Low income homes are not created educationally equal

by David Safier

This should come as no surprise: all low income homes are not created educationally equal. And it also shouldn't be a surprise that parents who play with and encourage their children in educationally productive ways, even if they live in poverty, produce children who are more ready for school than children from other low income homes.

A new study has concluded that poverty alone isn't an impediment to school readiness. What it calls "rich learning environments" in homes help narrow the "school readiness gap."

Most of us would arrive at that conclusion on our own, but it's too often overlooked when we picture the relationship between poverty and children's educational achievement. The fact is, low income homes vary more widely in their approaches to the education of their children than higher education homes. Children who come from economically comfortable homes can expect to see books in the home and have academic skills promoted, but low income homes can run the gamut from empty to rich learning environments.

According to recent research, an infant can grow up with as much as a 20 point difference in his/her I.Q. based on environmental factors. Think about what that means, taking the example of two genetically identical twins. One, raised in an environment which doesn't stimulate the kind of skill development and thinking with leads to greater achievement in school (dietary and health factors can also be an issue) tests out at 95 I.Q. — on the low side of average. Stats say that child will do poorly in school, have a middlin chance of getting a high school diploma and be unlikely to attend college. The other, raised in an ideal educational environment, could end up with a 115 I.Q. That child would have a strong chance of being a B to A student and go on to college.

Almost always, that 20 I.Q. point gap would be the result of families' differing economic status. But a low income family with parents who stress education and know helpful ways to focus on their children's intellectual growth and motivation can bridge the I.Q. gap part, or all, of the way.

It's possible the best long term anti-poverty program is one that educates parents on how to nuture their children's school readiness, combined with preschool enrichment. Get those kids more ready for school, and you boost their chances of rising out of poverty as adults, which means their children will be more likely to succeed in school. The cycle feeds on itself.

It's a lovely thought. It sounds easy. Unfortunatey, no one has hit on a way to make it work consistently and at a reasonable cost.