Small Talks, No.5
April 9, 2021
Dear Small Talker,
Welcome to the 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!
What I’m celebrating —
New paper documents the large long-term effects of Head Start, the national early childhood program serving 1 million children at or below poverty every year. Yes, early childhood education matters, and can level the playing field.
The Schools Superintendents Association publishes a vision for public schools in 2025 that is whole-child, equity-centered, and starts with early learning for all.
Great article by Anne Helen Petersen on child care “One weird trick to fix our broken child care system” in Vox highlights how early education in the U.S. is endlessly convoluted, and a massive expense for lower- and middle-class families. What if the solution were as straightforward as making child care a “good” job?
Terrific blog by Sara Deshpande at Maven Ventures on tech opportunities (and white spaces) to better serve families.
$100m MacArthur prize awarded to Community Solutions to get to zero homelessness in America. Proud to have served on the judging panel.
What I’m listening to —
Podcast by Tom VanderArk featuring Pavel Luksha, education futurist & director of Global Education Futures on his new report “Futures Skills for the 2020s: A New Hope”. 233-page gem on how accelerating mega-trends are pushing for new skills toward a hopeful vision of ‘universal well-being’.
Ariel Ventura’s feature in the 1in5 podcast by Ascend at the Aspen Institute is a story of student parent resilience and love. Don’t miss him bumping into Michelle Obama prior to a panel.
Event and new report “We Are Not Collateral Consequences: Children of Incarcerated Parents” from Next100 focuses on 2.7 million children of incarcerated parents- a challenging issue we don’t speak enough about. Children of incarcerated moms have risen by 100% since 1980, and only 2% will graduate from college.
What I’m reading —
In “Your Turn: How To Be An Adult”, Julie Lythcott-Haims, former Stanford dean of freshmen and undergrad advising, writes a follow-up book to her best-seller “How To Raise An Adult”.
She contends that the passage to adulthood is no longer about the five markers of: finish education, get a job, leave home, marry, and have children. It is not about a checklist, but a process in ‘fending for independence’. Filled with diverse GenZ stories.
Re-reading “The Global Achievement Gap: Why Even Our Best Schools Don't Teach the New Survival Skills Our Children Need-And What We Can Do About It” by Tony Wagner. Initially published in 2009, this book remains a landmark read, defining the ‘global achievement gap’ as the gap between what we are teaching or testing in schools vs. skills students need for careers and citizenship in the 21st century.
Wagner’s 7 “survival skills” include: critical thinking & problem solving, collaboration across networks & leading by influence, agility & adaptability, initiative & entrepreneurship, effective oral & written communication, accessing & analyzing information, and curiosity & imagination.
What I’m watching —
Dr. Bruce Perry, one of the leading child psychiatrists and national expert on child trauma at the Child Flourishing Symposium about relational health being a buffer for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), measuring relationships during the day of a child, and drop in empathy globally.
What I’m learning and exploring more deeply —
Connor Williams’ New York Times op-ed “School: It’s Not Just for Kids Anymore” features an innovative two-generation school - Briya Public Charter School in Fort Totten - where parents and young children learn on the same site.
Harvard Business Review article “What a Year of WFH Has Done to Our Relationships at Work” on how COVID has decreased the size of our networks at work. I was left thinking about how this extends to our children and family lives.
New survey shows 46% parents do not favor four-year college programs for their children. Another survey shows that 1 in 4 workers plans to look for a job once the pandemic is over (72% re-evaluating their skillset).
Two beautiful thought-provoking essays:
“The Need to Touch” by Laura Crucianelli published in Aeon.
“So What’s the Point of Playtime?” by Chris Woolston in The Atlantic.
Quote I’m pondering —
“Let’s redefine success: the single mother who raised her child with love. The minimum wage worker who struggles to create a better life. The young woman who travels a world away to research how monkeys think. The elder who writes her memoir, inspiring a generation through trauma.”
— Wayton Lewis, Elephant Journal
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