’s Broken System

Kate Stoltzfus, Educational Leadership, May 2022

Here’s the real tragedy in college admissions (Q&A)

Zachary Wolf, CNN, April 9, 2022

Stanford Wesson Lectures Recap

Diana Aguilera, McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society, December 11, 2020

Experts, authors call for more accessibility in higher education

Anita Tun, Stanford Daily, December 8, 2020

TCR Review: The Years that Matter Most

Sarah Burman, Matthew Gregory, and Gregory Wolniak, Teachers College Record, December 7, 2020

5 researchers who can help us understand how children succeed

PBS Newshour, October 30, 2020

The study that helped this reporter understand student success

Courtney Vinopal, PBS Newshour, October 23, 2020

How this reporter learned to love nosy questions

Courtney Vinopal, PBS Newshour, October 21, 2020

Discussion questions for ‘Helping Children Succeed’

Courtney Vinopal, PBS Newshour, October 8, 2020

‘Helping Children Succeed’ is our October book club pick

Courtney Vinopal, PBS Newshour, September 30, 2020

Book Review: Up Close and Personal?

Justin Grosslight, The Arts Fuse, August 30, 2020

The harsh truth about black enrollment at America’s elite colleges

Howard Gold, Marketwatch, June 25, 2020

What Is College Worth?

Jonathan Zimmerman, New York Review of Books, July 2, 2020

When a Powerful Engine of Mobility Breaks Down

Karen Sumner, “The Root: The UTS Alumni Magazine,” Spring 2020 [article begins on p. 14]

An Intimate Look at What’s Not Working in American Higher Education

Nicole Barbaro, March 25, 2020

How Libraries Saved Cheryl Strayed

New York Times Book Review, February 16, 2020

Paul Tough on the Crisis of American Higher Education

Interview with Sarah Darville, Carnegie Corporation of New York, February 10, 2020

How College Test Prep Favors Wealthy Students

Galilee Abdullah, KERA News (Dallas), January 14, 2020 (excerpts from a radio interview with Kris Boyd)

We Must Do Better for High School Graduates

Interview with Kate Stoltzfus, ASCD Educational Leadership, January 2020

The Decade of the Parenting Manual

Melonyce McAfee, New York Times, December 20, 2019

Get ready to learn from these books, because ignorance is not bliss

Esther Cepeda, The Star Democrat (Maryland), December 19, 2019

‘Do everything’: Journalist Paul Tough on how colleges can get more low-income students to graduate — and why many still do not

Interview with Patrick Wall, Chalkbeat, December 16, 2019

Years That Matter Most review

Melisma Cox, “Books Make the Best Friends” blog, December 12, 2019

Can We Fix the College Inequality Problem?

Steven Brint, The American Prospect, December 10, 2019

Don’t be fooled: College is indispensable to black empowerment

Kim Trent, Detroit Free Press, December 6, 2019

The College Trap

Jonathan Silin, East Hampton Star, December 4, 2019

The Year’s Best Books About Higher Education

Michael T. Nietzel, Forbes, December 1, 2019

The higher education crisis

Maria Ferguson, Phi Delta Kappan, November 25, 2019

The myth of meritocracy

Review by Deborah D. Rogers and Howard P. Segal, Times Higher Education (London), November 14, 2019 [Article behind paywall; see PDF.]

Faculty, author discuss how to improve low-income student confidence

Brooke Ontiveros, Daily Texan, October 30, 2019

An author spent years studying higher education. Here’s what he learned about UT.

Lara Korte, Austin American-Statesman, October 30, 2019

Author Paul Tough Visits Arrupe College

Mikayla Lofton, Loyola University News, October 2019

to study for a bachelor’s degree – and pay for it all your life: the crisis that crushes millions of students

Tzach Yoked, Haaretz (Israel), October 25, 2019 [Article is in Hebrew and behind a paywall.]

