Name: Whatever it takes
ISBN: 9780618569892

Whatever it takes

An intriguing portrait of African-American activist Geoffrey Canada, creator of the Harlem Children's Zone, describes his radical new approach to eliminating inner-city poverty, one that proposes to transform the lives of poor children by changing their schools, their families, and their neighborhoods at the same time.

What Hacker News says

MaysonLSep 2009

It also seems to help the claim that school dumbs you down.

School can dumb you down.

It seems that it can also smarten you up.

See:

hcz.org/our-results

And the book Whatever It Takes by Paul Tough.

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MaysonLAug 2009

Take a look at http://www.hcz.org/our-results

It shows what kids from the lowest socioeconomic class can achieve, given support, encouragement, and an enriched learning environment from an early age.

The kids in Promise Academy's third grade classes (scoring 100% at or above grade level in one school, and 96% at the other), had been intensive preschool since age three.

Read the book Whatever It Takes by Paul Tough for more details of one of the most hope-inspiring stories in education today.

One thing to consider in deciding how much to spend on education for poor students is the effect this will have on welfare and prison costs for the next generation.

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tptacekOct 2010

Thanks for the added context. In case I've unfairly summarized the author's point, here's the graf it comes from:

But contrary to the myth that Guggenheim propounds about “amazing results,” even Geoffrey Canada’s schools have many students who are not proficient. On the 2010 state tests, 60 percent of the fourth-grade students in one of his charter schools were not proficient in reading, nor were 50 percent in the other. It should be noted—and Guggenheim didn’t note it—that Canada kicked out his entire first class of middle school students when they didn’t get good enough test scores to satisfy his board of trustees. This sad event was documented by Paul Tough in his laudatory account of Canada’s Har- lem Children’s Zone, Whatever It Takes (2009). Contrary to Guggenheim’s mythology, even the best-funded charters, with the finest services, can’t completely negate the effects of poverty.

One might salvage the author's point by saying that it's simply arguing that charters aren't a cure-all; that the disciplinary problems that sabotaged that middle school class are going to exist for any charter, &c.

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Alex3917Jan 2010

As far as I know, there are no real criticisms of this program specifically yet. Most of what I have read from about KIPP comes from Paul Tough, both his series of NYTimes Magazine articles and also his book Whatever It Takes. He's clearly a supporter of KIPP, but in his book he also briefly acknowledges that the ideas underlying the program are not supported by science, unlike many recent initiatives to improve parenting ability. (IIRC the school he writes about in the book is not run by KIPP, but it uses their methodology.)

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