Small Talks, No. 85

November 11, 2022

Welcome to the eighty fifth 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!

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What I’m celebrating -

• Research shows that investing in poverty alleviation measures has a major positive impact on children outcomes and more than pays for itself. In this interesting study, researchers analyzed the impact of receiving an extra $1,300 for babies born at the cut-off date, and effectively a year earlier than others. Children in those families had improved test scores, a higher likelihood of graduating high school, and 1 to 2% higher earnings in adulthood. Those higher earnings generated tax revenues that more than offset the initial spend.

• Two innovative models:

  • Neighborhood Villages is a model of innovation in childcare, comprising 13 child care sites around Boston that serve a highly diverse population, designed to scale statewide to demonstrate the infrastructure needed to create a workable, high-quality early education and care system. Great feature by Early Learning Nation.

    

  • Wildflower Montessori is an ecosystem of decentralized Montessori micro-schools that support children, teachers, and parents. Wildflower aspires to give all children and families the opportunity to choose high quality, beautiful learning environments as they follow life’s unfolding journey.

• An inspiring piece about how early learning earning environments can promote independence, discovery and creativity for early learners.

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What I’m listening to -

• This podcast Sold A Story by Emily Hanford is thought provoking about the “reading wars”- and specifically the chasm between the science of reading and practices that scaled in schools.

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What I’m reading and watching-

• “Making Schools Work: Bringing the Science of Learning to Joyful Classroom Practice” by Kathy Hirsh-Pask, Roberta Golinkoff & al. is a must-read about reimagining education through shifting mindsets.

• Please watch this panel moderated by Angela Duckworth discussing the book’s takeaways here.

“What would happen if we taught in the way human brains learn?”

— Kathy Hirsh-Pasek

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What I’m learning more deeply -

• The public school enrollment is down by more than a million- with more than 1/3 (400,000 children) in Kindergarten alone, and may be here to stay, according to Stanford Professor Tom Dee.

• Fascinating experiment shows that wealth redistribution promotes happiness. The experiment began when a wealthy couple gave away $2 million. 300 participants from 7 countries (Kenya, Indonesia, Brazil, Canada, US, UK, & Australia) joined the experiment without knowing what it was about. Then, 200 of them, chosen at random, received $10,000 each. All participants' happiness was tracked for months after the money was distributed. The results suggest that by giving their money away, this wealthy couple generated 225 times more happiness than they would have gotten by keeping it.

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A quote I’m pondering -

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 of you who are sending me amazing suggestions.

If you enjoy this newsletter, please help spread the word by sharing with your friends, colleagues, and networks.

Have a wonderful week. Please stay safe and care for each other.

Isabelle