As Inequities in Higher Ed Grow, So Does the Need To Address Them

By Rebecca T. Miller, School Library Journal, October 23, 2019

Paul Tough on the Problems With College Today

Interview with Katy Vine, Texas Monthly, October 21, 2019

Book Review: The Years That Matter Most: How College Makes or Breaks Us by Paul Tough

Ignite Chinese, October 16, 2019

74 Interview: Class, Race & The Pursuit of College. Veteran Journalist Paul Tough Addresses Higher Ed Admissions, Mobility Myths and What His Critics at the College Board Get Wrong

Interview with Greg Toppo, The 74, October 16, 2019

How Harvard Makes the U.S. Less Equal

Brian Bethune, Maclean’s (Canada), October 11, 2019

School funding assures an unequal playing field in college admissions

Patrice Apodaca, Los Angeles Times, October 8, 2019

The years that make or break us

Aisha Sultan, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 6, 2019

9 New Books We Recommend This Week

New York Times Book Review, October 3, 2019

An uneven playing field

Marina Schauffler, Sea Change Journal (Portland, Maine), October 3, 2019

The Most Important Part of Paul Tough’s ‘The Years that Matter Most’

Matt Reed, Inside Higher Ed, October 1, 2019

Is meritocracy making everyone miserable?

Louis Menand, The New Yorker, September 30, 2019

Higher education has the potential to create class mobility but all too often is an obstacle to it

Alan Borsuk, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, September 29, 2019

In college admissions, the rich get in and get enriched

Maureen Downey, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, September 26, 2019

Interview: Who gets ahead in higher education?

Stacy Teicher Khadaroo, Christian Science Monitor, September 23, 2019

Inside the Ivory Tower

Sean Kinch, Chapter 16 (Tennessee), September 23, 2019

Privilege Worth Perpetuating

Review by Matthew M. Chingos, Education Next, September 17, 2019

Is the way we do college utterly broken? Author’s new book boldly goes there

Heidi Stevens, Chicago Tribune, September 16, 2019

How Tuition Pricing at Colleges Deepens Class Divides

Catherine Jones, Nonprofit Quarterly, September 16, 2019

Paul Tough spent the past six years studying higher education. Here are the troubling results.

Justin Snider, Washington Post/Hechinger Report, September 16, 2019

Paul Tough’s Remarkable Book On The Inequities In Higher Education

Michael T. Nietzel, Forbes, September 16, 2019

Is college broken? A best-selling author will be in Portland to talk about it

Bob Keyes, Portland Press-Herald, September 15, 2019

School of Thought

Review by Jessica Lahey, Air Mail, September 13, 2019

America’s top colleges are not the engines of social mobility they say they are

Jenny Anderson, Quartz, September 13, 2019

Does College Still Work?

Katie Couric, Wake-Up Call, September 12, 2019

Paul Tough on College Admissions, Social Mobility, and the Common Sense Solutions to Current Inequities in Higher Education

Brendan Dowling, Public Libraries Online, September 11, 2019

College shouldn’t be the only path to success

Esther Cepeda, syndicated column, September 11, 2019

College, Calculus, and the Problem With the SAT

Interview with Vera Titunik, Wired, September 11, 2019

5 Hot Books

The National Book Review, September 11, 2019

Review: The Years That Matter Most: How College Makes or Breaks Us

Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution, September 11, 2019

Is College Merely Helping Those Who Need Help Least?

Review by Tara Westover, New York Times, September 11, 2019

The Mobility Maze: Gateways and Gatekeepers in Higher Education

Interview with Thomas Toch, FutureEd, September 10, 2019

‘The system really is unfair’: Paul Tough talks test prep, college admissions, and his new book

Jackie Schechter, Chalkbeat, September 10, 2019

The College Board says it’s tried to reduce inequity in college admissions. A new book argues it hasn’t

Matt Barnum and Sarah Darville, Chalkbeat, September 10, 2019

Colleges Reinforce Inequality Rather than Social Mobility, New Book Argues

Rebecca Koenig, EdSurge, September 9, 2019

Does College Really Work? Well, It Depends

Interview with Eric Hoover, Chronicle of Higher Education, September 8, 2019

The Approval Matrix

New York Magazine, September 3, 2019

When Did College Turn So Cruel?

Frank Bruni, New York Times, September 3, 2019

Review of “The Years That Matter Most”

Publisher’s Weekly, August 2019

Paul Tough Q&A: “Early Stress Affects Brain Development”

Caroline Smrstik Gentner, BOLD (Zurich), December 11, 2017

Questions and Answers with Journalist Paul Tough

Detroit News, November 30, 2017

Special Report: Kids in Poverty

Lin Xiuzi, United Daily News (Taiwan), October 5, 2017

Bestselling Author Paul Tough: Our Addiction to Test Scores Is Fundamentally Wrong!

