Pie Fight

The Nurture Assumption

I reckon that Harris is making a valuable point re the powerful influence of group socialisation, but is overstating her case against parental influence. If I've got time, I'll see what others say. Here's one short rebuttal: a critique from Jerome Kagan. And here's a much longer one from Mary Eberstadt, who has both kudos and criticisms for Harris. On the latter, she agrees with me that, when it comes to scientific standards, Harris is quite lenient on research that supports her position (eg ev psych) but much stricter on research that goes against it. This causes the whole argument to teeter a bit too close to polemic or advocacy for my taste.

On the whole, my biggest problem with her argument is that she seems to be saying that if parents don't have a lot of effect on a kid's personality - and maybe they don't - then they don't have a lot of effect on the kid and his/her life. A personality is not a life. Her second daughter may have been rebellious and non-academic, but that doesn't mean that having two loving parents didn't shape her life and improve her chances. Throughout the book, Harris conflates effect on personality with effect on one's life; this is a very big step too far, it seems to me.

Who's afraid of the big bad yoof?

Brits are - more so than in the rest of Europe, according to a new IPPR study, Freedom’s Orphans: Raising Youth in a Changing World. We'remore likely to think ill of them, and less likely to intervene when we see them committing crimes.

Why don't kids walk to school anymore?

The smarties at CT have a look. And here's a general discussion of how kids should be raised. And here's something on what makes a good childhood.

Plus comments on what seems to be a poorly worded open letter about childhood written by some famous-ish people while I was away. From which I also like the looks of the following posts:

Of course, we’ve been around this track before, arguing about why kids don’t walk to school anymore, about how to raise kids in ways counter to the dominant meritocratic culture, about the value of work in the home in comparison to “productive” work outside it, and about the value of being a slacker. But still, those were some fine and important arguments; it wouldn’t be a bad thing to run through them all again.

Talking tough on children and crime

Good article by Toynbee on Blair's perverse need to couch early intervention for families at high risk of being troubled, in the billigerent rhetoric of the ASBO, and being tough on crime. As she notes, the interventions are both good and compassionate. Why is Blair unwilling to present them as such?

Yet another reason why my lovely girlfriend doesn't have to worry about me trying to get her to move to the US

According to commenters on this Tapped post, some schools in the US ban children from riding their bikes in. And one commenter says that othe parents have complained to the school that he is endangering his children - by letting them walk to school! Join the carpool, you madman!

UN report on domestic violence

Behind Closed Doors: The Impact of Domestic Violence on Children. Who'd have thought that the Netherlands had so much domestic violence?

Countries with the worst problem included Turkey, where up to 24.8% of children are thought to witness violence in the home, Mexico (21.5%), the Netherlands (12.3%) and Italy (11.2%). Low rates were recorded in Greece (2.2%), Sweden (2.4%), Spain (2.6%) and Iceland (3.3%).

The study suggests that

up to 7.2% of children in Britain may be affected by domestic violence, compared with 2% in Denmark, 6% in France and 14.3% in Portugal.

Do boys need fathers?

I've got my doubts. So does Peggy Drexler, who says that the average American father only spends 11 minutes per day with his children.

Boozy, Wealthy, and other dwarves

Out, damn stereotype. According to new research, it's not working class kids who are most likely to drink, it's middle class ones.

How to reduce child poverty

Via the Guardian, new JRF research on reducing child poverty. The second article is by the author, and it's pretty good.

Here's the JRF child poverty publications page. Some tidy looking stuff, including a June report on reducing child poverty by expanding childcare.

And here's one on the role of welfare to work programmes in fighting child poverty.

Toynbee weighs in.

Fabulous resource

A Tapped special entitled Starting young: the case for investment in America's kids. Too good to put beneath the fold.

INTRODUCTION
Keeping Faith With Our Children: Why early-childhood education is the best investment we can make.
Senator Edward M. Kennedy

Additional Reading:

• The Status of Early Care and Education in the States (PDF), Institute for Women's Policy Research , 10/21/04
• From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development, Institute of Medicine (IOM), The National Academies Press, 2000
• Exceptional Returns: Economic, Fiscal, and Social Benefits of Investment in Early Childhood Development (PDF), Robert G. Lynch, Economic Policy Institute , October 2004
• Eager to Learn: Educating Our Preschoolers, Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, 2000
• The Best Investment We Can Make, Ayelish McGarvey, The American Prospect , 2/1/04
• Benefits, Costs, and Explanation of the High/Scope Perry Preschool Program (PDF), Lawrence J. Schweinhart, High/Scope Educational Research Foundation, 2003
• Proven and Promising Programs: Carolina Abecedarian Project, Promising Practices Network on Children, Families and Communities, 8/03
• The Cost of Universal Access to Quality Preschool in Illinois: A Report to Governor George H. Ryan’s Task Force on Universal Access to Preschool (PDF), Stacie Carolyn Golin, Anne W. Mitchell, and Margery Wallen, Institute for Women's Policy Research , 2003
• U.S. Child Care Policy, zFacts.com

