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POPSEarly Education Advocates "ecstatic" Obama's appointment of Arne Duncan, and his commitment to fostering early childhood education is cause for tremendous excitement among those who understand the importance of early childhood.
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POPSBrains of low-income kids function differently This UC Berkeley study found detectable differences in the function of the prefrontal cortex (critical for problem solving and creativity) between low-income and higher-income kids. Low frontal lobe response is more likely in kids from low-income families. The authors conclude that environmental factors are tremendously important - simple factors like talking and reading together. The conclusion is simple: Parents matter a lot. The nurture they provide significantly impacts the brain development of their children - and by consequence their later educational and social opportunities.
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POPSEarly intervention reduces violence A study from Duke University published in Child Development Journal points to the early roots of teen violence and finds that early intervention with parents and children can prevent serious violent behavior in adolescence.
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POPSObama's 0-5 plank This plank of Obama's platform has tremendous potential IF it treats parents as responsible and partners with businesses, schools and organizations to empower them.
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POPSAAP encourages "true toys" It has come to the time when we need the academy of pediatrics to tell us that blocks and dolls are both good and important.
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POPSOp-ed: invest early in kids This letter from a veteran early intervention advocate gets it right. The first five years set the trajectory of a child's life.
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POPSBBC on parenting and health This BBC summary of recent child development data shows differences along cultural lines (for which the writer uses the term 'ethnic'). What is clear from the data is that parents matter tremendously.
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POPSEducation reform at a critical juncture We are at a point now where leaders and opinion-shapers MUST cast a new way forward that recognizes ALL the stakeholders in education, and enables them to fulfill their roles.
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POPSTeaching kids to work hard This Scientific American article commends teaching kids about how the brain grows so that they understand that "they are agents of their own brain development."
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POPSExtolling hard work, not intelligence This excellent article in The Scientific American commends practices that encourage hard work and a "growth mindset" as more effective than praising kids for being "intelligent."
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POPSOutstanding article on parent-child relationship This article in the Statesman Journal is one of the most thorough journalistic presentations of the importance of the first five years of child development AND the critical role that parents play. Most journalists focus on programs, but Mackenzie Ryan gets it right: Parents are the key.
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POPSEducation reform blinded by ideology In this helpful critique, Paul Thomas points out how the major voices in education reform are not engaging the fundamental issues: parents and their responsibilities.
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POPSHeritage Foundation points to school choice The issue isn't funding; it isn't even school choice to which the Heritage Foundation points. (Only those who care to choose will.) It is parents, which is why choice helps those who are willing to choose.
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POPSGeoffrey Canada: Education starts very early Geoffrey Canada's bet is right: that getting off to the right start means that you won't need superhuman remediation later. What this quotation doesn't capture is that it is JUST as important to start with PARENTS from birth as it is children.
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POPSNC Study finds parenting affects genetic effects on physiology This study has tremendous import for active parenting, particularly in responding to the Newsweek's Aug 9 article "But I did everything right!" that overplayed the role of genetics in affecting anti-social behavior. Nature AND nurture both play important roles in child development.
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POPSParenting in the New York Times The NYT spotlights 3 new social networking sites for parents of young children. Parenting is in vogue, but is there a compelling vision of what ought to guide that venture?
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POPSReconsidering Education Reform This NY Times article highlights three reformers (one of whom, Geoffrey Canada, is a doer) in challenging the traditional assumptions of education reform. The point is that schools and their teachers can't solve problems that exist in families and communities. What the article doesn't point out is the necessity of treating parents as responsible partners (which is precisely what Canada is doing through his 'Baby College'). When that becomes part of the dialogue, then change can begin.
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POPSIncreased funding does not equal improved education The Heritage Foundation provides very helpful longitudinal perspectives on education spending and school performance. The conclusion is clear: resources are not the primary indicator of performance. What the article does NOT say is that parent responsibility in the education of their children IS the single best predictor of educational achievement, and that the vast majority of brain growth occurs before children reach school age. Thus THE pressing question is how to engage and inspire parents to provide developmentally-appropriate nurture from birth.
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POPSHarvard Dean focused on educational change In a CNN article on the lack of focus on education in the presidential campaign, Kathleen McCartney, Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, calls on the public to drive the issues so that the candidates respond - and one of the key ways to do that is through effective early childhood education . . . before a child ever reaches school.
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POPSNewsweek: Education system is broken As a former NYC teaching fellow (similar program to Teach for America), I agree: 1. The educational system is broken. 2. The impact of an uneducated populace cannot be underestimated. However, I strongly disagree that teachers are the single most important factor in student achievement. As a teacher in a crisis school (and now a parent), I strongly believe that PARENTS are the single most important factor in student achievement. Quality teachers ARE correlated with student achievement, because the best teachers find the highest job satisfaction in working with families that embrace the responsibility of learning. Schools with responsible, engaged parents CAN and do attract and retain good teachers. The key to solving the educational crisis is to engage and equip parents LONG before their children reach school age, since the first 5 years are the most critical years of development. For one creative way to do just that, check out tumblon.com.
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