Cheng Yanling, CommonWealth Bi-Weekly (Taiwan), Oct 2, 2017

Help Each Child To Succeed

Xu Qi, Commonwealth Parenting Magazine (Taiwan), September 27, 2017

Paul Tough: Children Suffer from Toxic Stress, Especially at Home

Renata Penzani, Catraquinha (Brazil), September 26, 2017

Education for the 21st Century: A Matter of Character

Bia Willcox, R7.com (Brazil), July 17, 2017

We’re confusing stress with challenge, says Paul Tough

Vinícius de Oliveira, Porvir (Brazil), July 4, 2017

“Schools Are Outdated”

Luisa Bustamante, Veja (Brazil), June 30, 2017

Paul Tough discusses how to overcome school stress

Tim Goral, District Administration, June 2017

Al Franken: By the Book

New York Times Book Review, May 25, 2017

Una Historia Esperanzadora

Elena Alfaro, Inquietanzas (Madrid), March 20, 2017

Help Every Child Succeed

Interview with Paul Tough by Bin Jing Sun, Parent-Child Magazine (Taiwan), March 2017

To Help Each Child Succeed, Rely on Non-Cognitive Ability

Parent-Child Magazine (Taiwan), March 2017

Ein Hoher IQ Ist Kein Erfolgsgarant

(A High IQ Is Not a Guarantee of Success)
Interview by Alexandra Kedves, Tages-Anzeiger (Zurich), January 22, 2017

Our Favorite Books of 2016

Greater Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life (Berkeley, Calif.), December 7, 2016

Waarom zijn sommige kinderen succesvol en andere niet?

(Why Are Some Children Successful and Others Not?)
Liesbeth Breek, Blogcollectief Onderzoek Onderwijs (Amsterdam), November 4, 2016

Paul Tough: The Best Way to Transform Your Schools

Jennifer L.W. Fink, Scholastic Administrators EduPulse, September 13, 2016

The Next Step to Paul Tough’s “Helping Children Succeed”

Barbara Chow, Hewlett Foundation’s “Work in Progress” blog, September 1, 2016

Must Read: “Helping Children Succeed” By Paul Tough

Ben Berk, New York Family, August 31, 2016

Schools Should Immerse Students in Virtue

Bill Crawford, Sun Herald (Gulfport, Miss.), August 21, 2016

The Seven Qualities Worth Developing

Sudhamahi Regunathan, The Hindu (Chennai, India), July 28, 2016

Unlocking the Keys to Grit, Perseverance and Student Success

Alan J. Borsuk, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, July 16, 2016

Kids Need More Than Just Brains to Succeed

Jill Suttie, Greater Good, July 12, 2016

The Brain Game

The Economist, July 9, 2016

Children’s Success Depends on Environment in Home and Class

Dana Carroll, Springfield (Missouri) News-Leader, July 1, 2016

Q&A With Paul Tough: Environment Matters for Student Success

Kate Stoltzfus, Education Week, June 30, 2016

How Should Society Respond to Challenge of Educating Low-Income Kids?

Esther Cepeda, Sioux City Journal, June 23, 2016

The Limits of “Grit”

David Denby, The New Yorker, June 21, 2016

Inspire But Don’t Test for Vital Qualities of Mind Like Grit

John Fensterwald, EdSource, June 20, 2016

The Building Blocks of Learning

David Brooks, New York Times, June 14, 2016

Helping Children and Teens Succeed

Alicia Eames, School Library Journal, June 13, 2016

True Grit

Kevin Carey, New York Times Book Review, June 12, 2016

This Book Upends Everything We Thought We Knew About Where Grit Comes From…

Jenny Anderson, Quartz, June 9, 2016

We Know How To Help Low-Income Students Succeed, We Just Aren’t Doing It

Rebecca Klein, Huffington Post, June 8, 2016

We Know Socio-emotional Skills Are Important – How Do We Develop Them?

