Dwyer Center event

On Thursday, October 8, at 6 p.m., I’ll be answering questions and meeting readers at a reception at the Dwyer Cultural Center in Harlem to celebrate the release of the paperback edition of Whatever It Takes. The Dwyer center is located at 258 St. Nicholas Avenue, at 123rd Street. Here’s the announcement.

At Columbia J-School

At LynNell Hancock’s Covering Education Seminar at the Columbia University School of Journalism, talking about the experience of reporting at the Promise Academy middle school. Video by Maura Walz.

Columbia J-School

One student’s account of my recent visit to LynNell Hancock’s Covering Education seminar at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.

Education Equity Conference Video

Now online: video of my talk in November at the Campaign for Educational Equity symposium, at Teachers College in New York City.

Inside Schools

Insideschools.org, “an independent, not-for-profit website devoted to informing parents, teachers, and students about New York City public schools,” has started an online book club. The first book under discussion is Whatever It Takes.

Paul Tough, who writes about education for the New York Times Magazine, tackles hefty social science quandaries – like what causes poverty and how it can be alleviated — within the narrative of Geoffrey Canada’s dramatic, ongoing struggle to change the lives of Harlem’s children. … After five years of reporting, Tough describes Canada’s venture – the Harlem Children’s Zone – through the stories of the people who work for and are served by the project, which includes two charter schools. Tough also explains the research behind anti-poverty efforts, relating it to the sometimes nail-biting, sometimes heartbreaking, yet surprisingly hopeful story of Canada’s work.

Teachers College Report

On the Teachers College website, a report on last Monday’s Campaign for Educational Equity symposium:

“My own journalistic investigation into the questions of poverty and education started a little more than five years ago, not far from here, when I first visited [HCZ Founder] Geoffrey Canada,” Paul Tough, an editor at The New York Times Magazine, told an audience at Teachers College’s fourth annual Symposium on Education Equity in November. “By the end of our first conversation, I knew I wanted to write an article about Geoff’s work, and by the time that article came out in The New York Times Magazine in 2004, I knew I wanted to go further and write a book.”

Tough, author of the recently published Whatever It Takes:Geoffrey Canada’s Quest to Change Harlem and America, concluded that “a true solution to the problem of underachievement in inner-city schools is going to require more nurturing families and safer neighborhoods, as well as better teachers and more accountable schools. It’s not only possible to fix both problems at the same time, it’s essential.”

Harlem Event

Also on Monday, Geoffrey Canada and I will be talking about Whatever It Takes and the Harlem Children’s Zone at an event sponsored by HCZ and the Hue-Man Bookstore. Details above.

Campaign for Educational Equity

Next Monday, November 17, I’ll be speaking at the Campaign for Educational Equity’s 2008 symposium, at Teachers College in New York City. I’m on at 9:20 a.m. or so, right after Gov. Paterson (on video), answering the question “What Will It Take?”

Teach for America Summit

This Saturday, November 15, at 3 p.m., I’ll be a featured speaker at the Teach for America New York City Alumni Summit. I’m on a panel with Marian Wright Edelman and Donna Foote, discussing “The Role of Media in Informing our Public Consciousness.”

Soho reading: wine, cheese and librarians

A reminder: I’m reading at McNally Jackson Bookstore on Prince Street tonight (Wednesday) at 7 p.m. — an evening sponsored by the Desk Set.