Can science help poor kids earn more?

The Economist

16 Dec 202109:25

Summary

TLDRThe script discusses the race to bridge the learning gap between children from wealthy and poor backgrounds using neuroscience and technology. It highlights the use of a 'talk pedometer' to count words and promote conversational turns, which are crucial for language development. Despite these efforts, the achievement gap remains, prompting some to suggest a controversial focus on genetics to identify and support children at risk of educational disadvantage. The video raises ethical concerns about using genetic information in social policy, while also exploring its potential to improve educational outcomes.

Takeaways

🧠 Neuroscience and technology are being used to address the learning gap between children from poor and rich backgrounds.
🗣️ The importance of interaction with adults through conversation is highlighted as crucial for a child's long-term development.
📈 A 'talk pedometer' device is being used to track the number of words children hear and the quality of their interactions with adults.
📚 Research shows that children from wealthy families hear around 30 million more words by the age of three compared to those from poorer backgrounds.
🏢 The 'word gap' is not due to poor parenting but often due to parents working multiple jobs, limiting their time with children.
📈 The use of technology and data analysis in this scheme has led to a 32% increase in the number of words a child hears per hour.
🤝 The focus is not just on the number of words but also on the quality of conversational turns between adults and children.
🧠 Neuroscience supports the idea that conversational turns can help mitigate the disadvantages of growing up in poverty.
🔬 Some researchers argue that genetics could play a significant role in educational outcomes and could be used to identify children who might struggle in school.
🧬 The ethical implications of using genetic information in social policy are a concern, with a history of misuse in promoting racial superiority.

Q & A

What is the primary focus of the 'talk pedometer' device mentioned in the script?
-The 'talk pedometer' is a device that records the interactions between children and adults, counting the number of adult words a child hears, the amount of electronic noise in the background, and the number of conversational turns the child takes. It is designed to help bridge the word gap between children from wealthy and poor backgrounds.
How does the 'word gap' affect children from different socioeconomic backgrounds?
-The 'word gap' refers to the difference in the number of words children from wealthy families hear compared to those from poorer backgrounds in their first three years. This gap can set children back for years, as it is associated with fewer opportunities for language development and interaction with adults.
What role does the 'conversational turns' play in a child's language development?
-Conversational turns, or the back-and-forth communication between an adult and a child, are crucial for language development. Research shows that this type of interaction can help mitigate the disadvantages of growing up in poverty and promote long-term benefits for the child.
How does the use of the 'talk pedometer' and data analysis impact the number of words a child hears?
-The use of the 'talk pedometer' and data analysis has been shown to increase the number of words a child hears per hour by 32%, which can significantly enhance their language exposure and development.
What is the impact of growing up in poverty on a child's brain development?
-Growing up in poverty can affect a child's brain development by accelerating parts of the brain that respond to threatening environments and slowing down other parts, which can impact language and cognitive development.
How does engaging in high numbers of conversational turns affect a child's brain development?
-Engaging in high numbers of conversational turns can help overcome the negative effects of growing up in poverty on brain development. It can lead to the expansion of regions of the brain associated with language development, regardless of socioeconomic status.
What is the current state of the achievement gap between rich and poor children, and has it changed over the past decades?
-The achievement gap between rich and poor children, particularly in reading scores, has not significantly changed in the past 20 years. In some cases, the gap has even widened, indicating a lack of effectiveness in current interventions.
What role does genetics play in shaping life outcomes and inequalities, according to Professor Kathryn Paige Harden?
-Professor Kathryn Paige Harden suggests that genetics plays a significant role in shaping life outcomes and inequalities. She believes that understanding children's genetics could help identify those least likely to do well at school and offer the potential for more effective interventions.
How does Professor Harden propose using genetic information to improve educational interventions?
-Professor Harden proposes using genetic information to identify children who are less likely to succeed in school due to certain genetic variants. This could help tailor interventions to better support these children and potentially improve their educational outcomes.
What are the ethical concerns associated with using genetic information in social policy?
-The use of genetic information in social policy raises ethical concerns, such as the potential for genetic determinism, the historical misuse of genetic traits to promote racial superiority, and the fear that it could be used to naturalize social hierarchies and dismiss large segments of the population.
What is the current status of using genetic information in educational interventions, and what challenges need to be addressed?
-Using genetic information in educational interventions is still a long way off. Advocates need to demonstrate that it can be done safely and ethically, and that it will improve social mobility without increasing existing inequalities. There is also a need to overcome societal fears and misconceptions about the use of genetics in this context.

Outlines

00:00

📈 Bridging the Learning Gap with Technology and Communication

The first paragraph discusses the race to use neuroscience and technology to address the educational disparity between children from poor and wealthy backgrounds. It highlights the importance of conversational turns with adults over the sheer number of words a child hears. The 'talk pedometer' is introduced as a device that records and counts the words a child hears, the electronic noise, and the child's participation in conversation. This technology is part of an initiative to enhance language learning in children, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The script also touches on the significant word gap that exists between children from wealthy and poor families during their early years, which can impact their future development. The benefits of conversational turns are underscored by neuroscience, which shows that they can counteract some of the negative effects of growing up in poverty on brain development.

