Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
The best-selling author of How Children Succeed returns with a powerful, mind-changing inquiry into higher education in the United States. Does college still work? Is the system designed just to protect the privileged and leave everyone else behind? Or can a college education today provide real opportunity to young Americans seeking to improve their station in life?
The Years That Matter Most tells the stories of students trying to find their way, with hope, joy, and frustration, through the application process and into college. Drawing on new research, the book reveals how the landscape of higher education has shifted in recent decades and exposes the hidden truths of how the system works and whom it works for. And it introduces us to the people who really make higher education go: admissions directors trying to balance the class and balance the budget, College Board officials scrambling to defend the SAT in the face of mounting evidence that it favors the wealthy, researchers working to unlock the mysteries of the college-student brain, and educators trying to transform potential dropouts into successful graduates.
With insight, humor, and passion, Paul Tough takes readers on a journey from Ivy League seminar rooms to community college welding shops, from giant public flagship universities to tiny experimental storefront colleges. Whether you are facing your own decision about college or simply care about the American promise of social mobility, The Years That Matter Most will change the way you think--not just about higher education, but about the nation itself.
Synopsis
First published as
The Years That Matter Most From best-selling author Paul Tough, a "daring," 1] "indelible," 2] "explosive," 3] and "utterly absorbing" 4] book on the glaring injustices of higher education, including unfair admissions tests, entrenched racial barriers, and crushing student debt. Now updated and expanded for the pandemic era.
1] Kiese Laymon
2] Tara Westover
3] Howard Gold, MarketWatch
4] Michael Pollan
When higher education works the way it's supposed to, there is no better tool for social mobility - for lifting young people out of challenging circumstances and into the middle class and beyond.
In reality, though, American colleges and universities have become the ultimate tool of social immobility - a system that secures a comfortable future for the children of the wealthy while throwing roadblocks in the way of students from struggling families.
What went wrong? How did the American college system get so broken?
Combining vivid and powerful personal stories with deep, authoritative reporting, Paul Tough explains how we got into this mess and explores the innovative reforms that might get us out. Tough examines the systemic racism that pervades American higher education, shows exactly how the SATs give a unfair advantage to wealthy students, and guides readers from Ivy League seminar rooms to the welding shop at a rural community college. At every stop, he introduces us to young Americans yearning for a better life - and praying that a college education might help them get there.
With a new preface and afterword by the author exposing how the coronavirus pandemic has shaken the higher education system anew.
"As suspenseful as the prologue of any serial-killer novel and as heart-rending as the climax of an epic romance." - Frank Bruni, New York Times
Synopsis
First published as
The Years That Matter Most From best-selling author Paul Tough, an indelible and explosive book on the glaring injustices of higher education, including unfair admissions tests, entrenched racial barriers, and crushing student debt. Now updated and expanded for the pandemic era.
When higher education works the way it's supposed to, there is no better tool for social mobility - for lifting young people out of challenging circumstances and into the middle class and beyond. In reality, though, American colleges and universities have become the ultimate tool of social immobility - a system that secures a comfortable future for the children of the wealthy while throwing roadblocks in the way of students from struggling families.
Combining vivid and powerful personal stories with deep, authoritative reporting, Paul Tough explains how we got into this mess and explores the innovative reforms that might get us out. Tough examines the systemic racism that pervades American higher education, shows exactly how the SATs give a unfair advantage to wealthy students, and guides readers from Ivy League seminar rooms to the welding shop at a rural community college. At every stop, he introduces us to young Americans yearning for a better life - and praying that a college education might help them get there.
With a new preface and afterword by the author exposing how the coronavirus pandemic has shaken the higher education system anew.