Small Talks, No. 3

March 26, 2021

Mar 26, 2021

Dear Small Talker,

Welcome to the third 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 —

This NY Times page, held by Jennifer Garner about the American Rescue Plan, says it all. Thank you to all the advocates.

Research on early mental health conducted by Dr. Walter Gilliam at Yale University found that the Early Childhood Consultation Partnership program significantly decreased the levels of problem behaviors children were exhibiting. Great take on the opportunity/hurdles to scale by the Bipartisan Policy Center.
New Profit announces 15 bold winning ideas for a vision of an equitable future of work. Bravo, Dr. Angela Jackson.

What I’m listening to —

I enjoyed this short video InBrief: Early Childhood Mental Health by the Harvard Center of The Developing Child outlining the importance of genetics and environment in mental health of young children.
Angelina Kerry shares her story as a divorced mom of two going back to college and finding support in the Jeremiah Program, in “1in5” the podcast on the 1 in 5 college students who are also parenting by Ascend at the Aspen Institute.
It was refreshing to listen to Michael Horn and Jeff Selingo’s FutureU podcast with two former Secretaries of Education, Margaret Spelling and John B. King Jr. They offered bipartisan views for a higher education completion agenda, greater focus on labor outcomes, and increase in Pell grants. John King noted that Pell grants decreased from 80% of cost of a 4-year college in the 1980’s to 28% today.

What I’m reading —

Three great books on the challenges of modern parenting:

Squeezed – Why Our Families Can’t Afford America by Alissa Quart. In this book, the author examines the lives of many middle-class Americans who can now barely afford to raise children. I particularly enjoyed the two chapters: ‘hyper-educated and poor’ and ‘extreme child care’ (24 hour child care settings).
Overwhelmed: Work, Love, And Play When No One Has The Time by Brigid Schulte. This book dives into time pressure and modern life of parents - a focus on ‘time poverty’.
Can't Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation by Anne Helen is a sobering look at all areas of Millennial lives: work, education, internet and tech culture, relationships, parenthood—specifically motherhood—and leisure time.
“Millennials live with the reality that we’re going to work forever, die before we pay off our student loans, potentially bankrupt our children with our care, or get wiped out in a global apocalypse.” — Anne Helen

What I’m watching —

Human Flow, a documentary by one of our greatest contemporary artists, Ai Wei Wei, about 40 refugee camps across 23 countries. 52% refugees are children under 18. 16% are children under 5 or more than 10 million children.

What I’m learning and exploring more deeply —

At the beginning of the 19th century, only 6% of young children had their 4 grandparents alive, and this number now exceeds 40%. Generations United, summarized research findings on all the benefits of linking generations together in “Intergenerational Programs Benefit Everyone”.
Digital media usage quantity has exploded under COVID. What about quality? Research from Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and Roberta Golinkoff looked at the top 100 apps, and concluded too few apps met the bar for our littlest learners. Exceptions include ⁦⁦Math Talk, Bedtime Math, Khan Academy Kids, and Project Ranjeet.

This New York Times op-ed What Makes Some People More Resilient Than Others by Eilene Zimmerman offers clues about how to cope with adversity: the earliest days of our lives and our closest relationships.
“We Ignore The Pain of Black Children” by Rebekah Fenton highlights the physical and emotional pain that we are ignoring from our Black children. As an example, in a study of appendicitis, Black children were less likely to receive the appropriate pain medication despite reporting the same pain scores as White children.

Poem I’m pondering —

In remembrance of Adam Zagajewski, a great poet, who passed this week.

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.

Small Talks