The Baylor School Parent Alliance will present a free public lecture by author and journalist Paul Tough on Monday, Jan. 11 in the Baylor School Chapel from 7 p.m.-7:45 p.m., followed by a Q&A and a book signing. The event is free and open to the public.
"I am proud that the Baylor Parent Alliance Speaker's Series has become a venue for nationally renowned experts in education. I would encourage parents, educators and anyone who works with children and teens to attend this event," said Baylor Headmaster Scott Wilson.
Officials said, "The familiar story about childhood and success is the one about intelligence: success comes to those who score highest on tests, from preschool admissions to SATs. But in How Children Succeed, Tough argues that the qualities that matter most have more to do with character and skills such as perseverance, curiosity, conscientiousness, optimism, and self-control."
“I am excited to welcome Paul Tough to Chattanooga, a foremost expert in the educational needs of young people and parents, and I’m looking forward to continuing to learn from him during this visit," said Mayor Andy Berke. "I’m also extremely grateful to Baylor for bringing such a talented individual to visit with Chattanoogans.”
Mr. Tough is the author of How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character, which has been translated into 27 languages and has spent more than a year on the New York Times hardcover and paperback best-seller lists.
His first book, Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada’s Quest to Change Harlem and America, was published in 2008. "The findings and principles outlined in his book have resulted in successful early childhood education efforts across the country, including the City of Chattanooga’s Baby University," officials said, Launched in 2015 by the Berke Administration, Baby University has received funding from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee and is currently serving dozens of families in the East Lake area.
In addition to a best-selling author, Mr. Tough is a contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine, where he has written extensively about education, parenting, poverty, and politics, including cover stories on character education, the achievement gap, and the Obama administration’s poverty policies. His writing has also appeared in the New Yorker, Slate, GQ, Esquire, and Geist, and on the op-ed page of the New York Times.
He has worked as an editor at the New York Times Magazine and Harper’s Magazine and as a reporter and producer for the public-radio program “This American Life.” He was the founding editor of Open Letters, an online magazine.
For more information go to http://www.baylorschool.org/speakers.