David Evans, World Bank’s Development Impact blog, June 8, 2016

Paul Tough Talks About “Helping Children Succeed”

Alyssa Haywoode, Eye on Early Education, June 7, 2016

Summer Reading Recommendations for Educators 2016: A Top Ten list

Jonathan Martin, 21k12 blog, June 2, 2016

How to Help Low-Income Students Succeed

Jill Suttie, Greater Good (Berkeley, California), June 3, 2016

“Helping Children Succeed”: Little Things Can Transform Kids’ Learning

Greg Toppo, USA Today, June 2, 2016

Helping Children Succeed: What Works and Why

Stanford Social Innovation Review, May 31, 2016

Teaching Character

Jay P. Greene, Education Next, Winter 2017

Helping Children Succeed (Will Require Doing Pretty Much the Opposite…)

Jennifer Berkshire, EduShyster, May 26, 2016

‘Helping Children Succeed’ Starts At Birth; A Case For The Power Of Nurture

Anya Kamenetz, NPR, May 24, 2016

Yes, Disadvantaged Kids Can Excel in School — Paul Tough Explains How

Charlie Gofen, National Book Review, May 24, 2016

‘Helping Children Succeed’ Author Paul Tough on What Works and Why

Jennifer L.W. Fink, HotChalk Education Network, May 24, 2016

Helping Children Succeed: Brain Science in the Classroom

Claudia Gold, Psychology Today’s Child in Mind blog, May 24, 2016

Should Teachers Be in the Business of Teaching Grit?

Chris Bodenner, Atlantic Notes blog, May 18, 2016

Coaches’ Corner: How The New York Times Told the Story of a Man Adrift at Sea

Steven Wilmsen and Joel Lovell, Poynter, April 6, 2016

Hvernig stuðlum við að velgengni barna?

(How Do We Contribute to Children’s Success?)
Björn Rúnar Egilsson, Kjarninn magazine (Iceland), February 7, 2016

Expert Says Character Is as Important as High Test Scores

Yolanda Putman, Chattanooga Times Free Press, January 12, 2016

Comment les Enfants Réussissent

Papa Positive (Paris), July 20, 2015

Een kwestie van karakter

Wouter Sanderse, Decazine (The Netherlands), June 2015

Glen Ellyn Book Discussion, Presentation to Focus on Children’s Success

Chicago Daily Herald, January 6, 2015

Paul Tough on What (Besides Tests) Should Count

Charles Taylor Kerchner, Education Week’s On California blog, December 10, 2014

¿Enseñar habilidades no cognitivas debe ser una prioridad?

Alejandro Ganimian, Preal education blog, December 9, 2014

Should Teaching “Soft” Skills Be a Priority?

Alejandro J. Ganimian, WISE Ed.review (Qatar), November 27, 2014

Curiosity and Grit Help Kids Succeed

TVO Parents (Toronto), November 24, 2014

Author Paul Tough’s Agenda for Helping More Children Succeed

Bridgespan Group Newsletter, November 2014

‘Philomena’ Writer Hired to Write Maritime Survival Tale ‘Speck in the Sea’

Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, November 12, 2014

Education Guru Paul Tough Says Grit Is the True Secret to Student Success

Louise Brown, Toronto Star, November 11, 2014

How Investors Succeed: 3 Crucial Insights From Education Experts

John Reeves, The Motley Fool, November 11, 2014

Science Book a Day Interviews Paul Tough

George Aranda, Science Book a Day, November 3, 2014

Paul Tough: As Children Reach Success

Czytamy Razem (Poland), November 2, 2014

Distinguished Speaker Paul Tough Gives Insight…

St. Margaret’s Episcopal School News (with photos), October 16, 2014

5 Things To Know So You Don’t Mess Up Your Kid

Blinkist on Medium, July 11, 2014

Five Character Traits That Help Kids Succeed

Notoya Green, Essence Magazine, July 9, 2014

Do You Really Have to Fail to Succeed?

Daniel McGinn, Harvard Business Review, July/August 2014

Teaching Kids to Be Successful

Scott Brinton, Merrick Herald (New York), June 26, 2014

Character Counts in Student Success, Researchers Say

Charles Honey, School News Network (Grand Rapids, Michigan), June 3, 2014

Book Club with a Purpose

Ralston Recorder (Nebraska), May 16, 2014

Non-Cognitive Skills (Interview with Paul Tough)

Tania Pescarini, Gestão Educacional/Educational Management (Brazil), May 2, 2014

Paul Tough: Success in Education Depends on Personality

Camila Guimaraes, Época (Brazil), April 4, 2014

“Often, trying to protect our children, we are doing more harm than good”

