jay_gp's review against another edition
4.0
An explanation of the college system in the USA. I'm so glad I wasn't born there...
danireneewood's review against another edition
5.0
I've been working on my Bachelors of Science in Sociology for eight years. Let that sink in - by the time I finally graduate in 2020, I'll have spent eight years on a four-year degree.
Perhaps it's my own personal bias to myself, but I don't believe myself to be a moron. I'm definitely not incapable of taking college courses. In fact, if you look at my core Sociology degree classes, you'll find a 4.0 average, something I'm quite proud of.
When social scientists, educators, administrators, and other interested parties examine graduation rates, they don't see students like me - someone who has off an on worked on a degree while working full-time. Instead, they focus on the number of students completing their degrees in four years, and at the most, six. This book does good work of reminding us that students aren't numbers, they aren't faceless applications, and that ultimately, education remains a premium good to be bought and sold at high prices.
I'm extremely thankful to have a job that pays for me to improve myself and go to school, but there are so many people out there who could benefit from education that don't face the same reality I do, who don't know how to apply for financial aid, who don't know that they are a lot smarter than standardized testing would have them believe. This book makes higher education personal again by sharing stories of individuals from all backgrounds, the educators who believed in them, and the universities and programs who are working for a more educated future.
Perhaps it's my own personal bias to myself, but I don't believe myself to be a moron. I'm definitely not incapable of taking college courses. In fact, if you look at my core Sociology degree classes, you'll find a 4.0 average, something I'm quite proud of.
When social scientists, educators, administrators, and other interested parties examine graduation rates, they don't see students like me - someone who has off an on worked on a degree while working full-time. Instead, they focus on the number of students completing their degrees in four years, and at the most, six. This book does good work of reminding us that students aren't numbers, they aren't faceless applications, and that ultimately, education remains a premium good to be bought and sold at high prices.
I'm extremely thankful to have a job that pays for me to improve myself and go to school, but there are so many people out there who could benefit from education that don't face the same reality I do, who don't know how to apply for financial aid, who don't know that they are a lot smarter than standardized testing would have them believe. This book makes higher education personal again by sharing stories of individuals from all backgrounds, the educators who believed in them, and the universities and programs who are working for a more educated future.
minhtgreen's review against another edition
5.0
One of my favorite nonfiction reads so far. As someone who’s been trying to get into the genre, I notice that this book is able to circumvent many of the pitfalls that most books in this category do—it avoids obscure messages about how things should be, it tries not to be overly redundant. I loved the empathy that Tough approached his participants with; I didn’t expect to connect with Ivonne and Treisman’s chapter as much as I had, and I greatly appreciated the nuance that these anecdotes provided the book. It’s one of those things where you go, “duh, of course college is fucked up,” but this book will take you through the ways that this fucked up-ness is perpetuated. Highly recommend for anyone who’s been wanting to get into nonfiction but can’t get past the dense texts that dominate this genre.
ckjesq's review against another edition
5.0
Simply stated - a must read - what do we want as a society - uri treissman vs Mitch Daniels - an avoidable failure - in and of itself says it all - do we dare challenge or do we simply accept defeat - GI bill and the greatest generation - support for those who do not have systemic wealth And privilege - all takeaways from this great book
sophia608's review against another edition
5.0
An exceptional look into the experience of college — from application to graduation — for low-income students. Much of this I already was familiar with to some extent (e.g.: the College Board is a terrible institution that is bad for students), but the research and data cited affirmed a lot of surmising. Tough talked both about high achieving students (specifically focusing on CollegePoint) as well as the academic middle and students struggling academically. He discusses the benefits of elite, selective institutions while decrying their unwillingness to admit and support low-income students, and talks about the benefits of community / technical colleges while debunking the anti-education (or, really, the anti-poor-people-getting-an-education) argument that “we need more welders” and “welders make more than philosophy majors.” I especially liked the sections on math education at UT and the timeline of changes in public sentiment toward and funding of education throughout US history. Using student stories to illustrate broader points about the college system, this book is exceptionally researched, contains empathetic profiles of students, and is convincingly written.
I listened to this on audiobook, but plan to purchase a hard copy so I can make notes in it, use it for reference, and lend it to people. Highly recommend for anyone interested in the contemporary college process.
I listened to this on audiobook, but plan to purchase a hard copy so I can make notes in it, use it for reference, and lend it to people. Highly recommend for anyone interested in the contemporary college process.
twagner3's review against another edition
4.0
Really fantastic book that helped me understand more of the systemic inequities in higher education. Tough does a really good job of weaving together individual stories with data. Learning about the impact of things like affluence and higher SAT scores or the challenges that students of color and low income students face at institutions through this dual narrative and data driven lens is really illuminating and will make me continue to think about our systems of higher education.
danisjoies's review against another edition
5.0
As an aspiring higher education professional, this book was an informative, engaging, and thought-provoking read. I learned a lot about how many college applicants suffer (including myself) because of some of the flawed systems at the core of the college admissions process (the history on the ACT/SAT was especially fascinating). Knowledge is power and if we understand the problems and where they came from, (and care enough about the students), then maybe we can improve higher education for future generations.
cartwright's review
5.0
This book said the things that I felt but didn’t really have the right way to put into words. Namely, how could I (a “Doubly Disadvantaged” to use the book’s lingo) feel that going to an elite school changed my life, while most of the rich white people I hang out with now view it as not necessarily providing a huge advantage over the flagship state school—while at the same time doing everything humanly possible to get their kid into the best school possible? And why, went I went to an elite undergrad, were most of the minority students very wealthy and from similar prep schools as the white kids? This book does a nice job bringing out the social factors behind this paradigm (the “Privileged Poor” and the social codes), and put words to what I experienced as well: how could college simultaneously be a liberating/empowering/life-changing experience and a painful/disorienting/emotionally draining experience?
