Literature Review #3

1.       Visual.  A picture of the book or (only if such a picture is not available or if it is an article) a relevant picture, such as a photo of the author or something related to the subject.  An embedded video (such as of an author interview) can also fulfill this requirement.

 

2.       Citation.  Provide full citation in MLA format.

Tough, Paul. How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012. Print.

3.       Summary.  Provide a brief summary as to what the reading is about.

This book is about a new way of thinking that has been spreading across the country. Conventional wisdom about childhood development over the past decades has been misguided. Discussed is how society and high schools have been focusing on the wrong skills and abilities in our children, and we have been using thw wrong strategies to help nurture and teach those skills.

4.       Author(s).  Give some information on the author(s).  What makes him/her knowledgeable on the topic?

The author of this book is Paul Tough who is an author, speaker and journalist. He is a contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine and a speaker on various topics including education, poverty, parenting and politics. He has written many books including Helping Children Succeed, How Children Succeed and Whatever It Takes. He is very educated on topics of parenting and poverty making him a very helpful source for my paper.

5.       Key terms.  Define at least two key terms or key concepts used in the piece.

Elasticity- The ability of an object or material to resume its normal shape after being stretched or compressed; stretchiness or the ability of something to change and adapt.

Environmental influences- The aggregate of surrounding things, conditions, or influence; surroundings; milieu.

6.       Quotes.  Give three quotations pertaining to your topic, with page reference.

1.       fog of wishful thinking, euphemisms, and well-intentioned egalitarianism”, encourage low-IQ low income students to attend colleges that are too intellectually demanding; when those students discover that they don’t possess the intelligence necessary to do the work, they drop out

2.       By the fall of senior year, Kewauna was consumed with the process of applying to college. But she was starting from scratch in learning about the system.

3.       I’ve always wanted to be one of the those business ladies walking downtown with my briefcase

7.       Value.  Explicitly explain how this material helps you to explore your research question.

A large idea of this book is the idea of egalitarianism. Egalitarianism is the idea that all individuals should be given equal rights and opportunities. This idea fits into my paper very well because I demonstrate how colleges need to focus on demonstrating egalitarianism by implementing programs such as Rutgers Future Scholars.