Author Paul Tough to Speak on October 1 at UGA Chapel in Athens, Ga.

On Oct. 1, author and journalist Paul Tough will give a 7 p.m. lecture in the UGA Chapel about this new book, “How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity and the Hidden Power of Character.” 

The book examines the significance of skills such as perseverance, conscientiousness and self-control in determining children’s success inside and outside school. It argues that these qualities are more important to that success than measures such IQ and test taking ability.

According to a press release from the Willson Center, Tough has written extensively about education, child development, poverty and politics in The New Yorker, Slate, GQ and Esquire. He has worked as an editor at The New York Times Magazine and Harper’s and as a reporter and producer for the public radio program “This American Life.” He won widespread praise for his 2008 book, “Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada’s Quest to Change Harlem and America.” The book helped bring Geoffrey Canada’s work with the Harlem Children’s Zone to the forefront of the discourse on U.S. education.

Canada’s program aimed to address the circumstances of poverty affecting families with school-age children in a targeted area of Harlem. His goal was to remove impediments to learning in students’ homes and neighborhoods. Since its inception in the 1990s, the Harlem Children’s Zone has expanded from a single city block to nearly 100 blocks. It has been copied in other communities and was the inspiration for the U.S. Department of Education’s Promise Neighborhoods grant program.

The Whatever It Takes initiative in Athen has a goal that by 2020 “every child in Athens will be on course to graduate from a post-secondary education." It is modeled in part after the Harlem Children’s Zone program and takes its name from Tough’s book. Whatever It Takes was a co-sponsor of Tough’s last appearance at the UGA in 2010. The non-profit has applied for a Promise Neighborhoods grant earlier this year.

Tim Johnson, the WIT director, will introduce Tough at the Chapel. The current visit is co-sponsored by the Jane and Harry Willson Center for Humanities and Arts and the UGA College of Education.

“I very much enjoyed my last visit to Athens, when I was hosted by the Whatever It Takes initiative,” Tough said. “There’s clearly a lot of energy and interest in Athens around the ideas of education and community and success for all children. I’m excited to come back and continue the conversation.”

Willson Center Director Nicholas Allen also sees Tough’s visit as a chance to promote a worthwhile discussion.

“The Willson Center is a bridge between research, innovation and public thinking,” he said. “Paul Tough’s ideas engage with our community and university. We are delighted to welcome him and to invite the anyone interested in public education, which is at the foundation of our commons, to attend his talk.”