Reference:

• National Scientific Council on the Developing Child
• National Head Start Association
• Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA)
• The ABCs of Public Financing for Early Care & Education: A Research and Advocacy Resource Book (PDF), Institute for Women's Policy Research , 2001

Past, Present, and Future: What we can learn from the history of preschool education.
Barbara Beatty

Additional Reading:

• A Brief History of Federal Financing for Child Care in the United States (PDF), Abby J. Cohen, The Future of Children, 1996
• Prekindergarten Initiatives: Efforts to Help Children Enter School Ready to Succeed (PDF), Children's Defense Fund , 2003
• The State of Preschool: 2003 State Preschool Yearbook (PDF), W. Steven Barnett, Ph.D., Kenneth B. Robin, Psy.M., Jason T. Hustedt, Ph.D., and Karen L. Schulman, M.P.P., National Institute for Early Education Research
• Prekindergarten: Four Selected States Expanded Access by Relying on Schools and Existing Providers of Early Education and Care to Provide Services (PDF), Government Accountability Office, September 2004
• Preschool Education in America: The Culture of Young Children from the Colonial Era to the Present, Barbara Beatty, 1997
• The Universal vs. Targeted Debate: Should the United States Have Preschool for All? (PDF), Steven Barnett, Kirsty Brown, and Rima Shore, National Institute for Early Education Research, April 2004
• Achieving Full-Day Kindergarten in New Mexico: A Case Study (PDF), Anthony Raden, Foundation for Child Development , October 2002

Reference:

• National Pre-Kindergarten Center
• State and Locally Funded Universal Prekindergarten Initiatives, National Child Care Information Center, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• Foundation for Child Development
• Early Education for All Campaign

You're Doing Fine, Oklahoma!: The universal pre-K movement takes off in unlikely places.
David L. Kirp

Additional Reading:

• The Effects of Universal Pre-K in Oklahoma: Research Highlights and Policy Implications (PDF), William T. Gormley, Jr. and Deborah Phillips, Center for Research on Children in the United States (CROCUS), Georgetown Public Policy Institute, October 2003
• Early Childhood Education in Oklahoma: Pre-Kindergarten Fact Sheet, Oklahoma Department of Education, 2004
• Universal Prekindergarten in Georgia: A Case Study of Georgia's Lottery-Funded Pre-K program (PDF), Anthony Raden, Ph.D., Foundation for Child Development , August 1999
• Georgia Voluntary Prekindergarten Program, Child Care Partnership Project, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• Florida Gov. Jeb Bush veto message on substandard universal prekindergarten bill, July 2004
• Advocates Launch Campaign for Pre-K Standards: Group Rallies to Demand Better State Law, Jennifer Booth Reed, The News-Press, 9/27/04
• Florida Universal Pre-K Conference I, 2002
• Prekindergarten: Four Selected States Expanded Access by Relying on Schools and Existing Providers of Early Education and Care to Provide Services (PDF), Government Accountability Office, September 2004

Reference:

• Florida Constitutional Amendment for Voluntary Universal Pre-Kindergarten Education, 2002
• Florida's Voluntary Universal Prekindergarten Program

Leave No Parent Behind: The most effective child-development programs work with kids and their parents.
Dick Mendel

Additional Reading:

• The Early Catastrophe: The 30 Million Word Gap by Age 3 (PDF), study of Turner House Preschool in Kansas City, excerpt of Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Youngh American Children, Betty Hart, Ph.D.and Todd R. Risley, Ph.D., 2003
• Moral Parent, Moral Child: Family Structure Matters Less to a Child's Development than the Quality of the Parenting, Richard Weissbourd, The American Prospect , 7/15/02
• Chicago's Child-Parent Centers, Proving the Value of Early Childhood Education in the Real World, Rochelle Stanfield, Annie E. Casey's AdvoCasey
• Benefits, Costs, and Explanation of the High/Scope Perry Preschool Program (PDF), Lawrence J. Schweinhart, High/Scope Educational Research Foundation, 2003
• Parent-Child Home Program Shows Strong Results - Again! study of South Carolina program, A.L. Mailman Family Foundation, 2002
• Proven and Promising Programs: Carolina Abecedarian Project, Promising Practices Network on Children, Families and Communities, 8/03
• The Transition to Kindergarten: A Review of Current Research and Promising Practices to Involve Families, Marielle Bohan-Baker and Priscilla M. D. Little, Harvard Family Research Project, April 2002
• Early Childhood Development and Learning: New Knowledge for Policy, Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, The National Acedemies Press, 2001
• The Incredible Years Training Series (PDF), Carolyn Webster-Stratton, Juvenile Justice Bulletin, 2000
• Long-Term Effects of Early Childhood Programs on Social Outcomes and Delinquency, Hirokazu Yoshikawa, The Future of Children, 1995

