IQ less important than grit
Jonah Lehrer, writing in Wired, makes an interesting point about the oft-cited High Scope Perry Preschool project, an experiment in Michigan that found short-term gains for poor African-American children enrolled in a high quality preschool program. Skeptics often note that the gains in IQ for students who participated in the high quality Perry Preschool slipped [...]
Wait, does study mean kindergarten teachers should be paid more?
It’s well established that children who skip kindergarten typically fall behind their classmates, and much research points to the value of a high-quality pre-kindergarten experience coming first. There has been less discussion about the impact of a kindergarten teacher on the future earnings of little learners. A new study that made its way to the [...]
Hard times for U.S. children: How do we count the ways?
It’s difficult to quantify just how difficult times are for U.S. children, and the myriad ways a weakened economy and record joblessness are taking their toll on childhood. A series of recent reports paint a bleak and frightening picture that adds to the anecdotal evidence so readily available from large cities to small rural communities. [...]
Does taking away recess help or hurt?
Is withholding recess a useful tactic for getting children to perform well and behave? Rae Pica at BAM! Radio hosted a recent show on the topic after hearing from a parent of a special education student who said her son’s teacher withholds recess for such infractions as not coloring or cutting the right way. Melinda [...]
Will ‘Pre-School for All’ survive Illinois Budget Crisis?
When legislators in Illinois passed the Preschool for All initiative in 2006, the state was hailed as a national leader in free early childhood education. In the economic crisis bearing down particularly hard in this midwestern state, though, the initiative — and other gains in early education — are all in serious danger, a story [...]
Shopping for Pre-K curriculums? A guide to the best, and worst.
Johns Hopkins researchers have tried to pinpoint the best early childhood programs in a new study. The report looks a bit like a Consumer Reports rating guide for those shopping for the best prekindergarten curriculum, so instead of vacuum cleaners, you can find ratings for programs like the Curiosity Corner, a program by the Success [...]
Why Finland gets early childhood education right
It’s always fascinating to hear how other countries handle the education of their littlest learners, and even better to participate in a discussion with top educators on the subject. EarlyStories had a chance to converse on BAm! Radio with Linda Darling-Hammond, the Stanford University researcher and professor, and John R. Burbank, the executive director of [...]
Follow children’s lead to help them succeed
The American Center for Children and the Media and Teachers College hosted a fun and provocative discussion this morning between Ellen Galinsky, author of the book Mind in the Making: The Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs and Lisa Guernsey, the director of the Early Education Initiative at the New America Foundation. The book [...]
Parenting: All joy, no fun?
Jennifer Senior’s New York magazine cover article this week about how parenting makes parents miserable is mostly about the angst of middle- and upper-income parents — the helicopter-types worried that they’re not spending enough time with their children even as they complain about not having enough time to themselves. It’s interesting, even if many of [...]
Is poor quality early childhood education better than none at all?
Imagine the dilema of a working parent in Georgia, dropping a child off at a child care center on the way to work. In many cases, the parent could not hold down a job without having a place to drop the child off. But what happens during the day? A study of 3,100 licensed day [...]
