the cardigan librarian

Meredith Phillips, an associate professor of public policy and sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles, used survey data to show that affluent children spend 1,300 more hours than low-income children before age 6 in places other than their homes, their day care centers, or schools (anywhere from museums to shopping malls). By the time high-income children start school, they have spent about 400 hours more than poor children in literacy activities, she found.

“Education Gap Grows Between Rich and Poor, Studies Say,” 2/9/12 [via]

I think as public librarians we are positioned to encourage low-income parents that any time spent with their children can help narrow this gap. I learned in my Underserved Populations class that low-income children hear dramatically fewer words before starting kindergarten, already limiting their vocabularies and setting them behind other students in beginning literacy. Often, parents need to know that it helps to just talk to your child about whatever, to read them books even when they’re beginning to read on their own, to not trust too much to “educational” television programs.