The achievement and racial gaps begin to show by age three—before a child is even in school, Dr. Ronald Ferguson, faculty co-chair and director of the Achievement Gap Initiative at Harvard University, told parents and community members in August at Lincoln High School.
Last fall educators and community members went to Harvard University to learn more about achievement gaps and what other school districts and communities nationwide are doing to close the gaps. Ferguson’s visit was part of the continuing conversation to decrease and ultimately close those gaps in Tacoma.
“Anybody can count the seeds in an apple, but only God can count the apples in a seed,” said Ferguson. “The apples in a seed are its latent potential. We must cultivate the seeds to release their full potential. Likewise, we must cultivate our youth to release their full potential.”
Ferguson told the parents that people need to develop a sense of national urgency and individual urgency to close the achievement gaps. “It’s like trying to hit a moving target—we need to get better faster,” he said. “Schools with high poverty and high minorities are in big trouble. But, research shows that the gaps are the largest among children of the college-educated parents.”
Nationally, there are large disparities between states as far as federal aid for education, and poor states tend to have less federal aid. Ferguson added that today 15 percent of the nation’s high schools produce half our dropouts, and children of color are heavily concentrated in these schools.
He said research shows that parenting practices and home lifestyles are major influences in a child’s success in school. Mother-child interactions during infancy help predict test scores in the elementary years and help explain achievement gaps. Parenting practices of warmth and demandingness (clear, firm rules) during early school years also help predict test scores during early adolescence and further help explain achievement gaps. In addition, home lifestyles play a part in academic achievement gaps.
Black and Hispanic children in elementary school report less leisure reading at home, fewer books at home, more television watching and more televisions in bedrooms, compared to white and Asian students, according to research studies. These children also tend to get sleepier at school.
Ferguson shared a list of 18 research-based practices all parents could use to help their children achieve more. These include:
- Promote leisure reading at home and have a variety of materials, especially materials related to your child’s special interests.
- Try constantly to reinforce the idea that learning can fun and stimulating.
- Know your child’s close friends and try to know their parents.
- When it seems necessary, be a role model and caring adult for your child’s friends.
- Express warmth regularly. This means, for example:
- Spend time together;
- Listen carefully and sensitively to what your child has to say;
- Hug your child and tell them that you love them;
- Tell them you are proud when they try to do their best;
- Allow the child to help set rules, when appropriat
- Balance warmth and demandingness This means having clear and firm rules about:
- Television watch (not too much)
- Doing homework (and seeking help when needed)
- Friends (children who respect your values)
- Chores and responsibilities
- Treating of siblings
- Respect for adults
- Bedtime on school nights (early enough to avoid being sleepy in school
- Build up your child’s sense of being a valued person. Avoid using negative nicknames like “knucklehead,” “dummy” or “good-for-nothing.”
- Encourage your child to think about his/her future to set goals, both for the near-term and longer-term.
- Try to limit television watching by substituting other constructive and interesting activities.
- Actively seek out-of-school time opportunities for:
- Tutoring and reinforcing school lessons
- Extra-curricular opportunities with freedom to explore and be creative or develop special talents
- Try to end every reprimand with a positive statement that lets your child know you have separated your disappointment about their behavior from your pride about what a good person they really are.
While parents are critical to the efforts being made nationwide to close achievement gaps, it takes everyone—schools, students and community—working together to make it happen and make alls students successful.