05:01

🧬 The Role of Genetics in Educational Achievement

The second paragraph explores the potential of genetics in leveling the educational playing field between rich and poor children. It acknowledges the persistent achievement gap that has not significantly changed over the past few decades. Professor Kathryn Paige Harden is introduced as an advocate for using genetic information to identify children who may struggle in school and who could benefit from targeted interventions. The paragraph discusses the ethical concerns and historical misuse of genetic information but suggests that with careful application, genetics could offer insights into improving educational outcomes and social mobility. The potential of DNA testing to predict educational success and the need for interventions that consider genetic factors are also mentioned. The paragraph concludes with a call for further research and the responsible use of genetic information in shaping social policies related to education.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Neuroscience

Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system and brain functions. In the context of the video, it is highlighted as a field that is being leveraged to address the learning gap between children from different socioeconomic backgrounds. The script mentions using neuroscience to understand how children's life chances are influenced by their interactions and communication with adults, rather than just the amount of knowledge and words they are exposed to.

💡Learning Gap

The learning gap refers to the disparity in educational outcomes between different groups of students, often linked to socioeconomic status. The video discusses the efforts to bridge this gap by focusing on the quality of communication between children and adults, rather than just the quantity of words they hear, as a means to improve life chances for children from poorer backgrounds.

💡Conversational Turns

Conversational turns are exchanges in a dialogue where one speaker yields to another. The script emphasizes the importance of these turns in child development, as they are associated with better long-term outcomes. The video suggests that engaging in numerous conversational turns with children can help mitigate the disadvantages of growing up in poverty.

💡Talk Pedometer

A talk pedometer, as mentioned in the script, is a device that counts the number of words a child hears and tracks the quality of verbal interactions. It is used in the video to illustrate how technology can aid in monitoring and improving the quantity and quality of communication with children, which is crucial for their language development.

💡Word Gap

The word gap is a term used to describe the difference in the number of words children from different socioeconomic backgrounds are exposed to during their early years. The video script cites research showing that children from wealthier families hear around 30 million more words by the age of three, which can significantly impact their future learning and development.

💡Socioeconomic Status

Socioeconomic status refers to a social hierarchy based on economic factors such as income, education, and occupation. The video discusses how a child's socioeconomic status can affect their brain development and educational outcomes. It also explores how interventions can help mitigate these effects.

💡Genetics

Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in living organisms. In the video, genetics is presented as a controversial but potentially powerful tool to understand and address educational inequalities. The script suggests that certain genetic variants might influence a child's likelihood of graduating from college or achieving other educational milestones.

💡Genetic Determinism

Genetic determinism is the belief that an individual's traits, abilities, and behaviors are solely determined by their genetic makeup. The video script touches on the historical misuse of genetic traits to promote racial superiority and the contemporary concerns about using genetic information in social policy. However, it also presents an argument for the potential benefits of considering genetics in educational interventions.

💡Social Mobility

Social mobility refers to the ability of individuals or families to move up or down the social hierarchy. The video discusses the challenges in improving social mobility through traditional interventions and suggests that incorporating genetics might offer a new approach to creating more effective interventions.

💡Educational Attainment

Educational attainment is the level of education that an individual has achieved, often measured in terms of completed qualifications. The script uses educational attainment as a key metric for evaluating the success of interventions aimed at leveling the playing field for children from different socioeconomic backgrounds.

💡DNA

DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is the molecule that carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth, and reproduction of all known living organisms. The video script mentions the potential of DNA analysis to identify children who might be at a disadvantage in the educational system and to tailor interventions to their specific needs.

Highlights

The race is on to use neuroscience and technology to plug the learning gap between poor and rich children.

Recent research shows children’s life chances may depend less on showering them with knowledge and words and more on opportunities to interact with adults.

A specific type of communication with adults is what is going to really benefit the child long-term.

Controversial focus on genetics could be what’s needed to break the class ceiling.

We are at a tipping point in terms of how genetics is going to shape our lives.

A tiny device known as a “talk pedometer” is used to record every word children say and analyze their language interactions.

The device counts words, measures adult word exposure, electronic noise, and conversational turns in children.

The pedometers continuously collect data as part of a scheme to transform how children learn language.

Influential study found that in the first three years, children from wealthy families will have heard around 30 million more words than those from poorer backgrounds.

The word gap can set children back for years to come, affecting their development.

Pedometers can be used by all families, helping poor kids to bridge the word gap.

Weekly breakdowns help parents understand how much they have spoken to their children.

One study found technology and data analysis led to a 32% increase in the number of words a child hears per hour.

The scheme’s organizers focus on the number of conversational turns between an adult and a child.

Neuroscience has shown the benefits of conversational turns, which can help overcome some disadvantages of growing up poor.

Engaging in high numbers of conversational turns can affect brain development positively, regardless of socioeconomic status.

Despite insights from neuroscience and new tech, the achievement gap between rich and poor kids hasn’t changed for decades.

Professor Kathryn Paige Harden argues that understanding children’s genetics could be key to leveling the playing field.

Genetics could be used to identify the children least likely to do well at school and offer potential for better interventions.

The idea of using genetic information to shape social policy provokes strong reactions due to its dark and uncomfortable past.

Advocates of genetic information in social policy must show that it can be done in a safe and ethical way and improve social mobility.