According to NYU University Professor Lawrence Aber, poverty and violence are the two most toxic challenges for child development – areas he has researched from the U.S. to Africa and the Middle East. Regardless of location, children can experience poverty and violence in difference ways and levels. Aber explains the research, tools and tactics required to give children the best opportunities for successful development. Filmed for Early Learning Nation’s Mobile Studio at the Society for Research in Child Development’s biennial meeting in Baltimore, MD, on March 22, 2019. #SRCD19
“This is a moment for difficult conversations,” says Dr. Robert Blaine, who recently became senior executive of the Institute for...
What’s the business case for increased business investment in local early education programs? Bill Canary, Alabama businessman and chairman of Canary & Co., who has spent years at the intersection of business, public policy and education – including early education – explains.
Why Don’t We Just Do That?
Over Cocktails, Restaurateurs Hatch a Plan for Literacy
Three years ago, Amanda and John Horne, owners of Anna Maria Oyster Bar in Bradenton, Florida, heard that 51 percent of children in their local Manatee County school system couldn’t read at grade level by third grade. They were appalled.
“This was horrific,” Amanda says. “We had no idea that this was an issue.”
Over cocktails one night, Amanda and John wondered what they could do. Their clientele is largely composed of older “grandparent-type” people. They have four restaurants and a mailing list of more than 24,000 customers. What if they could pair children up with a grandparent figure or somebody who cares about them, read with them and maybe instill them with a love of reading?
Turning NYC into an Early Learning Metropolis
Robin Hood’s Kelvin Chan on FUEL’s Investments in the Youngest New Yorkers
Shortly after Kelvin Chan, PhD, managing director of Early Childhood at Robin Hood, gave a SXSW presentation on Fund for...
The increased public understanding that childhood adversity, including adverse childhood experiences, can cause trauma and toxic stress—and, in turn, have a lasting impact on children’s physical and mental health—presents an important opportunity to turn this awareness into action.
Ken Burns: Committing to Complexity
Nothing against TikTok, but the documentarian still believes in sustained attention
If you add it all up, Ken Burns and PBS have broadcast over 200 hours of documentary films. It might...
From “helicoptering” to “snowplowing,” parents are often tempted to simply remove obstacles from children’s way, preventing them from learning how to deal with challenges themselves. Instead, as Ellen Galinsky, Bezos Family Foundation Chief Science Officer and Founder/Executive Director of Mind in the Making, explains, the better approach is to build “Autonomy Support” – helping children gain the independence skills they’ll need to become successful adults. Filmed for Early Learning Nation’s Mobile Studio at the Society for Research in Child Development’s biennial meeting in Baltimore, MD, on March 22, 2019. #SRCD19
Praise is a funny thing. Words of acknowledgment can be the water and sunshine that help children grow into sturdy,...
For many children in India, getting to early education centers is impossible while their parents work long hours at often temporary jobs. So what if early education centers traveled to kids instead? Executive Director Sumitra Mishra describes how Mobile Creches has been doing just that for 50 years.
The Consequences of Forced Separation
When Traumatized Children Return to Traumatized Parents
Science tells us that an outpouring of stress hormones shapes the way the brain develops. Trauma affects behavior, brain development, even the immune system. It’s devastating for all, but for newborns and youngest children, the impact can be profound.
“Clarissa’s Battle” and the Campaign for Child Care Subsidies
Talking to the director and the title subject of an important new documentary
“Clarissa’s Battle” tells the story of a 10-year campaign for a tax increase to subsidize child care in Alameda County,...