It’s a safe bet that not many teachers are avid readers of the medical journal Pediatrics. But a report that appeared in the publication last week deserves to be read and understood deeply by everyone in education. It has the potential to transform the way we think and speak about children who grow up in povertyand education as a means of addressing its worst effects.
The report links “toxic stress” in early childhood to a host of bad life outcomes including poor mental and physical health, and cognitive impairment. The American Academy of Pediatrics , in an accompanying policy statement, calls on its members to “catalyze fundamental change in early childhood policy and services in response.
The term “toxic stress” is not a familiar one in education circles, but it should be. The Harvard Center on the Developing Child describes a toxic stress response as occurring “when a child experiences strong, frequent, and/or prolonged adversity—such as physical or emotional abuse, chronic neglect, caregiver substance abuse or mental illness, exposure to violence, and/or the accumulated burdens of family economic hardship—without adequate adult support.” Think of it as one plus one equals negative two: something bad happens to a child, and there’s no positive adult response to mitigate the trauma. The lack of adult support is what makes stress, which is largely unavoidable, “toxic” to a child. Crucially, repeated or prolonged activation of a child’s stress response system “can disrupt the development of brain architecture and other organ systems, and increase the risk for stress-related disease and cognitive impairment, well into the adult years,” notes the Center’s website.
This cannot be dismissed as pseudoscience or a mere hypothesis. The report and policy statement notes a “strong scientific consensus” and a growing body of research “in a wide range of biological, behavioral, and social sciences,” on “how early environmental influences and genetic predispositions affect learning capacities, adaptive behaviors, lifelong physical and mental health, and adult productivity.”
“Game changer” is a trite and overused phrase, but it applies here. The report should have a profound impact on educators and education policymakers. At the very least, understanding the language and concept of exposure to toxic stress should inform the increasingly acrimonious, dead-end debate about accountability and resources aimed at the lowest-performing schools and students.
On the one hand, those who insist that improving educational outcomes must be viewed within a broader context of health care, community resources and poverty can claim a victory here and a potential ally in the AAP. Interventions must start from Day One. Not Day One of school, Day One of life. Kindergarten is too late. Those who favor quality preschool programs have crucial evidence to support their case. The story in four words: Geoffrey Canada is right.
But it is equally clear that low-income status is not synonymous with toxic stress. Even the worst schools and poorest neighborhoods have a significan
Read more…
A redistricting committee will meet Friday at Cumberland Valley School District’s Eagle View Middle School. There is a possibility of overcrowding at three elementarty schools.
Recent Comments