Paul Tough

In his new book The Inequality Machine, New York Times bestselling author Paul Tough examines how the landscape of higher education has shifted. Does college still provide real opportunities for young people to achieve social mobility? Or is it a system designed to protect the interests of the privileged? Drawing on new research, personal travels, and stories of students trying to find their way, Tough reveals the hidden truths of how the system works and whom it really works for.

In his earlier book How Children Succeed—which spent over a year on the New York Times bestseller list—Tough challenges the belief that intelligence, endlessly measured by test scores, is the sole predictor of how well a child will do in school and in life. His follow-up, Helping Children Succeed: What Works and Why, offers a practical guidebook for educators, parents, and community groups dedicated to improving the lives of children growing up in adversity, using all-new strategies based on the emerging science of success. Tough ushers in a tidal change in thinking with his argument that curiosity, conscientiousness, optimism, self-control, and grit are better indicators of success than IQ. He identifies a phenomenon in our culture that he calls the “adversity gap”: Some kids, especially those growing up in poverty, simply have too much adversity in their lives, and others, especially those growing up in affluence, actually experience too little. Tough says children develop character strengths when they persevere through adversity. And it’s our job as adults in their homes, schools, and communities to give them the support and guidance they need to manage and grow from those setbacks and disappointments.

Tough is also the author of Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada’s Quest to Change Harlem and America, which chronicled the inspiring story of the Harlem Children’s Zone. He is a contributing writer to The New York Times Magazine, where he has written cover articles about first-generation college students, character education, and OxyContin addiction in Appalachia, among other topics. He has also contributed stories to This American Life, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Esquire, and GQ.