[net-gold] Ed Policies Ignore Science on How/When Children Learn

From: "David P. Dillard" <jwne@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: Net-Gold <Net-Gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Temple University Net-Gold Archive <net-gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Temple Gold Discussion Group <TEMPLE-GOLD@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Net-Gold <net-gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Sean Grigsby <myarchives1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Educator Gold <Educator-Gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Educator Gold <Educator-Gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, K12AdminLIFE <K12AdminLIFE@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Net-Platinum <net-platinum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, NetGold <netgold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, "Net-Gold @ Nabble" <ml-node+3172864-337556105@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, K-12ADMINLIFE <K12ADMIN@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, net-gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, MediaMentor <mediamentor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Digital Divide Diversity MLS <mls-digitaldivide@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 3 Aug 2010 17:54:14 -0400 (EDT)




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Ed Policies Ignore Science
on How/When Children Learn




From ABC to PHD


"It is a miracle that curiosity
survives formal education." --
Einstein Learn everything you need
to stay sane during the school years
with veteran education writer
Valerie Strauss and her guests.


Ed policies ignore science on how/when kids learn



<http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/
guest-bloggers/how-ed-policies-ignore-s>



My guest is Lisa Guernsey, director
of the Early Education Initiative
at the New America Foundation.


By Lisa Guernsey



Our education system starts at age 5,
pays little attention to children's
development and achievement until
third grade, and is strewn with
remedial programs to get older
children back on track.


Meanwhile, studies keep pouring
forth that highlight the importance of
children's earliest years birth to age
8 in developing the mental capacity
that enables life-long learning.


In short, our education policies
don't align with the latest science on
how and when children learn. American
public education is out of whack.


Two new books drive home this point:
Mind in the Making: The Seven
Essential Life Skills All Children
Need and Britain's War on Poverty.


A third piece of reading -- a landmark
study in the journal Child
Development published this spring
also makes the argument for getting
smarter about policies that affect
young children and their later
achievements in school.


Now, I don't mean to get too heavy.
I know summer is for beach reading
about the girl with the dragon tattoo,
not education and child policy.


So let me summarize as quickly as I can:


Mind in the Making is, in essence,
a parenting book. But author Ellen
Galinsky, the president and co-founder
of the nonprofit Families and
Work Institute in New York City,
doesn't talk about diapers and baby
food.


She bases her arguments on dozens
of experiments on how and when
children form ideas about the way
the world works and what they need to
learn. The science makes clear that
children need adults in their lives
who recognize that abilities are not
preordained by genetics. When parents
and caregivers engage in one-on-one
conversations with toddlers,
for example, they help children
develop the language skills
needed to succeed at reading,
writing and communicating in their
later years.


Britain's War on Poverty, by Jane
Waldfogel of Columbia University, is
a book for policy wonks. It tells
the story of a country getting it
right.


In 1999, the United Kingdom pledged
to halve the poverty rate among the
nation's children. At the time, 26
percent of children lived in poverty
a number that was higher than any
other European country and
mortified many Brits. Ten years
later, the rate is 12 percent, while
the rate in the U.S. is on track to
hit 22 percent, according to recent
data from the nonprofit Foundation
for Child Development.



<snip>




The complete article may be read at the URL above.




Bonnie Bracey Sutton
Outreach GLEF.org
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CyberEd Resources : ICT's and Education (owner)
Games and Education (owner)
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http://edreform.net/
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applications.edreform.net
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Learning Network is a catalog of technology
applications for learning.
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[net-gold] Ed Policies Ignore Science on How/When Children Learn

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