Return-Path: <nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id e6VLu8P24686; Mon, 31 Jul 2000 17:56:08 -0400 (EDT) Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2000 17:56:08 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <NDBBIIAMELHODBHLMPKIKEINCBAA.nsledd@famlit.org> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "Nancy Sledd" <nsledd@famlit.org> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-FAMILY:3075] excerpts and cross-posts from nifl-womenlit X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook IMO, Build 9.0.2416 (9.0.2910.0) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; Status: O Content-Length: 6022 Lines: 112 The other day, I posted some excerpts from the Thursday Notes from Ron Pugsley's office (reposted below.) Well, on the nifl-womenlit list, a small discussion has begun. I have taken those postings and put them below since they apply to family literacy. After you read these, is there anything you would like to add? Feel free to respond on this list as well. Nancy Sledd, nifl-family list moderator Here is the posting from the Thursday Notes: Attentive Moms May Promote High Intelligence Offspring Here's a boost for family literacy programs: how parents treat children may influence which of their offspring's genes turn on, according to a new study by McGill University scientists. Researchers found that gene activity is influenced by the environment--and the most important feature of that environment is the mother's parenting. In a series of experiments, rat pups whose mothers were highly attentive grew up to be less stressed and scored higher in intelligence and memory tests than pups whose mothers did not give them much tactile attention. The smarter rats scored high on tests throughout their lives. Scientists found extra connections between nerve cells in tissue samples as well as more growth hormones and neurotransmitters critical to learning in the actively nurtured offspring. According to researchers, the study provides evidence of a direct relationship between maternal care and brain development, including spatial learning in adulthood. Teaching good parenting techniques in family literacy programs promotes active parenting. See the study reported in August issue of Nature Neuroscience or March 27 Newsweek. Here are some responses from womenlit subscribers: 1. Date: Sun, 30 Jul 2000 21:11:53 -0700 From: Sylvan Rainwater <sylrain@teleport.com> HOWEVER, what got to me about this excerpt was the assumption that it had to be the mother, and the jump to family literacy. Also, what does good parenting mean-who defines it? I just cringe with the hidden assumption that parents who enroll in family literacy programs automatically need parenting skills. Admittedly, many do, but then again, many upper middle class parents also need parenting skills! Hear, hear! Most of the parents in our program (Hispanic immigrants) could teach most American parents a few things about parenting. We try to support them in dealing with the immigrant experience, maintaining what is good from their culture while dealing with US cultural expectations, as well as giving them the benefit of the latest thinking about the importance of nurturing, stimulation, attention, etc. -- I kind of think that's what's meant here by "good parenting." In our case, the parents we are dealing with are mothers. But many fathers are also actively involved with their children, and in addition, they cross-parent with friends and extended family members. Certainly teachers in our program are also important in the development of the children -- but we consider ourselves to be addressing the whole family, or at the very least the parent-child relationship, when we work towards child development. It also seems to be true that the more intellectual stimulation the mother gets, the more the child gets. 2. Date: Thu, 27 Jul 2000 16:03:35 -0400 (Eastern Daylight Time) From: Sondra Cuban <sondra_cuban@gse.harvard.edu> To: nifl-womenlit@nifl.gov Daphne, I hope it is OK that I add my personal opinion to the conversation. I think attentive people who are caring and take active roles, are critical for child development including mothers, fathers, grandparents or primary caregivers (ones who children identify)--all of those people in children's environments. Even teachers. Family literacy programs that promote intergenerational approaches not just for parenting techniques, but for active learning, are important because they validate diverse family structures and cultures whether or not the mother is central to this dynamic and they advocate outcomes for everyone who is involved. About abstracting rat families to human families, well, I think there is something to be said for that beyond a couple of variables. Thanks! Sondra 3. Date: Fri, 28 Jul 2000 02:45:32 GMT From: "Dana Cooper" <d7cooper@hotmail.com> To: nifl-womenlit@nifl.gov I wonder if mother rat-baby rat relationships can be linked (related? tied?) to human mother-human baby relationships. I mean, putting aside political correctness, does a human child require a specifically female primary caretaker or just an attentive caretaker? Male rats probably do not tend to their offspring, but some male humans do. Must the attentive human parent be the mother? Before presenting such a theory as a model for human relationships, I would see if that theory held any merit among human relationships. Also, I would find it hard to gauge how much attentiveness is positive and how much becomes smothering. That is another problem comparing rat life to human life. Dana Cooper ESL Teacher-Volunteer Philadelphia, PA USA 4. Date: Fri, 28 Jul 2000 09:23:45 -0400 From: "Daphne Greenberg" <ALCDGG@langate.gsu.edu> To: <nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov> Dana and Sondra, I agree with both of you. I was actually a bit surprised to see this excerpt in Thursday's notes. It is a long known fact that good touch in infancy is critical for human development. There were infamous experiments with monkeys to show this, and there were case studies of abandoned babies in the old types of orphanages to show what happens to humans who are not touched and loved as babies. HOWEVER, what got to me about this excerpt was the assumption that it had to be the mother, and the jump to family literacy. Also, what does good parenting mean-who defines it? I just cringe with the hidden assumption that parents who enroll in family literacy programs automatically need parenting skills. Admittedly, many do, but then again, many upper middle class parents also need parenting skills! Daphne Greenberg Center for the Study of Adult Literacy
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