Small Talks, No. 4
April 2, 2021
Dear Small Talker,
Welcome to the fourth 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 —
I joined an inspiring half-day convening with leading policy think tank New America on ‘reimagining early care and education’. Discussions were primarily focused on policy, with meaningful discussions on quality and equity both for children and the early childhood workforce. More in this post.
The Children Defense Fund released its 2021 report, a must-read on the state of children. A few sobering stats:
Children remain the poorest age group in America: 1 in 7 or over 10 million.
80% of two-child families are paying more for child care than for rent.
America’s schools have slipped backwards into patterns of deep racial and socioeconomic segregation:
In 2017, 60% of Black children attended high-poverty schools with a high share of students of color relative to 9% of white children.
More than 77% of Hispanic and more than 79% of Black fourth and eighth grade public school students were not proficient in reading or math in 2019, compared with less than 60% of white students.
Several weeks ago, I had the chance to participate in a collaborative convening led by the Presidents' Forum, founded by forward-thinking university and community college leaders, all early adopters of online learning and focused on serving adult learners. The report compiles high-impact recommendations for integrating higher ed with a changing world of work.
Coursera’s IPO this week. Read Julia Stiglitz’ reflections as an early employee.
What I’m listening to —
Leslee Udwin, founder of ThinkEqual, and Robert Jenkins, Chief of Education at UNICEF, exchange thoughts on the importance of Socio-Emotional Learning. A beautiful listen.
TEDTalk “three ways to plan for the (very) long term” by futurist Ari Wallach, highlights the concept of “trans-generational empathy”, an inspiring vision for us to move away from “short-termism” to address complex challenges.
In this thought provoking interview with Ruben Harris, CEO/founder of CareerKarma, Marcelo Claure, CEO of Softbank (one of the largest global technology venture fund), predicts every single job in every single vertical will be reinvented within the next five years.
What I’m reading —
Harvard public policy Professor Robert Putnam published two defining books - Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community in 2001, that shed a light onto our eroding social fabric, and Our Kids: Our American Dream in Crisis in 2016 on growing inequity gaps in education.
In his new book The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again, he takes a different and more optimistic stance studying historical cycle patterns and showing that we might be swinging back from “I-We-I” curve into “We”.
What I’m watching —
The Growing Season by filmmaker Evan Briggs features Providence Mount St. Vincent home for the elderly in Seattle, where residents share their days with preschoolers. In the U.S., only 1% of assisted-care homes share space with preschools, despite the myriad benefits to older adults, kids, and parents. The adult population of age 80 and up is expected to triple by 2050, and nearly half will experience social isolation.
Operation Varsity Blues, about the college admission scandal, is a deep dive into money, privilege, and paths to college admission. The ‘front door’ is based on merit alone, the ‘backdoor’ is for donors of $10 million or more, and the ‘side door’ promises college admission through…connections, money and fraud.
What I’m learning and exploring more deeply —
This terrific blog by Ira Hillman at Einhorn Collaborative looks at recent research from Columbia University on the impact of COVID on mom-baby dyad, including an alarming drop by half in ‘emotional connection’ between mom and baby.
Learning though play: one of the best “long-term values”?
Grandparents to the rescue? A new study from Generations United shows that the number of Americans living in a multi-generational household with 3 or more generations has quadrupled over the past decade. Nearly 6 in 10 say they started because of the pandemic and 7 in 10 plan to continue doing so long-term.
HopeForCollege released findings from the largest national survey for college students conducted during the pandemic: 13% students lost a loved one, many are asking for mental health supports, 40% lost jobs, 20% are also parenting.
I loved this story: four family members, seven degrees, one university.
Quote I’m pondering —
“Do or do not, there is no try” — Yoda
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