The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From the Tree...

“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.