An urgent call for the radical re-imagining of American education so that we better equip students for the realities of the twenty-first century.

An inspiring account of teachers in ordinary circumstances doing extraordinary things, showing us how to transform education What School Could Be offers an inspiring vision of what our teachers and students can accomplish if trusted with the challenge of developing the skills and ways of thinking needed to thrive in a world of dizzying technological change. Innovation expert Ted Dintersmith took an unprecedented trip across America, visiting all fifty states in a single school year. He originally set out to raise awareness about the urgent need to reimagine education to prepare students for a world marked by innovation--but America's teachers one-upped him. All across the country, he met teachers in ordinary settings doing extraordinary things, creating innovative classrooms where children learn deeply and joyously as they gain purpose, agency, essential skillsets and mindsets, and real knowledge. Together, these new ways of teaching and learning offer a vision of what school could be—and a model for transforming schools throughout the United States and beyond. Better yet, teachers and parents don't have to wait for the revolution to come from above. They can readily implement small changes that can make a big difference. America's clock is ticking. Our archaic model of education trains our kids for a world that no longer exists, and accelerating advances in technology are eliminating millions of jobs. But the trailblazing of many American educators gives us reasons for hope. Capturing bold ideas from teachers and classrooms across America, What School Could Be provides a realistic and profoundly optimistic roadmap for creating cultures of innovation and real learning in all our schools.

Life in idyllic 1960s McAlisterville, Pennsylvania seems so promising to young Nelson Lauver. But undiagnosed dyslexia soon turns hope and optimism into struggle and shame as he falls far behind in school and is branded lazy. Confused, angry, and determined not to be the dumb kid, he chooses instead to become the bad kid- ending up a loner at odds with the world and with himself. Nelson resigns himself to being hopelessly different and joins the ranks of millions of Americans who try to hide their inability to read and write. At age 29, a chance encounter leads to a diagnosis of dyslexia and a profound rebirth. Ironically, the boy who was afraid to have anyone hear him try to read launches a new career as a writer, broadcaster and speaker. An estimated 10 to 20 percent of Americans suffer from a learning disability. 14 percent of American adults are considered functionally illiterate. More than personalizing these sobering statistics, this uplifting memoir goes beyond one man's account of rising above a learning disability. Most Unlikely to Succeed is an inspirational story that will speak eloquently and profoundly to anyone who has ever struggled to be heard, to be understood, or to make his or her way in the world.

"Sawyer and Kaye fall in love despite hating each other"--

Do you ever wonder how some people make success look so simple? In Succeed, award-winning social psychologist Heidi Grant Halvorson offers counterintuitive insights, illuminating stories, and science-based information that can help anyone: • Set a goal to pursue even in the face of adversity • Build willpower, which can be strengthened like a muscle • Avoid the kind of positive thinking that makes people fail Whether you want to motivate your kids, your employees, or just yourself, Succeed unlocks the secrets of achievement, and shows you how to create new possibilities in every area of your life.

When Tia and Will are named Biggest Flirts, she starts to reconsider what she wants. When Harper and Brody are named the Perfect Couple that Never Was, they find they have more in common than they anticipated. Friends of supposedly polar opposites Kaye and Sawyer conspire to bring them together.

Why do some children succeed while others fail? The story we usually tell 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, Paul Tough argues that the qualities that matter most have more to do with character: skills like perseverance, curiosity, conscientiousness, optimism, and self-control. How Children Succeed introduces us to a new generation of researchers and educators who, for the first time, are using the tools of science to peel back the mysteries of character. Through their stories—and the stories of the children they are trying to help—Tough traces the links between childhood stress and life success. He uncovers the surprising ways in which parents do—and do not—prepare their children for adulthood. And he provides us with new insights into how to improve the lives of children growing up in poverty. Early adversity, scientists have come to understand, not only affects the conditions of children’s lives, it can also alter the physical development of their brains. But innovative thinkers around the country are now using this knowledge to help children overcome the constraints of poverty. With the right support, as Tough’s extraordinary reporting makes clear, children who grow up in the most painful circumstances can go on to achieve amazing things. This provocative and profoundly hopeful book has the potential to change how we raise our children, how we run our schools, and how we construct our social safety net. It will not only inspire and engage readers, it will also change our understanding of childhood itself.