Iana Chan, Educar para Crescer (Brazil), March 28, 2014

School Focuses on the Skills Assessed on Academic Tests, Says Author

Clara Roman, Folha de S. Paulo (Brazil), March 24, 2014

Raising Successful Kids

Erin Grace, Omaha World-Herald, March 22, 2014

How to Have a Successful Child

Pravda (Slovakia), March 22, 2014

Champion of Children

Columbus Post, February 20, 2014

The Grit Factor in Success

Esther J. Cepeda, San Jose Mercury News, February 8, 2014

Paul Tough Speaking at Economic Club and Local High School

Monica Scott, Grand Rapids Press (Michigan), February 6, 2014

Paul Tough Speaks about Character and Adversity

Melissa Buckley, Living 60010 (Illinois), February 5, 2014

Author Discusses the ‘Adversity Gap’ with Barrington Parents, Teachers

Bridget O’Shea, Barrington Courier-Review (Illinois), February 5, 2014

Successful Students Have “Grit”

Rich Elfers, Enumclaw Courier-Herald (Washington), January 28, 2014

Book Discussion Group Great Source for Helping Students

Steve Matthews, Observer & Eccentric (Michigan), January 27, 2014

Education Summit Speaker: Spunk Matters More than Test Scores

Lake Wylie Pilot (North Carolina), January 22, 2014

Read of the Week: Raising Children with Character

Barrington Courier-Review (Illinois), January 15, 2014

Barrington Reads to Welcome Author Paul Tough

Barrington Courier-Review (Illinois), January 15, 2014

The Weinstein Co. Acquires New York Times Article “A Speck in the Sea”

The Hollywood Reporter, January 10, 2014

Q&A with Summit Keynote Speaker Paul Tough

Metro Magazine (Omaha, Nebraska), January 2014

Family New Year’s Resolutions: Commit to Change Together in 2014

Terri Peters, Today.com, January 1, 2014

New Insight into How Children Succeed

Yang Seon-ah, The Hankyoreh (Seoul), December 25, 2013 [Korean-language version here]

Paul Tough on Stress and Children’s Success

Maureen Kelleher, Fred Rogers Center blog, December 17, 2013

Curiosity, Integrity, Self-Discipline, Resilience

The Chosun Ilbo (Seoul), December 12, 2013

Alternative zum Boot Camp

Deutschlandradio Kultur (Germany), November 29, 2013

Lasting Change for Our Children

Greg Landsman and Patricia Nagelkirk, Cincinnati Enquirer, November 22, 2013

How Children Succeed review

Daniel Willingham: Science and Education Blog, October 29, 2013

Bye-bye IQ

Katharina Schmitz, Der Freitag (Germany), October 23, 2013

Kinder brauchen keine IQ-Trainer, sondern Mumm

Peter Praschl, Die Welt (Germany), October 15, 2013

Tough Discusses Attitudes Around Academic Success

The Boston College Heights, October 10, 2013

Character as Destiny and How Children Succeed

Everyday eBook, October 9, 2013

Joe Cozart reviews Paul Tough’s How Children Succeed

Research in Review, October 7, 2013

True Grit

Scholastic Instructor, Winter 2013

Your ‘Better School Day’ Book List

Jennifer Rainey Marquez, Parade, August 10, 2013

Three Cheers for School! Building a Better School Day

Michael Brick, Parade, August 10, 2013

Interview with Paul Tough on How Children Succeed

AlexChediak.com, July 17, 2013

My Summer Reading List

Bill Gates, The Gates Notes, July 9, 2013

“Az IQ nem minden” – interjú Paul Tough oktatáskutatóval

Vajna Tamas, Heti Világgazdaság magazine (Budapest), July 8, 2013

Best Beach Read—Paul Tough’s “How Children Succeed”

Julia Steiny, GoLocalProv (Providence, R.I.), July 3, 2013

Learned Helplessness

Bookforum, June/July/August 2013

Worn Down and Worn Out

Irene Carney and Tom Shields, Style Weekly (Richmond, Virginia), June 11, 2013

Project Parenthood

Isabel Berwick, Financial Times, June 7, 2013

Paul Tough Tells OC Crowd That an Adversity Gap in the U.S….

