A magazine for students and parents in langley - School District #35

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programHELP - Human Early Learning PartnershipChildhood’s Window ofOpportunityUrging parents to make the most oftheir children’s early learning yearsFor the past four years Langley School District has participatedin a province-wide study being conductedby the Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP),which is intended to determine the readiness or ‘vulnerability’of children entering school.Teachers in Langley and most other districts have been completinga survey called the Early Development Instrument,which looks at: Physical health and well-being; Social Competence;Emotional maturity; Language and cognitive development;and Communication skills and general knowledge.“The EDI is a checklist that kindergarten teachers completefor each child in their class after they have known their studentsfor several months,” says the introduction to a CommunitySummary for Langley “All teachers undergo standardizedtraining in the administration of the instrument.”In October Superintendent of Schools Cheryle Beaumontdelivered Langley’s latest EDI results to the Board of Education.As is the case throughout BC, the data provides evidencethat children are ‘increasingly vulnerable’ when theyenter the school system.Langley’s Superintendent of Schools Cheryle Beaumont reading tostudents during Drop Everything and Read day. Reading is a ‘brainbooster’, with long-term positive effects that begin to show from 20 to 24months, and last a lifetime.The data showed 28.4 percent of children entering Langleyschools in year four of the HELP study were ‘vulnerable’.That compared to 19.5 percent in year one; 22.8 percent inyear two; and 24.9 percent in year three.16 Student Success
“Vulnerability has increased over time,” Ms. Beaumont noted.“No neighbourhoods have had consistent decreases over time.”While Langley is in the mid-range when it comes to the overallvulnerability of its newest students, according to HELP,there is still reason for concern. HELP Director Dr. ClydeHertzman said increased vulnerability is a predictor of an arrayof problems for children through their school years andbeyond.He says there is a growing body of research that shows theearly developmental years are critical in ways we have neverunderstood before, and that parents need to be aware of theearly childhood ‘window of opportunity’, that can have lifelongbenefits for children.Dr. Hertzman characterizes the years from infancy to threeyears old, and then to five years old, as foundational. If thingsare not done right, it will be very difficult to set them straightlater on.Speaking to the Province newspaper, he said “…when thingswork out to begin with, it’s way easier for kids to grow anddevelop. It’s like leaky condos – if it isn’t built right from thebeginning, it will be way harder and expensive to fix later.”Early experiences in life influence the formation of the brain.Children who do not experience love and affection ‘close up’at an early age are more likely to find it difficult to connectwith others later in life.If they are brought up in environments where there are frequentoutbursts of anger or depression, children will developlifelong predispositions to be anxious and overly vigilant.“They adapt for their environment, but they don’t adapt forsuccess at school,” Hertzman said, noting that the adaptationis not only behavioural, it is neurological.Vulnerable children are neurologically different from theirpeers, and those differences will likely affect them throughouttheir lives.Children who are read to from an early age get a double positivedose consisting of enriching vocabulary plus quality timewith Mom and Dad, which Hertzman calls a ‘brain booster’.The long-term positive effects of reading begin to show from20 to 24 months, and last a lifetime.Conversely children who begin school with a language deficitmay struggle throughout their school years and beyond.The increased lifelong risks faced by vulnerable childreninclude:• Second decade: school failure, teen pregnancy,criminality;• Third and Forth decades: obesity, elevated bloodpressure, depression;• Fifth and Sixth decades: coronary heart disease, diabetes• Old Age: premature aging, memory loss.In his interview with The Province Dr. Hertzmanrecommended five things parents can do toenhance the futures of their children:1. Early on in life spend as much time as possibleholding, touching and talking to your child.2. Get in the habit of reading fun bedtime storiesto your child. Make it a loving, emotionalexperience, and ask questions as well as read.3. Provide as much time as possible for your childto play with other children and on their own.4. If you need childcare, insist on high quality-careand environments.5. Develop a support network with neighboursand friends to help solve your family’s problemswith work-life time challenges.Children who do not experience love and affection ‘close up’ atan early age are more likely to find it difficult to connect withothers later in life.Flickr photo by kevindooleywinter edition 17
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