“What’s that?” – This is a simple phrase that, if you ask
any parent, can become extremely tiresome. Children have a natural curiosity
and desire to know all. They want to question, and talk, and question again, from
the moment they wake until they fall asleep. Though it can become exasperating,
don’t shrug these questions off, they could be helping a child grow. After all,
did you know that every time you answer a question with a sincere response, you
may be handing a child another flower to place in their bouquet of word
knowledge? Yes, that is a bird, it is called an Ostrich. Yes, that is a boat,
it is called a tugboat.
“By age four, the average child in a welfare family might
have 13 million fewer words of cumulative experience than the average child in
a working-class family” (Hart and Risley, p. 116). It amazes me that so much of our vocabulary development can be
predicted by age four. Talk about putting pressure on parents! While reading this quote, I could not
help but wonder why students from families of a low socioeconomic status seemed
to be at such a disadvantage. After all, they are born with the same natural
curiosity to know as any other child.
Plus, they may not know about things like mansions and butlers, but their
vocabulary growth is still positively affected by different experiences, right?
As I continued to ponder, I finally came to my own conclusion.
When I was a
child, I remember going to the zoo, the park, the circus, the beach, dozens of
places with my family throughout the year. It was through experiences that I learned about the world around me, which is
directly tied to vocabulary development. I have been blessed with a family with
the means to provide me with vacations and opportunities to explore; I learned
about acrobats when I visited the circus and chauffeurs when I
took my first limo ride. I had conversations constantly with my mother, who
stayed at home until my younger brother was school-age. Other families,
however, are not fortunate enough to have the means for frivolous spending, or
the ability to stay home and talk with their child all day. Thus, their children
are not becoming exposed to new words and phrases on a regular basis.
Now, I do not want to generalize; children who are born to
families of a low socioeconomic status are quite capable of seeing future
success. However, it is extremely shocking to see the vast differences in
vocabulary development recorded in Hart and Risley’s study, especially since
vocabulary plays a crucial role in reading comprehension. Vocabulary is tied to
experience, experiences allow for the development of prior knowledge, and prior
knowledge is needed to learn new concepts. Students must understand the meaning
of a word in context in order to comprehend text. Do you see why students with limited vocabulary are more likely to face
challenges in reading?
Let’s say a child with poor vocabulary, born to a family
with poor vocabulary, grows up to have children of their own. Does this allow
for the constant development of struggling readers? The proverbial apple does, indeed, fall close to the tree. This is the problem-a cycle
that is difficult, but not impossible, to break. The key is finding the code to
crack it.
Hart,
B. & Risley, T.R (2003). The early catastrophe. Education Review, 17(1), 110-118.