Reference:

• Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children (PDF), Betty Hart, Ph.D.and Todd R. Risley, Ph.D., 2003
• Biography of Marian Wright Edelman, About.com Women's History
• Phyllis Levenstein's Parent-Child Home Program
• The Carolina Abecedarian Project Home Instructional Program for Preschool Youth Parents as Teachers
• Early Head Start National Resource Center, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Head Start Under Assault: The administration's misguided plan could dismantle a cherished program.
Helen Blank

Additional Reading:

• Head Start: Helping Children Learn and Supporting Families (PDF), Children's Defense Fund , 2003
• Head Start Comprehensive Services: A Key Support for Early Learning for Poor Children (PDF), Kate Irish, Rachel Schumacher, and Joan Lombardi, Center for Law and Social Policy , January 2004
• Research Shows That Head Start Works (PDF), Children's Defense Fund , September 2003
• Head Hunter: The Bush administration wants to slash Head Start -- and keep you from hearing about it, Miriam Markowitz, The American Prospect , 7/10/03
• Parsing the Achievement Gap: Baselines for Tracking Progress (PDF), Paul E. Barton, Educational Testing Service, October 2003
• The Long and Winding Road: Head Start Reauthorization So Far (PDF), Rachel Schumacher, Center for Law and Social Policy , 1/15/04
• Fact Sheet on Head Start Teachers, National Institute for Early Education Research, July 2003
• Head Start Works, But Needs More Funding and Better Teachers, National Institute for Early Education Research, 9/13/02
• Head Start Key Among Array of Early Childhood Programs, but National Research on Effectiveness Not Completed (PDF), Marnie S. Shaul, Testimony Before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, U.S. General Accountability Office, 7/22/03
• Child Care and Early Education Coordination in the States: A Statutory Overview (PDF), Scott Groginsky, Program Manager, National Conference of State Legislatures, April 2002
• The Head Start School Readiness and Coordination Act (PDF), The National Community Action Foundation, 7/26/03
• Comments Regarding Head Start Program Information Report (PDF), Center for Law and Social Policy , 9/24/04

Reference:

• Head Start Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• National Head Start Association
• Head Start Goals and Values, Illinois Head Start Association

Too Young to Test: Why we need a better means of evaluating young children.
Richard Rothstein

Additional Reading:

• Using Child Assessments in Head Start (PDF), Children's Defense Fund , January 2003
• Testing Our Patience: Standardized Tests Have Yheir Uses. But Current Federal Law Uses Testing to Destroy Learning, Richard Rothstein, The American Prospect , 2/1/04
• Child Assessment at the Preprimary Level: Expert Opinion and State Trends (PDF), Carol Horton and Barbara Bowman, Erikson Institute, 2002
• Evaluating Head Start: A Recommended Framework for Studying the Impact of the Head Start Program, Advisory Committee on Head Start Research and Evaluation, October 1999
• Teaching the Test?, Ulrich Boser, Education Week, 6/7/00
• Do Preschoolers Need Academic Content?, Grover J. Whitehurst, Education Next, 2001

Reference:

• Head Start Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• National Head Start Association
• Head Start Goals and Values, Illinois Head Start Association

Starting Right: Proven strategies could form the basis for comprehensive early-education reform.
Joan Lombardi

Additional Reading:

• Why Americans Need Family Leave Benefits (PDF), National Partnership for Women and Families
• State Paid Leave Initiatives in the 2004 and Prior State Legislatures: Making Family Leave More Affordable (PDF), National Partnership for Women and Families
• Time to Care: Redesigning Child Care to Promote Education, Support Families and Build Communities, Joan Lombardi, 2002
• State At-Home Infant Care Initiatives, National Child Care Information Center, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• The High Cost of Child Care Puts Quality Care Out of Reach for Many Families (PDF), Children's Defense Fund , December 2000
• Expanding the Family and Medical Leave Act, Labor Project for Working Families
• Murray Marks a Decade of FMLA, Urges Expansion of Act, Senator Patty Murray press release, 2/5/03
• State-by-State Guide to Unpaid, Job-Protected Family and Medical Leave Laws (PDF), National Partnership for Women and Families, 3/27/03
• National Infant & Toddler Childcare Initiative State Information, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Reference:

• AFSCME Guide to the Family and Medical Leave Act
• California Paid Family Leave
• Child Care and Development Fund Final Regulation, Child Care Bureau, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• Early Head Start National Resource Center, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Shaping the Brains of Tomorrow: What developmental science teaches about the importance of investing early in children.
Ross A. Thompson

