Dear Small Talker,
Welcome to the second edition of Small Talks. Every Friday, I highlight 6 areas of weekly joys and reflections in early childhood and the whole family. Small Talks leverages my experience at the intersection of education, philanthropy and impact investing. Enjoy!
What I’m celebrating —
Brookings’ survey of 25,000 parents across 10 countries affirms that most parents desire a new type of education for their child that is interactive and social in nature, and supports both their socio-emotional and academic development. It confirms the findings of a parent survey by The Trust For Learning in 2017 that had shown that parents are seeking early childhood experiences for their children to become “capable, well-rounded, and productive members of society.”
Op-ed “What investors see in a highly fragmented and under tech-ed early childhood education market” by Tony Wan at EdSurge highlights growing investments in early childhood innovation across three categories of baby tech, family tech (or “fam tech”) and parent tech.
What I’m listening to —
I attended a fascinating and sobering webinar about the early findings of a study on COVID-19 impact on mother-infant outcomes conducted by the medical team at Columbia. With the oldest enrolled babies now one year old, researchers are finding troubling negative health impacts that could outlast generations: lower breastfeeding rates (breastfeeding is connected to neurodevelopment and higher IQ), and lesser emotional connections between mother and child.
I joined Congressman Bobby Scott (Chair of the House Committee on Labor & Education), Miriam Calderon (Oregon’s Early Learning Division) and Melissa Boteach (National Women’s Law Center), for a discussion about the second edition of the book Cradle to Kindergarten: A New Plan to Combat Inequality. The proposal includes a federal child care guarantee, universal early education starting at age 3 and reforming Head Start to expand the program to more younger children and enhance the family services in areas of poverty.
I listened to the 30 minute podcast with Drayton Jackson, as part of 1in5, a podcast by Ascend at the Aspen Institute. Drayton shares his wisdom as a dad, as a student himself, as a school board leader, navigating homelessness, social services and higher education systems that were not designed for adult learners.
I watched a TEDTalk by DeLonn Crosby on his experience with preschool expulsion for his son Cal and how voice technology can be a supportive tool in early childhood.
What I’m reading —
Three books on parenting, including two recent ones, and an older one on a related theme of hyper-parenting.
In Hunt, Gather, Parent: What Ancient Cultures Can Teach Us About the Lost Art of Raising Happy, Helpful Little Humans, Michaeleen Doucleff describes her challenges raising her own child, and travels through Yucatán, the Arctic and Tanzania to learn from older cultures’ parenting styles.
She develops a framework “TEAM” - T is togetherness, or doing chores and activities together. E, is encouraging as opposed to forcing. A is autonomy or the right to self-governance to make your own decisions. M is minimal interference.
Little Platoons: A Defense of Family in a Competitive Age by Matt Feeney highlights how mounting competitive pressures in the the race for college admission have infiltrated in our children and family lives.
Read the excellent review by Ian Marcus Corbin or listen to the interview with the author on Capita.
In Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids: Why Being a Great Parent is Less Work and More Fun Than You Think published in 2012, Bryan Caplan cites studies of identical twins to argue that child’s genes matter most, and parents should relax as there is little they can do to shape how their kids turn out.
“A small army of researchers has compared adoptees to their relatives-biological and adopted. They find that when adopted children are young, they resemble both the adopted relatives they see every day and the biological relatives they’ve never met. However, as adopted children grow up, the story has a shocking twist: Resemblance to biological relatives remains, but resemblance to adopted relatives mostly fades away. Studies that compare identical to fraternal twins reach the same conclusion.”
What I’m watching —
The documentary Through The Night by Bronx-based Afro-Dominican filmmaker Loira Limbal highlights the reality of today’s families requiring 24-hour child care to work. An intimate picture of home-based care givers, as an extension of children’s families. More in this beautiful write-up by Eliott Haspel.
What I’m learning and exploring more deeply —
IWPR releases their new report Busy with Purpose. Student parents are nearly twice as likely to leave college without a degree as students without children. Meanwhile, Mary Anne De Mario’s research at Monroe College shows that access to on-campus child care increases on-time degree completion by 3.5x.
New series in SSIR launch ‘Meeting The Muti-Generational Moment’ with terrific insights on innovations for longevity.
Thought-provoking piece “The Problem Is Work” questioning our culture of work, and what is work.
Quote I’m pondering —
“Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another, as if we were one single tribe.”
-- King T’Challa, Black Panther
Feedback is a gift. Which part above is your favorite? What did I miss? What do you want more or less of? Other suggestions? Please kindly let me know.
Have a wonderful week. Please stay safe and care for each other.
Isabelle
Isabelle- this is fabulous! I particularly appreciate your focus on the positive and how you have created the different sections. This is a treasure, and I find many things that I have missed. So inspiring! Thank you. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale, Northwesten University
Hi Isabelle
and my feedback......thanks so much for sharing your journey in this format....from what excites, to what you are reading, following and discovering.....the breadth of your reading, thinking and consumption inspires me....keep it coming.....!
dave