The Economist Gets it Right “Pre-school programmes are known to develop children’s numeracy, social skills and (as the term “pre-school” suggests) readiness for school. But they do not deal with the gap in much earlier in development . . . And it is this gap, more than a year’s pre-schooling at age four, which seems …
In his State of the Union address, President Obama referred to “the accident of birth” referring to the circumstances into which a particular human being is born. That phrase has entered common usage to refer to the disparity of opportunities experienced by children. It should, however, be abandoned because it does not do justice to …
1. Parenting Quality by Income Quintile (from the Brookings Institution) The statistical distribution is almost a perfect correlation between parenting quality and income quintile. 2. Relative Economic (Im)mobility by Income Quintile (from the Pew Charitable Trust) Children in the top and bottom income quintiles are most likely to be income immobile. 3. Brain Development over …
Data Visualization: Inequality, Parenting and Brain Development Read More »
Almost every capacity we have develops in response to loving nurture. At birth, virtually every ability we will ever have is latent. It is both hidden and undeveloped. Some of those abilities will develop. Others will never appear; they remain latent. Those capacities that develop do so in response to loving nurture. Through loving speech, …
“How are you today?” a caller asks Dave Ramsey. Ramsey responds without hesitation, “Better than I deserve.” What do you deserve? In Where is the Love? Nicholas Kristof laments the erosion of empathy for the poor, which he receives in the form of comments on his blog and Facebook page. Behind comments like, “Why should I have to …
How often is it that you have an African American sports writer for ESPN write a powerful article on the preservation and restoration of the traditional family unit? Jason Whitlock has provided this in taking Dallas Cowboys’ wide receiver Dez Bryant’s recent temper tantrums as a springboard to name and shame ‘Hurricane Illegitimacy.’ ESPN’s Jason …
Hurricane Illegitimacy and Institutional Illegitimacy Read More »
Last week two important pieces appeared in the New York Times concerning early childhood: Quality Preschool Is the ‘Most Cost-Effective’ Educational Intervention on the Motherlode blog, and Language-Gap Study Bolsters a Push for Pre-K on the front page. The latter article attracted letters to the editor from experienced educational leaders. This one was particularly salient: To the Editor: The …
Pre-K is important, but not as important as parents Read More »
On Monday the New York Times published an article titled Language-Gap Study Bolsters a Push for Pre-K based on the recent Developmental Science publication by Anne Fernald at Stanford University. The headline should be: Language-Gap Study Bolsters Push for Early Parent Support. As Fernald’s research shows, for low-income children in language-poor home environments high quality pre-K is not …
To help young children, focus on parents before Pre-K Read More »
Parenting quality explains 40 percent of the cognitive gap between children at age four — more than any other factor. This is the fulcrum of education, inequity and flourishing society. The degree to which a community acknowledges and addresses this dynamic will be the measure of success in measurable strides toward flourishing. Closing the Parenting Gap In Can …
“If, as a parent, you feel as though you can’t do it alone, that’s because you were never meant to.” In Baby Brain Rules, developmental molecular biologist John Medina argues for the power of parenting in communities – for children, parents, and their communities. What are some of those benefits? You need wisdom from other …