Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada's Quest to Change Harlem and America

Everyone should read this book. I suggest listening to the 30 minute radio story before reading. Search for "This American Life" series from National Public Radio. The episode that contains this story is "Going Big" which aired late September, 2008.

I find it hard to review this book without parroting some of the blurbs on the back cover, from the likes of Bill Clinton and Ira Glass.Paul Tough's exploration of the Harlem Children's Zone and Geoffrey Canada's work reads like an uplifting, thought-provoking novel. This should be required reading for anyone interested in improving the situation in the US around poverty, education, race, and urban policy. Reading this book is particularly important now, as President-Elect Obama has pledged to expand the HCZ model to 20 cities around the country. This is a thoughtful, realistic, in-depth exploration of some of the most risky and effective programs out there.

This afternoon I was sitting in our church's annual meeting where all of the ministries are reviewed for the members of the church. Our church is an urban church, mostly middle class, mostly white. I had just finished reading "Whatever It Takes" last week. I was struck by the similarity between the programs of our church and those put in place by Mr. Canada. We have the early programs for new and continuing moms (and their husbands), nursery school starting at age 2 1/2, preschool, and myrids of programs for youth up through college. (And of course, beyond.) This is a main line protestant church. What is missing for us is the recruiting program to get into the neighborhood and bring in people to the program who don't know of the nearly free approach to learning about parenting and learning from the ground up. I think the challenge for us is to be willing to become passionate about extending the Harlem Children's Zone Concepts we have taken for granted. We who are in charge of the "White Conveyor Belt" must agressively work to include those in our community who wouldn't naturally know of it. Of course, this population is mostly African-American. One could get passionate about the design of the Harlem Children's Zone on the basis of the excellent read provided by the excellent descriptions provide in this book.

... and see what life we can make for our children", a quote by Sitting Bull, embraces the philosophy and vision of outstanding educator, reformer, and leader Geoffrey Canada, creator of the Harlem Children's Zone. Part biography, part call to action, "Whatever it Takes" is a transformative book of the highest order, one that challenges, inspires, and calls people to do what's best for our children. Author Paul Tough writes a compelling and highly readable story of Geoffrey Canada's struggle from social service agency manager to this hugely comprehensive program designed to hold students in a web of great education and accountability until they enter college. Frustrated by seeing too many students who were in need of help and not receiving it, Canada envisioned a dream in which the children would be taken care of, from womb to high school, so that they wouldn't be haggled the by overwhelming needs that often interfered with their development and hence, education. Canada dared to ask the hard what, "What if?", and now, years after asking it, the Harlem Children's Zone is proving it's results. What's interesting about the book is that Tough doesn't sugar coat anything. The HCZ has had it's ups and down, its issues and celebrations. Canada's philosophical battle with the Promise Academy's first principal Terri Grey, shows the conflicts that arose; two people with the same intentions, disagreeing on the way to go about it. Often, in a book like this, there is a temptation to be upbeat and happy about something new and innovative, probably so as not to give potential critics ammunition to shoot it down. Tough paints its honesty. It's simply refreshing. Dealing with students in poverty comes with no easy answers. The work, however, is some of the most personally rewarding work that anyone can do, and that shines clear through every single page. Another interesting focus of this book is the role that race plays in our society, and the issues of race that our society is still choosing to ignore. Through Canada's life story, which stems from an inner city urban upbringing, to an almost improbable life as a college student in Maine, Tough echoes challenges people of color have in our still majority white society. Canada lives in both worlds, and has raised kids in both worlds. His ability to see the benefits and challenges in each world makes him effective in his current job. I devoured this book, and now I'm anxiously awaiting to watch the HCZ over the years, to see the ultimate benefit of their students. Canada and his team has put their minds together ... and now let's see what kind of world his students will have.

The book is an excellent narrative of an inspired yet incomplete effort to transform urban education in a way that seeks to transform a community. It's a thoughtful description of some of the contending philosophies on poverty and education. It dramatically describes the required flexibility and willingness to change course (sometimes effectively and sometimes not) in developing a new model. It reflects the inevitable tensions between the range of stakeholders that a visionary like Canada must manage. I bought 25 copies for the teaching and management staff at our school on the West Side of Chicago--Austin Polytechnical Academy--and eagerly await the discussion. Dan Swinney, Center for Labor and Community Research