THINK Together blog, June 6, 2013

Closing the Adversity Gap

Joseph Pimentel, Orange County Register, June 5, 2013

Grit, Character and Other Noncognitive Skills

School Administrator, June 2013

Minneapolis Youth Programs Aim to Empower Today’s Kids

Jeremy Olson, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, May 30, 2013

Author Looks at Character’s Role in Student Success

Susan Palmer, Register-Guard (Eugene, Oregon), April 25, 2013

Education Writer Says the Hidden Power of Character…

Mitch Perry, Creative Loafing (Tampa), April 24, 2013

Grit, Optimism Essential in Weeks Like This

Alan J. Borsuk, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, April 20, 2013

Forget Test Prep – Students Need to Learn Tenacity, Self-Control

Andee Hochman, Philadelphia Inquirer, April 10, 2013

Writer on Children’s Success to Speak at GFA

Westport News (Connecticut), March 28, 2013

How Kids Can Succeed

Frank T. Pool, Longview News Journal (Texas), March 26, 2013

Camp and Character: An Interview with Paul Tough

Camping Magazine, March 2013

Summit Examines Impact of Poverty and Violence

Catholic Star-Herald (Camden, N.J.), March 21, 2013

N.J. Summit Looks at Effects of Stress on Learning

Barbara Boyer, Philadelphia Inquirer, March 19, 2013

Winning Through Failure

Johanna Gretschel, Tulane University News, March 13, 2013

Ain’t No Mountain High Enough

Silvia A. Bunge, “Cerebrum,” the Dana Foundation’s online magazine, March 11, 2013

Building Character Is Best Way to Nurture Educational Success

Hilary Wilce, The Independent (London), March 6, 2013.

Book Review: Character Matters When it Comes to Student Success

Bob Kustra, Idaho Statesman, February 24, 2013

Why Kids Must Fail to Succeed

Kara Miller and Kinne Chapin, Innovation Hub, WGBH Boston, February 22, 2013

What’s a Parent to Do?

Tom Deignan, Newark Star-Ledger, February 17, 2013

Tough Life Lessons

Irish Examiner, February 3, 2013

Observer Review: How Children Succeed

Geraldine Brennan, The Observer (London), January 19, 2013

Author Paul Tough to Talk about Helping Children Succeed

Suzanne McLaughlin, The Republican (Springfield, Mass.), January 19, 2013

Stay Focused

The Economist, January 19, 2013

Finding the Recipe to Your Child’s Success

Lisa Salmon, Hull Daily Mail (U.K.), January 15, 2013

Equip Your Child with the Best Skills to Help Them Succeed in Life

The Irish News (Belfast), January 15, 2013

How Do We Teach Our Kids About True Grit?

Carole Sugarman, Bethesda Magazine, January 9, 2013

Superintendent’s Book Club: How Children Succeed

Supt. Joshua Starr, Montgomery County Public Schools, January 8, 2013 [Video]

Telegraph Review

Judith Woods, The Telegraph (London), January 8, 2013

The Secret to Making Children Succeed? Don’t Be a Pushy Parent

Celia Walden, The Telegraph (London), January 5, 2013

What Your Child Really Needs Is the Nature

Calcalist (Israel), January 3, 2013

Failure Can Teach Perseverance

Geoff Johnson, Vancouver Sun, January 2, 2013

Science and Practice Reroute Students Toward Success

Minnesota Educator, January 2013

The Top 10 Books of 2012

People Magazine, December 31, 2012

Our Ten Favorite Books of 2012

Greater Good, December 26, 2012

A Conservative Policy Agenda

Carol Platt Liebau, Townhall.com, December 10, 2012

Educators Consider Impact of Character

Erin Richards, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, November 29, 2012

100 Notable Books of 2012

New York Times Book Review, November 27, 2012

2012 Books: Slate Staff Picks

Slate, November 27, 2012

Getting Gritty with Paul Tough

Brandon Fastman, Santa Barbara Independent, November 18, 2012

Más Allá de las Notas

Juan Pablo Garnham, Qué Pasa (Chile), November 15, 2012

How Children Succeed: A Conversation with Author Paul Tough

Emily Huizenga, Snell Snippets (Boston), November 13, 2012

Amherst Schools Urge Students to ‘Work Smart’

Nick Grabbe, Amherst Bulletin, November 14, 2012

Paul Tough to Discuss New Book How Children Succeed

Paul Irish, Toronto Star, November 12, 2012

Author Paul Tough Gives Talk on the Traits that Help Children Succeed

Sarah Galer, University of Chicago News, November 9, 2012

Forget Pushy Parenting – It’s Time to Set Your Child Free

Judith Woods, The Telegraph (London), November 5, 2012

True Grit: Paul Tough on Non-Cognitive Skills Education

Abigail Mackenzie Kerl, Chicago Policy Review, November 5, 2012

Book Perfect for Innovative Educators

Paul W. Bennett, Chronicle-Herald (Halifax), November 4, 2012

Give Us Grit Not Grades

Matt Rudd, The Sunday Times (London), November 4, 2012 [Subscription required; see here for scan.]