Additional Reading:

• From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development, Institute of Medicine (IOM), The National Academies Press, 2000
• Young Children Develop in an Environment of Relationships (PDF), National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, 2004
• Early Childhood Programs and Evaluation: A Conversation With Art Rolnick, Harvard Family Research Project, Summer 2004
• The Developing Person Through Childhood, Kathleen Stassen Berger, 2003
• Supporting Cognitive Development in Early Childhood, Susan Landry, A Summit on Early Childhood Cognitive Development, 4/30/02
• The Learning Environment, Robert J. Doman Jr., Journal of the National Academy for Child Development, 1986
• Sensory Deprivation, Robert J. Doman, M.D., Journal of the National Academy for Child Development, 1984

Reference:

• Cognitive Ability Project, Heckman's Computation Center, University of Chicago
• Cognitive Development, the Jean Piaget Society Journal

Raising the Bar: We need to reward better-trained child-care and preschool teachers.
Joan Fitzgerald and Daphne Hunt

Additional Reading:

• Caring for Children as a Career, Joan Fitzgerald, The American Prospect , 7/15/02
• Training Requirements in Child Care Licensing that Promote a Career Development Approach, Sheri L. Azer, The Center for Career Development in Early Care and Education at Wheelock College, 1997
• Moving Beyond the Market: A Proposal for Education Linked State Subsidies for Child Care Workers' Wages, Economic Opportunity Institute, 6/3/94
• Decent Child Care at Decent Wages, Barbara R. Bergmann, The American Prospect , 1/1/01
• The Price of School Readiness: A Tool for Estimating the Cost of Universal Preschool in the States (PDF), Stacie Carolyn Golin, Ph.D. and Anne W. Mitchell, Institute for Women's Policy Research , 2004
• The Rich-Poor Gap in Decent Preschools, Robert Kuttner, The American Prospect , 11/20/02
• Daycare State Licensing Standards, Daycare.com
• About Abbott v. Burke, Education Law Center
• New Jersey Department of Education Office of Early Childhood Education End of the Year Report: 2003 - 2004
• Espresso Tax Rejected by Voters, CNN, 9/17/03
• In-Depth Issues: Families and Education Levy, Seattle.gov

Reference:

• Council for Professional Recognition
• National Association for the Education of Young People
• INCENTIVE$, Smart Start Georgia
• Strategies for Children
• Economic Opportunity Institute

The European Model: How other nations support families that work.
Marcia K. Meyers and Janet C. Gornick

Additional Reading:

• Families That Work: Policies for Reconciling Parenthood and Employment, Marcia K. Meyers and Janet C. Gornick, Russell Sage Foundation, 2003
• Family-Friendly Europe, Karen Christopher, The American Prospect , 4/8/02
• Child Care Policies in Diverse European Welfare States (PDF), Anne Daguerre, Royal Holloway and Giuliano Bonoli, Conference of Europeanists, March 2004
• Current Trends in European Early Child Care and Education (PDF), Wolfgang Tietze and Debby Cryer, The Annals, May 1999
• Caring for Our Young: Child Care in Europe and the United States (subscription or fee), Dan Clawson and Naomi Gerstel, Contexts, 12/1/02
• European Preschools Should Embarrass USA, USA Today, John Merrow, 07/17/02
• The Impact of Family-Friendly Policies in Denmark and Sweden on Mothers’ Career Interruptions Due to Childbirth (PDF download), Elina Pylkkänen and Nina Smith, Institute for the Study, March 2004
• Sharing Responsibility? Short- and Long-Term Effects of Sweden's "Daddy Month" Reform (PDF), John Ekberg, Rickard Eriksson, and Guido Friebel, Swedish Institute for Social Research (SOFI), 4/28/04
• Europe's Alternative Work-Time, Anders Hayden, Common Ground, October 2004
• World Child Care Report Card: US Fails to Meet Family Needs, zFacts.com
• The state as ‘enabler’ of enhanced work-family reconciliation in Germany and the UK (PDF), Lisa Warth, CCSW/ESPAnet Conference - European Welfare States: Legitimacy and Institutional Change, October 2004

Reference:

• Employment Rights and Work Organisation, European Union

CONCLUSION
Where Do We Go From Here?: Building a movement on behalf of young children.
Valora Washington

Additional Reading:

• Saved by the Bell: Is Al Gore's Universal Preschool Plan an Idea Whose Time Has Come?, Lindsay Sobel, The American Prospect , 11/1/00

Reference:

• The Schott Foundation
• QUILT - Quality in Linking Together Early Education Partnerships, National Child Care Information Center, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• CollaboratingPartners.com
• Funding for Early Childhood Care and Education, The White House