Small Talks, No. 7
April 23, 2021
Dear Small Talker,
Welcome to the seventh 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 —
Terrific piece “A Solution to The Cycle of Poverty” by Jackie Mader at The Hechinger Report . The article highlights how 2-gen models can mitigate poverty, increase family resilience, and provide pathway for better education outcomes across generations.
Groundbreaking 20-year study into childhood poverty by Oxford University across 12,000 children in 4 countries. Their top finding (out of 7) is that a child’s first 1,000 days are critical. Watch more in this brief video highlight.
Start Early annual luncheon with inspiring choirs, parents, educators, and early learning champions. Based in Chicago, Start Early is one of the most influential non-profits in early childhood.
“We need to help make all children’s potential possible. Like my aunt Robbie, all children need a mentor who knows how important these early years are to their future. [… ] Our highest calling as adults is to lift up those coming after us because they’re the ones who will be taking charge in the years ahead.”
— Michelle Obama
Two landmark annual reports:
State of Babies 2021 by Zero To Three - 16% babies are raised in ‘crowded housing’. 5% live in unsafe neighborhoods. 21% of babies experienced at least 1 adverse childhood experience. 57% parents sing to baby every day. 37% parents read to baby every day. 20% mothers report less than optimal mental health.
The State of Preschool Yearbook 2020 by the National Institute for Early Education Research and Rutgers Graduate School of Education - how can we expect quality in the early years when we spend 1/3 per child in pre-K compared to K-12 per child enrolled?
What I’m listening to —
Fantastic discussion called “Parents Aren’t All Right” with Capita, moderated by Elliot Haspel, who assembled an all-star panel with Anne Helen Petersen, Diana Limongi, Allison Pugh & Casey Stockstill. Filled with insights on state of parenting, and references to the ‘primal scream’ in the New York Times.
31min - all panelists nod when Anne Helen Peterson comments on the state of deep parenting exhaustion and potential big work reshuffle to come.
51min - Allison Pugh comments on ‘parent surveillance’ impacting children mental health as a societal development.
This podcast about the Tangelo Park Program in Florida, funded by philanthropist Harry Rosen since 1994. The program combines free early care & education (starting at 2-year old) AND scholarships for free-ride post-secondary education. The effort has driven an entire community transformation.
What I’m reading —
Beautiful book When You Wonder, You’re Learning by Gregg Behr and Ryan Rydzewski highlights modern lessons from Mister Rogers’ legacy. Packed with research on empathy, curiosity, creativity, belonging and practical tips ‘what might you do?’
“The real gift that Fred Rogers gave us was hope- hope that with the tools for learning that he worked so hard to teach us, we would find within ourselves the strength to confront hard problems. Hope that we’d each find the courage to love thy neighbor. Hope that caring adults would protect us- and that each of us would, in turn, become caring adults ourselves.”
What I’m watching —
I enjoyed watching this documentary Lily Topples The World about an inspiring passion for dominos and art. Snippet below about her 32,000 domino project (I will not admit how many times I watched this, so mesmerizing…).
What I’m learning and exploring more deeply —
Thought-provoking op-ed Maslow Got It Wrong by Teju Ravilochan, emphasizing higher level goals of community actualization and cultural perpetuity vs. individual outcomes as modality of success.
Is empathy born in mom’s first hugs? New research following the impact on newborns of time spent in physical contact with their mothers over 20 years demonstrates a measurable impact on social brain functioning and the ability to empathize and relate to others.
This great piece by Michael Horn Begin With the End: What’s The Purpose of Schooling? - a question that many are asking at this critical time. I was left wondering about three additional questions:
Should the question be about the purpose of schooling or the purpose of learning?
How do we expand our success vision from individual to collective?
How do we tie the purpose of learning to our pursuit of happiness and well-being?
Interesting article about a CEO spending time with employees’ children, as the boundaries between work and home are increasingly blurry.
Poor state of diversity on boards of start-ups by legendary investor Fred Wilson.
Quote I’m pondering —
“What is essential is invisible to the eye.”
— The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
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, your "Small Talks" are brilliant. No 'small' effort to "highlight 6 areas of weekly joys and reflections in early childhood and the whole family." But I know it's not effort, it's love. The two "Landmark Annual Reports" are very meaningful, and weekend reading. Plus, this article "Is empathy born in mom’s first hugs?" is a favorite. Oh, and the quote from Michelle Obama! Thank you for sharing all this with us!
I appreciate so much all the info you're sharing, Isabelle. Especially great to see the article about the research on mom's hugs and empathy. It reminds me of Dr. Jack Shonkoff's call for measures other than those related to "school readiness." Instead, he calls for the early childhood emphasis to be on healthy development. If only policymakers would be guided by science.