New York Times reports that Hispanic Immigrants’ Children Lag their Peers
The New York Times reports an interesting and troubling research finding about how Hispanic children are falling behind their white, middle class peers. The article, titled Hispanic Immigrants’ Children Fall Behind Peers Early, Study Finds, discusses several things.
- Hispanic children of immigrants start out in early years equal with their peers
- By Age 3 they are already lagging middle class white children by as much as 6 months in cognitive abilities
- Hispanic immigrant households do not foster learning and cognitive development to nearly the degree that done in middle class white households
- These results may be more related to socioeconomic determinants, and be characteristic of all lower level socioeconomic groups than to race or ethnicity
They go on to emphasize the role of early learning and how its value is demonstrated by activities such as little performances of the ABCs in front of grandparents, that are missing from Hispanic immigrant homes.
The response, of course, is more money on early education. Doubtless, that would help at least a little bit. However, after reading the NYT article, I grew suspicious that either the writer chose to view only a narrow range of possible causes that may have been addressed in the research, or that the researchers had a very narrow focus and perhaps deliberately ignored other factors that influence the early childhood development from these children. My personal guess is that the researchers narrowed the discussion, which perhaps may have been outside the scope of their article.
I have a growing suspicion that we are both tolerating and cultivating a culture of poverty, which has a hallmark of racial and ethnic minorities, but by no means is confined in its association with only minorities. It is this culture of poverty that greatly influences the social and cognitive development of our children, and that it is an increasing outcome of these lifestyle choices that are in play.
The attack must be on the cultural factors and not just handing a kid a book (though I’m completely in favor of that!), nor in just integrating the child into the educational system at an younger age. For all the sniping at middle class values and culture that we often see, they result in a more nurturing and healthful environment for our children that leaves them better prepared for the own lives as adults.
Tags: education
