4 ms·

Malcom Gladwell covers this in Outliers. There is something that can be done, but it has to be done starting in pre-school and continuing through second grade.

Malcom Gladwell covers this in Outliers. There is something that can be done, but it has to be done starting in pre-school and continuing through second grade. And that "something" is that you don't get a summer. You learn year round for those first few years. The reason why some kids excel and some don't is almost entirely because they don't get continuing education at home. And past 2nd grade, it's almost irreparable. We can fix it. But we have to retool primary education significantly. And "retooling education" isn't something that is ever going to happen in the current setup.

HardlyCurious 4y ago
The effects of preschool have been studied and showed no benefits after grade 3. Not sure about the year round portion of it, but it seems to me this is a narrative born from intuition and not from evidence.
- listless 4y ago
  As I understand it, it's the gaps in the summer that account for the gaps in education. That's Gladwell's assertion. When kids have gaps without learning at an early age, they fall behind quickly and it is devastating.
  - seafoam 4y ago
    That is summer gaps. Now how about lockdowns?
- standardUser 4y ago
  I've heard these studies referenced before, but studies have limitations and I wonder if there is some form of early childhood education that can lead to statistically meaningful improvements down the road, just not approaches that happen top have been studied.
s1artibartfast 4y ago
This is a bit of an aside but I wouldn't trust anything that Malcolm Gladwell says at face value. He approaches questions from a narrative perspective and Cherry picks studies or data to make a nice story. At the end of the day, he is a writer and not a scientist and that's where his priorities is lie
- coredog64 4y ago
  John Taylor Gatto (former NY teacher with multiple teacher of the year awards) had the opposite opinion to Malcolm Gladwell.

HardlyCurious 4y ago

The effects of preschool have been studied and showed no benefits after grade 3. Not sure about the year round portion of it, but it seems to me this is a narrative born from intuition and not from evidence.

listless 4y ago
As I understand it, it's the gaps in the summer that account for the gaps in education. That's Gladwell's assertion. When kids have gaps without learning at an early age, they fall behind quickly and it is devastating.
- seafoam 4y ago
  That is summer gaps. Now how about lockdowns?
standardUser 4y ago
I've heard these studies referenced before, but studies have limitations and I wonder if there is some form of early childhood education that can lead to statistically meaningful improvements down the road, just not approaches that happen top have been studied.

s1artibartfast 4y ago

This is a bit of an aside but I wouldn't trust anything that Malcolm Gladwell says at face value. He approaches questions from a narrative perspective and Cherry picks studies or data to make a nice story. At the end of the day, he is a writer and not a scientist and that's where his priorities is lie

coredog64 4y ago
John Taylor Gatto (former NY teacher with multiple teacher of the year awards) had the opposite opinion to Malcolm Gladwell.