Reflection 1

Since my book has not yet arrived in the mail, I'm going to reflect on the article, "The Early Catastrophe," by Hart and Risley. 

This article discussed a study done on how much impact a child’s first three years and family environment can have on their vocabulary.  The child’s socioeconomic status is directly related to his or her vocabulary at age three.

For me, this article was heartbreaking because the conclusion was that there was nothing that could be done that would change the rate at which the children acquire vocabulary. I came from a household of educated parents, and I was always a strong reader with a large vocabulary.  As I got older, I realized that this contributed to my success in school, but I always assumed that a student's motivation was what mattered most.  However, from working with students from diverse backgrounds throughout college, I have realized exactly how important your home life is to your ability to do well in school.  I had not thought about what a difference the first three years make, and this article was really eye opening in that aspect.  I had a false assumption that kids start on a *semi even playing field when they start pre-school or kindergarten.  This article really made me think about how, as teachers, it is so important to realize that students will have differing vocabulary and reading skills and to modify lessons for these various levels.