Small Talks, No. 30

October 1, 2021

Oct 01, 2021

Dear Small Talker,

Welcome to the thirtieth 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!

Love of learning, love of reading…Credit: Kenneasha Sloley

What I’m celebrating -

Melinda French Gates calls for parental leave for all workers in order to improve women's jobs, families’ well-being, and US recovery and growth.
- On average, less than a quarter of Americans get paid family leave through their employers.
- Great to see new tech innovations in the parental leave space: Cocoon, Tilt, and others.
This past week, I visited two remarkable early childhood programs:
- The Lourie Center for Children’s Social & Emotional Wellness enrolls young children who were expelled multiple times from traditional pre-K programs. Through a therapeutic nursery model anchored in attachment theory, the program “saves” 80% of these children graduate the program “Kindergarten ready”. Truly heroic work by educator and therapeutic staff, and parents.
- Briya PCS enrolls families where both the adult caregiver and the little one commit to learn simultaneously on the same campus. Adults receive English language classes, and workforce training programs. Little ones have access to a high quality Reggio Emilia-inspired curriculum. The school is adjacent to a community clinic for healthcare. Not surprisingly, the outcomes are outstanding.
  - During COVID, Briya experimented with outdoor learning. After experiencing the benefits, Briya recently decided to make outdoor classrooms permanent. More in this brief video.

What I’m listening to -

Podcast featuring Yale professor Dr. Walter Gilliam, who surveyed 20,000 pre-K teachers across the country:
- 18% of pre-K teachers report at least 1 child in their class has a family member hospitalized for COVID-19.
- 12% of pre-K teachers had at least 1 child in their class with a family member who has died from COVID-19.
- 56% of pre-K teachers report children being more aggressive, hyper-active or oppositional than they used to be, and 55% report children more shy, withdrawn or anxious, while 38% report sleep or eating disorders.

What I’m reading -

To celebrate the 30th edition of Small Talks, please see a list of 30 books on early childhood education and development (some expanding into later age groups)- in no particular order. Which ones should be added to this list?

What I’m watching -

“Zero Weeks” is a documentary by Ky Dickens, who found herself depleted financially and emotionally due to a lack of paid leave after the birth of her first child. It weaves powerful stories, with insightful interviews with leading policymakers, economists, researchers, and activists for guaranteed paid leave for every American worker.
- Ky Dickens recently produced a new documentary “Time To Care”, where she documents families sharing their views on family leave on Tik Tok during the pandemic.

What I’m learning and exploring more deeply -

Balanced piece in the Economist on “How America should spend on child care”, with an interesting reference to a study of high quality child care in Norway. Children who received a childcare spot before the age of 2 had meaningful better academic outcomes at age 7.
Important report on the disproportionate challenges and the amazing resilience of Black parents and babies during COVID-19. It also highlights how Black families promote their babies’ racial identity.

Engaging article by Tony Wagner and Sujata Bhatt on how to rethink our education system toward “innovation-ready graduates”: focusing on creativity, divergent thinking, breaking the invisible lines between schools and community, and evolving toward mastery based learning.

A grim survey: 75 Percent of Young People Are Frightened by the Future.
Intriguing new patent by Airbnb for a “nomadic education”?

Poem I am pondering -

As we are starting the month of October, this beautiful poem by Maya Angelou feels both timely and timeless…

Feedback is a gift. Which part above is your favorite? What did I miss? What do you want more or less of? Other recommendations? Please kindly let me know. Thank to all all of you who are sending me amazing suggestions.

Small Talks