GivenalltheheateddebatesabouthowAmerica'schildrenshouldbetaughtitmaycomeasasurprisetolearnthatstudentsspendlessthan15%oftheirtimeinschool.Whilethere'snodoubtthatschoolisim
GivenalltheheateddebatesabouthowAmerica'schildrenshouldbetaughtitmaycomeasasurprisetolearnthatstudentsspendlessthan15%oftheirtimeinschool.Whilethere'snodoubtthatschoolisimportantaseriesofrecentstudiesremindusthatparentsareevenmoreso.Astudyforexamplefindsthatparentalinvolvement—checkinghomeworkattendingschoolmeetingsandeventsdiscussingschoolactivitiesathome—hasamorepowerfulinfluenceonstudents'academicperformancethananythingabouttheschoolthestudentsattend.Anotherstudyreportsthattheeffortputforthbyparentshasabiggerimpactontheirchildren'seducationalachievementthantheeffortdevotedbyeitherteachersorthestudentsthemselves.Andathirdstudyconcludesthatschoolswouldhavetoincreasetheirspendingbymorethan$1000perpupilinordertoachievethesameresultsthataregainedwithparentalinvolvement.
Soparentsmatteralot—apointmadeclearbydecadesofresearchshowingthatamajorpartoftheacademicadvantageheldbychildrenfromwealthyfamiliescomesfromthe“concertedcultivation（协作培养）ofchildren”ascomparedtothemorelaissez-fairestyleofparentingcommoninworking-classfamilies.Butthisresearchalsorevealssomethingelse:thatparentsofallbackgroundsdon'tneedtobuyexpensiveeducationaltoysordigitaldevicesfortheirkidsinordertogivethemanedge.Theydon'tneedtochauffeurtheiroffspringtoenrichmentclassesortest-prepcourses.Whattheyneedtodowiththeirchildrenismuchsimpler:talk.
Butnotjustanytalk.Althoughwell-knownresearchbypsychologistsBettyHartandToddRisleyhasshownthatprofessionalparentstalkmoretotheirchildrenthanless-affluentparents—alotmoreresultingina30million“wordgap”bythetimechildrenreachagethree—morerecentresearchesareraisingoursenseofexactlywhatkindsoftalksathomecontributedtochildren'ssuccessatschool.ForexampleastudyconductedbyresearchersattheUCLASchoolofPublicHealthandpublishedinthejournalPediatricsfoundthattwo-wayadult-childconversationsweresixtimesaseffectiveinpromotinglanguagedevelopmentasinterludesinwhichtheadultdidallthetalking.Engaginginthisreciprocalback-and-forthgiveschildrenachancetotryoutlanguageforth
