Monthly Archives: February 2013

NYC discovers that young children are remarkable learners

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Five years ago, my eldest daughter took a barrage of tests to qualify for the Gifted and Talented programs of the New York City public schools. Now, according to the New York Times educators have come to a remarkable realization: Young children are remarkable learners. When taught and coached, they do far better than without teaching and coaching.

Children Learn Constantly
If educational bureaucrats are hoping to find a measure of children that isn’t affected by their previous nurture, they’ll be looking for a long time. Of course some children have extraordinary innate abilities. I have met several of these children, and am in awe of what it would take to effectively challenge and engage these kids throughout their lives. However, even these children – and perhaps especially these children – are formed by their early environment. In an engaging and challenging environment (which some might call test prep), their young minds easily and eagerly learn what is far harder for us to learn later in life.

The Real Issue
The Gifted and Talented program in NYC is only partially about academic rigor. In many ways it is about social sorting. Gifted and Talented is a great proxy for early parental involvement. For even if a child has strong innate abilities, but an ambivalent or toxic home life, she isn’t likely to (1) have parents who sign her up to be evaluated (2) have the maturity and composure to complete the exams well, and (3) have the skills that other parents have intentionally cultivated in their children.

It really works this way. I was a NYC teacher. My daughter attended NYC public schools. The easiest way to see it is in who shows up. If you have two classrooms side by side, one gifted, and one general ed, the line of parents outside the door of the gifted classroom is probably twice or three times as long. They took the initiative to get them in, and they show perseverance in support.

The Real Question
If the Department of Education cracks this code, the real question is: How do you help all parents to foster a vibrant early learning environment? If you get that, then G&T testing will be a non-issue.

The Virtue Missing in Virtuous Meritocracy

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Is meritocracy a bad thing? Michael Young, the British sociologist and author of The Rise of the Meritocracy viewed it as dystopia. Picking upon this, The Economist ran a leader article titled Repairing the Rungs on the Ladder: How to Prevent Virtuous Meritocracy Entrenching Itself at the Top on diminishing social mobility in the United States.
The Economist: Social Mobility in America

Meritocracy and class
Simply stated, in a meritocracy those with superlative talent achieve advantage. And since ability is transmitted from one generation to another not merely genetically but continuously and organically in the life of the family, the privilege of the the intelligent, creative and connected compounds. Highly educated, intelligent parents are also notorious for seeking learning opportunities for their children. And so the advantages of meritocracy accrue to the children of intellectual elites.

This genetic and cultural transmission occurs at the other end of the spectrum too. If your parents were of below average intelligence, never married, and your mother completed only secondary education, it sets you exceedingly low on the merit scale because you inherit not only your parents genetics, but their culture. Consequently, it is exceedingly difficult for this group to achieve social mobility. The parental investment, social stability, and language rich environment that constitute advantage are lacking. Hence, the Economist laments the increasing social immobility of children born into these families.

Virtuous Meritocracy
What was strikingly absent from the Economist article was the centrality of virtue. The fact that advantage, wealth and power accrue to the intellectual elite magnifies the primacy of virtue. For if those elites employ their wealth, influence and intellectual powers to serve the good of the disadvantaged, then there can hardly be a better social scenario for all involved. This is wealth redistribution in the very best sense: capital put to work for those who need it most by those who can steward it well and truly seek the good of those they serve.

Meritocracy is good for human society if and only if virtue is more cherished than skill. Then it is truly virtuous meritocracy.

Strong families, Strong Communities, Strong Nation

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Last night in the State of the Union address, President Obama highlighted the critical importance of early childhood for the well-being of children, their families, communities and the nation.

“Study after study shows that the sooner a child begins learning, the better he or she does down the road.”

It isn’t when a child begins learning, but how and what he or she learns. Learning begins before birth regardless of the choices parents make. What a mother eats and drinks (and smokes) while pregnant affects a child’s learning capacities. From their first moment out of the womb, all children are immersed into a learning environment. The emotional attachment that children form (or fail to form) to their parents in the first year of life has a lifelong effect on learning. The tone and number of words that they hear in the first three years of life furnish them with the tools with which to explore the world.

In short, the President’s call to make preschool available to all children is laudable. Preschool really can be a wonderful learning environment for children. But the really great gains are made in interventions with families (not just children) even earlier in life. After all, without intervention to support parents, preschool is not prevention; it is remediation.

Tips for a full-time father of two in Manhattan

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For six years, I was a full-time father in Manhattan. I loved every minute of it – and for significant chunks of that time added a friend’s child to the mix. A friend in NYC is just about to transition from being a full-time father of one two full time father of two and asked me for logistical tips on the joy of fathering two kids in the city. Here are my tips.

Gear: Why start with stuff? Because the great thing about living in NYC is all the great places to go. And if you have two little kids, you have to pack well (and light) in order to do it.

1. Stroller. I found that I often traveled wearing one child and pushing the other. For this, I haven’t found a better solution than the MacLaren Techno. Why?

  • Weight. It’s light, but sturdy. I carried it up and down countless subway stairs.
  • Ease of use. It collapses with one hand, which is key when you’re wearing one kid, holding the hand of the other, and stepping onto the bus.
  • The rain shield. It keeps out the wind, rain, and snow, and it stows easily in the pouch on the back.
  • Telescoping handles. If your 6 foot or more, this makes a big difference.
  • Wheels. I’ve put many hundreds of miles on the wheels and they haven’t worn out!
  • Economy??? Yes, I know they’re expensive. Look for last year’s model on eBay – and pay 50% of retail for this year’s model. That’s what I did. Continue reading →