(MUSIC) OUR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
SERIES CONTINUES THIS MORNING WITH A LOOK AT SOMETHING CALLED
THE WORD GAP.
NOW THIS IS A FASCINATING TOPIC AND A VERY
IMPORTANT ONE AS WE ALL WORK TO IMPROVE EDUCATIONAL
OPPORTUNITIES NATION WIDE FOR OUR CHILDREN.
SO LET'S WELCOME BACK DR.
ELANNA YALOW, CEO OF KINDERCARE EARLY LEARNING
PROGRAMS AT KNOWLEDGE UNIVERSITY.
GOOD MORNING.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME HERE OLGA.
I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE HERE.
GREAT TOPIC.
REALLY IMPORTANT.
DOCTOR, WHAT EXACTLY IS THE WORD GAP?
SO THE WORD GAP ACTUALLY LOOKS AT LANGUAGE EXPOSURE FOR YOUNG
CHILDREN.
CHILDREN FROM MORE AFFLUENT HOMES ARE ACTUALLY
EXPOSED TO 215 THOUSAND WORDS PER WEEK.
215 THOUSAND WORDS PER WEEK?
PER WEEK.
WOW!
YEA, AND CHILDREN FROM MORE MIDDLE CLASS HOMES GET HALF
THAT.
ABOUT 125 THOUSAND WORDS FOR WEEK, BUT UNFORTUNATELY
CHILDREN FROM OUR LOWER INCOME HOMES DON'T HAVE NEARLY THAT
MUCH LANGUAGE EXPOSURE.
THEY ONLY HERE ABOUT 65,000 WORDS PER
WEEK.
SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE CUMULATIVE EFFECT OF THAT
DIFFERENTIAL EXPOSURE, BY THE TIME A CHILD IS THREE YEARS OF
AGE, THERE'S ABOUT A 30 MILLION WORD GAP BETWEEN OUR MORE
AFFLUENT AND OUR LOWER INCOME CHILDREN.
HENCE THE WORD GAP WHICH I UNDERSTAND NOW.
AND I CAN ONLY ASSUME, WHICH I DON'T LIKE TO
DO, BUT THAT HAS TO MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE FOR THE CHILD THAT'S
NOW GROWING UP.
OLGA, YOU ARE SO RIGHT AND SADLY BY THE TIME CHILDREN ARE THREE
YEARS OF AGE WE'RE ALREADY SEEING A HUGE WORD GAP.
UM CHILDREN WHO HAVE MORE LANGUAGE
EXPOSURE FROM THE MORE AFFLUENT HOMES, THEY HAVE A VOCABULARY
ABOUT 1200 WORDS PER WEEK.
THE CHILDREN FROM OUR LOWER INCOME
HOMES ONLY HAVE A CUMULATIVE VOCABULARY OF ABOUT 400 WORDS
PER WEEK SO THINK ABOUT THAT HUGE DIFFERENCE AND WHAT THAT
CAN DO FOR CHILDREN'S EXPERIENCE LATER IN LIFE.
ESPECIALLY WHAT IT COULD DO IN TERMS OF THEM BEING SUCCESSFUL,
THEM GOING TO A GOOD COLLEGE AS OPPOSED TO MAYBE NOT GETTING IN.
SO THIS REALLY HAS BEFOME I WOULD THINK A NATIONAL PRIORITY.
WE KNOW THAT ONE OF THE BEST PREDICTORS OF CHILDREN'S READING
ABILITY IN THIRD GRADE IS THEIR LANGUAGE ABILITY AT THREE YEARS
OF AGE.
SO WHAT WE REALLY NEED TO DO IS MAKE SURE WE ARE
HELPING CHILDREN AT THOSE EARLIEST AGES SO THAT THEY CAN
DO BETTER AT THIRD GRADE AND THAT THAT'S ACTUALLY AN
IMPORTANT SKILL FOR THEM LATER ON IN LIFE.
IT'S SO IMPORTANT THAT I WAS INVITED TO A SUMMIT
AT THE WHITE HOUSE TO DISCUSS THAT VERY TOPIC.
AND WHAT HAPPENED THERE AND WHAT WAS THE FOCUS?
SO THE FOCUS, THEY BROUGHT TOGETHER NEURO SCIENTISTS,
RESEARCH SCIENTISTS, THEY HAD POLICY MAKERS, FOUNDATIONS AND
THE WHOLE GOAL WAS TO TALK ABOUT WHAT CAN WE DO AS A NATION TO
REALLY NARROW THAT WORD GAP.
AND HERE'S MY QUESTION, HOW EARLY WOULD YOU START TO IMPROVE
THAT WORD GAP?
I MEAN HOW EARLY WE TALKING, 3, 2,1?
BIRTH?
WE CAN SEE ACTUALLY THAT THE FIRST YEAR OF A CHILD'S LIFE IS
THE MOST CRITICAL PERIOD FOR THEIR ABILITY TO LEARN LANGUAGE.
IT'S SO IMPORTANT THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS ACTUALLY
RECOMMENDS PARENTS START READING TO THEIR CHILDREN RIGHT AT
BIRTH.
I DID IT.
I SANG TO MY DAUGHTERS, I READ THEM BOOKS.
WHAT MORE CAN PARENTS DO TO HELP THAT CAUSE YOU SEE A BABY AND
YOU'RE LIKE OK THEY'RE NOT GONNA REALLY UNDERSTAND BUT IN A SENSE
THEY MAYBE NOT UNDERSTAND BUT IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE.