Or, put more eloquently by him:
“Engaging with their peers made them feel like strangers in a place they could not fully call home,” Jack wrote in The Privileged Poor. “These encounters, which many of the Doubly Disadvantaged saw as assaults on their way of life, left them feeling socially isolated, emotionally drained, and, sometimes, angry. Their social and emotional well-being suffered. They encountered tacit social codes that they had never learned and that they struggled to decipher.” Privileged Poor students, by contrast, were quite familiar with those tacit social codes. They had been marinating in them for four years of high school. For them, the transition to the Ivy League was often actually straightforward, even easy. “Their high schools were a preview,” Jack wrote, “a four-year trailer to the main feature.”
And to quote another section:
The people who gave out competitive scholarships and read college applications were moved by the fact that she had experienced such pain and remained a straight-A student. It was a story they wanted to hear: the homeless teen who made good. So she told it, again and again. And telling it made her feel sad and sometimes proud, but eventually mostly angry and more than a little cynical. The whole process began to feel transactional, like she was trading her pain for college admission offers and scholarship dollars. The worst year of her life had become a commodity.
It definitely left a feeling of being fraudulent, that I was trading aspects of my upbringing (living in an abandoned hospital) in exchange for admission into an elite club—while betraying the people who knew me growing up, who wouldn’t view my upbringing as challenging, who would view my relaying those anecdotes as dramatizing for effect?
Definitely worth reading.
Or, put more eloquently by him:
“Engaging with their peers made them feel like strangers in a place they could not fully call home,” Jack wrote in The Privileged Poor. “These encounters, which many of the Doubly Disadvantaged saw as assaults on their way of life, left them feeling socially isolated, emotionally drained, and, sometimes, angry. Their social and emotional well-being suffered. They encountered tacit social codes that they had never learned and that they struggled to decipher.” Privileged Poor students, by contrast, were quite familiar with those tacit social codes. They had been marinating in them for four years of high school. For them, the transition to the Ivy League was often actually straightforward, even easy. “Their high schools were a preview,” Jack wrote, “a four-year trailer to the main feature.”
And to quote another section:
The people who gave out competitive scholarships and read college applications were moved by the fact that she had experienced such pain and remained a straight-A student. It was a story they wanted to hear: the homeless teen who made good. So she told it, again and again. And telling it made her feel sad and sometimes proud, but eventually mostly angry and more than a little cynical. The whole process began to feel transactional, like she was trading her pain for college admission offers and scholarship dollars. The worst year of her life had become a commodity.
It definitely left a feeling of being fraudulent, that I was trading aspects of my upbringing (living in an abandoned hospital) in exchange for admission into an elite club—while betraying the people who knew me growing up, who wouldn’t view my upbringing as challenging, who would view my relaying those anecdotes as dramatizing for effect?
Definitely worth reading.
grantkeegan's review against another edition
4.0
I am impressed with the amount of care, research and dedication that Paul Tough put into this book. The Years That Matter Most is written extraordinarily well and I believe every person should read it.
This book reveals many of the flaws and benefits of the current education system in the United States. It describes the experiences and anxieties of people in school and in the workforce. The conclusion is brilliant. It presents the case that the future of education will require people to have more skills, and for this it is necessary to improve the current system.
Paul Tough writes in a way that is not biased towards one side or the other. Instead, he lays down the facts and lets the reader come up with his own conclusions. This is something I appreciated a lot as I often found myself jumping into strong conclusions, before taking a step back and re-analyzing what I just read.
The book becomes tedious at times, reading like a scientific paper as it presents a lot of data. However, there are lighter moments, like students or faculty's stories that make it a more interesting read, contrasting from those technical parts. I think it was necessary to keep a balance between both in order to absorb the full extent of the book.
This book reveals many of the flaws and benefits of the current education system in the United States. It describes the experiences and anxieties of people in school and in the workforce. The conclusion is brilliant. It presents the case that the future of education will require people to have more skills, and for this it is necessary to improve the current system.
Paul Tough writes in a way that is not biased towards one side or the other. Instead, he lays down the facts and lets the reader come up with his own conclusions. This is something I appreciated a lot as I often found myself jumping into strong conclusions, before taking a step back and re-analyzing what I just read.
The book becomes tedious at times, reading like a scientific paper as it presents a lot of data. However, there are lighter moments, like students or faculty's stories that make it a more interesting read, contrasting from those technical parts. I think it was necessary to keep a balance between both in order to absorb the full extent of the book.