No, These Things Will Not Be on the Final Exam

From comments:

 "Emerge,

I wanted to share this information with you as I found it to be worthwhile. On my walk today, I listened to a podcast of NPR This American Life (474: Back to School 9/14/12). It focuses on "an emerging theory about what to teach kids, from Paul Tough's new book How Children Succeed." Discussed on the podcast - the importance of non-cognitive skills (e.g. tenacity, resilience, impulse control), how they can be taught in the classroom, and how this might help some students succeed.

I am a teacher in Peoria and am continually searching for ways to motivate my students to want to learn and achieve. After listening to this podcast, I will be purchasing Tough's book and researching the topic more. I have never posted on your blog before, but I was so intrigued and inspired by what I heard that I wanted to share this information.

It's worth listening to the podcast!"

 (highlight text above to read it)

Thanks Anonymous for reading, posting and suggesting this book/podcast!

Hearing the stories from the young people really broke my heart, but this podcast IS definitely worth listening to. Paul Tough, the author discusses how “non-cognitive skills” are being viewed as increasingly vital in education. Also discussed are studies that show how poverty-related stress can affect brain development, and inhibit the development of non-cognitive skills.

 Emerge