Does Character Matter?

Alicia Eames, School Library Journal, November 2, 2012

Character Matters: An Interview With Paul Tough

Hannah Hudson, We Are Teachers Blog, October 31, 2012

How Children Succeed? With Support from Those Around Them

Kids’ Policy Express (Texas), October 31, 2012

Portland Schools Incorporating “Character” Education

Amber Cronin, The Forecaster (Maine), October 30, 2012

Optimism, Self-Control Are Keys to Child’s Success, Author Says

Michelle Koidin Jaffee, San Antonio Express-News, October 29, 2012

Why Do Some Children Succeed But Others Fail?

kypost.com (Northern Kentucky), October 29, 2012

What Kids Need More Than Test-Taking Skills: Grit and Character

Michael Corbin, Baltimore Brew, October 28, 2012

Jane Austen Weekly: Child Poverty in Mansfield Park

Susan Celia Greenfield, Huffington Post, October 26, 2012

Character Is Destiny in How Children Succeed

Linda Flanagan, Huffington Post, October 26, 2012

“There’s Lots That Can Be Done”

Lionel Foster, Baltimore Sun, October 26, 2012

Interview with LiveMom of Austin, Texas

Christine Sinatra, LiveMom.com, October 24, 2012

RHB Buys Tough

Charlotte Williams and Lisa Campbell, The Bookseller (London), October 24, 2012

Diane Ravitch on “How Children Succeed”

Diane Ravitch’s Blog, October 23, 2012

Q&A with Paul Tough on “How Children Succeed”

Valerie Strauss, Washington Post “Answer Sheet” blog, October 23, 2012

Cuddle Your Kid!

Nicholas Kristof, New York Times, October 21, 2012

Closing the Achievement Gap

Maureen Downey’s “Get Schooled” blog, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, October 19, 2012

Can We Teach Grit?

Julie Poppen, EdNews Colorado, October 16, 2012

How Children Succeed: Paul Tough on His Best-Selling Book

Kate Guadagnino, Elizabeth Street, October 15, 2012

Helping Children Succeed

Kenneth Barish, Psychology Today’s “Pride and Joy” Blog, October 15, 2012

Book Review – How Children Succeed

Sutterblog, October 14, 2012

Paul Tough: Affluent Parents Emphasize Wrong Set of Skills

Laura Hine, Make It Better, October 2012

The Grit Factor: Hard to Measure, Hard to Succeed Without

John Fensterwald, EdSource, October 11, 2012

Helping Students Manage Stress, Set Goals, and Feel Connected

Elena Aguilar, Edutopia, October 11, 2012

Your IQ Doesn’t Matter & Other Lessons About Creativity From Children

Sean Blanda, 99U, October 10, 2012

Bestselling Author Praises Memphis School in Book

Jane Roberts, The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, Tennessee), October 6, 2012

Case Made for Character Education

Jesse Wright, Press Register (Clarksdale, Mississippi), October 4, 2012

Edutopia: How Children Succeed

Elena Aguilar, Edutopia, October 4, 2012

Rethinking What Leads to Success in Education

Greg Toppo, USA Today, October 3, 2012

Paul Tough Says Students Build Character by ‘Taking on a Challenge’ and Failure

Red and Black (Athens, Georgia), October 2, 2012

Author Paul Tough to Speak at Woodlawn Foundation Fundraiser

The Magic City Post (Birmingham, Alabama), October 2, 2012

Character Helps Kids Succeed

Anne Jarvis, Windsor Star, October 1, 2012

The Psych Approach

David Brooks, New York Times, September 28, 2012

How Children Succeed: Instilling Students With Grit and Curiosity

Flagpole (Athens, Georgia), September 26, 2012

A Mom’s Reflection on Our Children’s Success

Margaret Bernstein Keller, The Family Meeting, September 25, 2012

Paul Tough’s Lecture at Town Hall

Erica Rayner-Horn, Community of Mindful Parents, September 2012

Is Character the Key to Success?

