At A Loss For Words: How America Is Failing Our Children

Notes

Notes Preface 1. David Lawrence, Jr., President, The Early Childhood Initiative Foundation. Remarks at the Starting Points Leadership Meeting, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, November 3, 1999. Sponsored by the A. L. Mailman Family Foundation. 2. This term was coined by journalist Daniel Goleman. See D. Goleman (1995) Emotional Intelligence, New York: Bantam Books. 3. In 2002, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results showed that 36% of a nationally representative sample of fourth graders were scoring “below basic” in reading. A large number of these children, who are still struggling to read in the fourth grade, entered school already behind. Indeed, a national study of the kindergarten class of 1998 (ECLAS-K) found that average cognitive scores of children in the highest income group were significantly higher than those of the middle-income group children and 60% above those of children in the lowest socioeconomic group. These findings echoed those of in-depth studies of language development. See V. Lee and D. Burkam (2002) Inequality at the Starting Gate: Social Background Differences and Achievement as Children Begin School, Washington, DC: Economic Policy Institute, for an analysis of inequalities at school entry and the ways in which these are exacerbated by instructional policies and by inequities among public schools. 4. See National Research Council and Institute of Medicine (2000) From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development. Committee on Integrating the Science of Early Childhood Development. Jack P. Shonkoff and Deborah A. Phillips (eds.). Board on Children, Youth, and Families, Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, p. 139. 5. National Research Council (1998) Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children . Committee on the Prevention of Reading Difficulties in Young Children. Catherine E. Snow, M. Susan Burns, and Peg Griffin (eds.). Washington, DC: National Academy Press. 6. S. Kamerman (2000) Early childhood education and care: An overview of developments in the OECD countries, International Journal of Educational Research, 33: 7–29. Chapter One 1. Goals 2000: Educate America Act (P.L. 103–227), Enacted November 1994. “By the year 2000, all children in America shall start school ready to learn” was listed as the first of eight goals. 214 Notes to Chapter One 2. Jack and Jill are real children. The details of their lives and of their child-care experiences have been altered slightly to protect their privacy and that of their families and teachers. 3. National Research Council (1998) Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children . Committee on the Prevention of Reading Difficulties in Young Children. Catherine E. Snow, M. Susan Burns, and Peg Griffin (eds.). Washington, DC: National Academy Press. 4. B. Hart and T. Risley (1995) Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children, Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Company. 5. The class and family differences reported in the Hart and Risley research very likely have both genetic and experiential components. Temperamental characteristics such as shyness and flexibility are inherited, and most psychologists believe that genetic inheritance also contributes to differences in intelligence. However, differences in the child’s experience are likely to play a greater role than inherited characteristics. Cultures (and early childhood programs) differ in the amount and kinds of talkativeness that are considered appropriate for young children in different settings. In addition, as will be explained throughout this book, children’s early experiences with language have been shown in a wide range of studies to have a strong impact both on their language use as young children and on their later school performance. As Hart and Risley point out, children who use more and richer language are likely to elicit more and richer language from their conversation partners, creating a virtuous circle that facilitates rapid learning. 6. B. Hart and T. Risley (1999) The Social World of Children Learning to Talk, Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Company. 7. Hart and Risley, Social World of Children Learning to Talk, p. 3. 8. The family child-care center that Jack attends has been accredited by the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC). 9. For example, the Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale authored by T. Harms, R. Clifford, and D. Cryer (1998), New York: Teachers College Press. The center that Jill attends has not been accredited by the National Association for Education of Young Children (NAEYC). 10. The NICHD Study of Early Child Care, prepared by Robin Peth-Pierce. Public Information and Communications Branch, NICHD (Washington...