The Atlantic

Can Love Close the Achievement Gap?

The Boston Basics is a series of evidence-based parenting principles designed for children under the age of 3.
Source: Tara Garcia Mathewson

Seat-belt use in the United States rose from 14 percent in 1985 to 84 percent in 2011 thanks, in large part, to a massive ad campaign promoting the practice. Even now, with “buckle up” warnings far less prominent, seat-belt use continues to rise.

Ronald Ferguson wants to see a similar trend with the use of five evidence-based parenting principles dubbed :maximize love, managestress; talk, sing, and point; count, group, and compare; explore through movement and play; and read and discuss stories. Ferguson is the director of the Achievement Gap Initiative at Harvard University and the lead creator of the Basics, which experts agree are most important for children from the time they are born to when they turn

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