It’s not hard to see the achievement gap in education. Students from lower-income backgrounds on average score lower on their SATs and are less likely to graduate from college than their higher-income peers. But this gap doesn’t just appear when kids reach adolescence. It stretches back to the early years of a child’s life, according to author Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, co-director of the Temple University Infant and Child Lab in Philadelphia. She says by the time children turn three years old, you can already observe a “dramatic” gap between those from lower-income and middle-income families. We talk with her about how this sets the foundation for future learning, and the best ways parents - and the government - can help kids progress.
Three Takeaways:
- Back in 2003, researchers from the University of Kansas found that kids from lower-income families hear about 10 million words by the time they’re 3 years old, whereas those from families with higher incomes hear closer to 40 million.
- Hirsh-Pasek points to the “conversational duet” as a good way to interact with children. Instead of talking at them, a duet means talking with kids. She says this provides a better boost to their language skills than merely throwing language at them.
- Some creative techniques have worked to encourage such conversation. In one study, Hirsh-Pasek found that hanging signs in supermarkets — like “I’m a cow, I have milk. What comes from milk?” — encouraged more dialogue between kids and parents.
More Reading:
- Last fall, Hirsh-Pasek co-authored a study called “Learning on hold: Cell phones sidetrack parent-child interactions.” She found that kids have a harder time learning from parents who are distracted by devices.
- How can Silicon Valley address the education gap? Google is adding WiFi to school buses in rural areas, allowing kids to learn over long morning and afternoon routes.
- Children in France will be heading to the classroom even earlier. On March 27th, French President Emmanuel Macron announced children must attend school once they are three years old, down from the current age of six.
- If you’d like proof of Hirsh-Pasek’s parenting success… her child won an Oscar for writing the lyrics to La La Land.