ABSOLUTELY, THERE'S A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT PARENTS SHOULD DO.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THEY SHOULD DO IS JUST TALK TO THEIR
CHILDREN MORE.
GIVE THEM THAT LANGUAGE EXPOSURE STARTING FROM
THE TIME THEY'RE BORN.
YOU SHOULD READ TO YOUR BABY, YOU
CAN SING WITH YOUR BABY, YOU CAN TALK WITH YOUR BABY SO ALL OF
THESE THINGS ARE CONTRIBUTING TO HELPING THEM HAVE MUCH BETTER
VOCABULARIES.
AND LET'S TAKE IT OUTSIDE OF THE HOME.
I'M ASSUMING DAILY ACTIVITIES YOU CAN ALSO MAKE IT
WORK.
I'LL BE DRIVING WITH MY KIDS.
I'LL SEE A WORD ON A BILLBOARD AND I'LL BE LIKE,
VOCAB WORD.
AND THEY LAUGH.
LITTLE THINGS LIKE THAT, RIGHT?
IT'S THE LITTLE THINGS AND IT'S NOT JUST THE NUMBER OF WORDS
THAT CHILDREN HEAR, IT'S THE RICHNESS OF THE CONVERSATIONS
THAT YOU'RE HAVING WITH THEM.
SO AS YOU SAID, WHEN YOU SAID VOCAB
WORD, LET'S TALK ABOUT THAT.
SO IF YOU'RE DRIVING AND YOU PASS
BY A STORE, TALK ABOUT WHAT MAY BE GOING ON AT THAT STORE.
OR YOU SEE SOMETHING FAMILIAR.
ONE OF THE BEST THINGS PARENTS CAN
DO IS LOOK AT WHAT YOUR CHILD IS LOOKING AT AND THEN TALK WITH
THEM ABOUT THAT SO YOU REALLY HAVE THIS RICH DIALOGUE WITH
YOUNG CHILDREN.
BUT FOR SOMEONE THAT MAYBE HAS TO DROP OFF THEIR NEW BORN OR
THEIR INFANT OR EVEN THEIR THREE YEAR OLD AT A DAY CARE, WHAT
SHOULD THEY LOOK FOR IN TERMS OF A GOOD PROGRAM SO THAT THEY CAN
FEEL COMFORTABLE THAT I'M LEAVING THE BABY, BUT THEY'RE
GETTING SOMETHING IN RETURN.
I'M VERY FORTUNATE TO BE WITH KINDERCARE LEARNING CENTERS
WHERE WE HAVE OUR OWN CURRICULUM AND ONE OF THE KEY COMPONENTS TO
OUR CURRICULUM IS LITERACY DEVELOPMENT.
AND SO WE ENCOURAGE OUR TEACHERS TO ENSURE THAT
THEIR CHILDREN ARE HAVING A REALLY RICH LANGUAGE EXPERIENCE.
THEY HAVE BOOKS AT ALL OF OUR CLASSROOMS, EVEN STARTING WITH
OUR BABIES.
THEY TALK WITH THE CHILDREN WHEN THEY'RE ENGAGING
IN THOSE ROUTINE ACTIVITIES.
WHEN THEY'RE FEEDING THE BABIES, WHEN THEY'RE CHANGING THEY'RE
DIAPERS, WHEN THEY'RE READING A BOOK, THEY DON'T JUST READ THE
WORDS ON THE BOOK, THEY ACTUALLY TALK WITH THE CHILDREN WITH WHAT
THEY THINK MIGHT HAPPEN NEXT, WHAT'S GOING ON IN TH STORY AND
THEY RELATE IT TO THE CHILDREN'S LIVES.
AND AT KINDERCARE ARE THERE OTHER WAYS THAT MAYBE THEY TAKE
THAT KNOWLEDGE A STEP UP WITHOUT THE BOOK?
BOOKS ARE AN IMPORTANT PART OF ANY GOOD PROGRAM, BUT YOU ALSO
WANT TO BE ABLE TO LOOK A ROUND THE ROOM AND SEE EXAMPLES OF
VARIETY SO YOU SHOULD SEE FOR YOUNG CHILDREN, THE EARLIEST
SCRIBBLES, THE EARLY LETTER FORMATION IS SO IMPORTANT.
THERE SHOULD BE LABELING ON ALL THE
SHELVES UM SO CHILDREN CAN RELATE TO WHAT THEY'RE SEEING
AND THE LANGUAGE THAT'S USED TO DO IT.
SO YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO LOOK AROUND A CLASSROOM AND SEE
EVIDENCE OF LANGUAGE EVERYWHERE.
STORIES, DICTATION.
YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO HEAR IT AND YOU
SHOULD BE ABLE TO SEE IT.
FOR INFORMATION ON KINDERCARE WHERE DO OUR VIEWERS GO?
YOU SHOULD GO TO KINDERCARE.COM, BUT ALSO WE ARE IN 39 STATES.
WHERE AT ALL OF YOUR COMMUNITIES SO WE HOPE IF YOU DRIVE BY A
KINDERCARE THAT YOU WILL STOP BY AND COME VISIT US.
GREAT STUFF THAT YOU'RE DOING.
THANK YOU SO MUCH DOCTOR.
THANK YOU SO MUCH.
GOD BLESS YOU.
AND IF YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE, LOG ONTO OUR
WEBSITE.
IT'S THEBALANCINGACT.COM THE
BALANCINGACT.COM.
WE'RE ALSO ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER AND WE'D
LOVE TO KNOW WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BOOK TO READ TO YOUR
CHILD OR HOW YOU ENCOURAGE THEM TO LEARN MORE WORDS.
(MUSIC)