Vicki Zakrzewski, Greater Good, September 25, 2012

Gift of Grit, Curiosity Help Kids Succeed

Jerry Large, Seattle Times, September 23, 2012

Trying to Find the Balance Between Academic Learning and Building Character

Patrice Apodaca, Newport-Mesa Daily Pilot, September 22, 2012

“We Have Focused Way Too Much on Intelligence and Cognitive Skills”

Barbara McMahon, The Times of London, September 22, 2012 [Paywall]

How Children Succeed: An Interview with Paul Tough

Judy Bolton-Fasman, Huffington Post, September 21, 2012

For Business Leaders (and MBAs), Character Counts

Warren Bennis, Bloomberg BusinessWeek’s “Getting In” blog, September 17, 2012

Want Your Kid To Succeed? Don’t Worry About The SAT

Victoria Barret, Forbes.com, September 14, 2012

Forget Rating Teachers. Think Grit 101.

Jay Mathews, “Class Struggle” blog, Washington Post, September 13, 2012

Who Will Succeed? Why Smarts Matter Less Than You Think

Seattle’s Child, September 12, 2012

How Do Kids Succeed: Test Taking or Character Building?

“The Juggle” blog, Wall Street Journal, September 12, 2012

Is Your Child Building Character?

Eric Steinman, Care2.com, September 10, 2012

Child’s Character Matters in Education

Chicago Tribune, September 10, 2012

“How Children Succeed”: Character, not IQ

“On Parenting,” Washington Post parenting blog, September 10, 2012

Failure Is Not a Bad Option

Time Magazine, September 10, 2012

Reading, Math and Grit

Joe Nocera, New York Times, September 8, 2012

Excerpt: Opting Out of the ‘Rug Rat Race’

Wall Street Journal, September 7, 2012

How Do Children Succeed? It’s Not Academics.

Brian Bethune, Maclean’s magazine, September 6, 2012

Time Out: Paul Tough Interview

Time Out Chicago, September 6, 2012

Which Matters More, Cognitive Ability or Motivation?

Slate, September 5, 2012

Exclusive Excerpt: Paul Tough’s “How Children Succeed”

Gotham Schools, September 5, 2012

Back To School: Why Grit is More Important Than Good Grades

Time Ideas, September 5, 2012

What Makes a Good Teacher?

Vera Titunik, The New York Times Magazine’s 6th Floor Blog, September 4, 2012

Why a Child’s Character May Determine Their Success

Forbes, September 4, 2012

Q&A with Paul Tough: The Obama Administration’s Big Missed Opportunity

The Hechinger Report, September 4, 2012

Classroom Q&A: An Interview With Paul Tough On Character & Schools

Classroom Q&A With Larry Ferlazzo, Edweek.com, September 4, 2012

What’s a Teacher to Do? Paul Tough’s How Children Succeed

Classroom as Microcosm, September 3, 2012

Paul Tough Speaks at Harvard: How Children Succeed

Child in Mind blog, Boston.com, September 3, 2012

What Does it Mean to Teach Character?

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 2, 2012

Interview with Paul Tough

School Leadership Briefing, September 2012

Why kids need to fail to succeed in school

Margaret Wente, The Globe and Mail, September 1, 2012

Point Person: Our Q&A with author Paul Tough on letting children fail

Dallas Morning News, August 31, 2012

Behind the Cover Story

The New York Times Magazine’s 6th Floor Blog, August 20, 2012

The Case for Character

New York Family, August 2012

A Conversation with Paul Tough

Early Ed Watch, December 6, 2010

Author: Communities Can Lift Poor Students

Ryan Blackburn, Athens Banner-Herald (Georgia), December 3, 2010

The Children’s Hour

Kay S. Hymowitz, City Journal, January 14, 2009

Geoffrey Canada and Education’s Future

Jay Mathews, Washington Post, December 19, 2008

Learning Zone: Harlem Project Gives Poor Students an Edge

Bernice Yeung, Edutopia, November 19, 2008

The Transformer

Linda Perlstein, New York Times, October 17, 2008

Building the Village

Donna Foote, Washington Post, October 12, 2008

Against All Odds

Erin Aubry Kaplan, Los Angeles Times, September 28, 2008

The Success Virus

Cathleen Medwick, O: The Oprah Magazine, September 2008

Whatever It Takes (book review)

Stacy Teicher Khadaroo, Christian Science Monitor, September 10, 2008

Paul Tough on Transom

Transom, April 1, 2001

Dear Web Pal: These Letters Must End

Dinitia Smith, New York Times, January 6, 2001

E-mail confidential

Leah McLaren, Globe and Mail, September 2, 2000

Saturday’s Child

Philippe Devos, Ryerson Review of Journalism, March 1999

The Headlines the ‘Times’ Wants Back

Mediaweek, July 22, 1996