Reply to What were we doing right, education-wise, in the 80s and 90s?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]No, it really comes down to the fact that there were far fewer kids.  GenX is way smaller than the boomers.  Just an easier system and better outcomes when less kids to deal with.

And life was in general much cheaper, so maybe both parents worked, but the second job was like a teacher and the breadwinner was always home for dinner.

Probably the end of holding kids back and mainstreaming has made elementary harder, but kids are differentiated by middle and high school in most places so that isn't that different.[/quote]

Except that most babies born in stated period are not Gen X.  Date ranges vary, but most sources say Gen X ended between 1978 and 1982.  The highly literate group is he older millenials.

I do think that a big factor is that a relatively high percentage of American mothers had college degrees at that point, but most still worked in family-friendly professions and took years off to stay home before kids started school.  Also, preschools were widely available, but they were mostly part-time programs, not full-time day care substitutes.  By 1987, women had more professional options, but fewer had the option to stay home with babies or get home by 4 to prepare dinner.  A higher percentage of babies born after 1987 spent their early childhood years in centers, and their elementary school years in aftercare.[/quote]

So it's working moms fault.[/quote]
Projecting much?

I don’t think PP was saying it’s mom’s fault by any sense of the imagination. If anything I feel as though the worsening economic climate for the middle class has bred this issue, and it really is an economic issue much more than a parenting one. A lot of people need to work a LOT in order to get their kids the things they need that cost money — health insurance, saving up for college, saving for retirement so they’re not a burden to their kids, and of course basic things like putting food on the table. I teach elementary school and a lot of my students don’t get picked up until 6 every night. Assuming you want your kids to get to bed at a decent time, that doesn’t leave a whole lot of time for parents to do things like read to their kids or play games and cook together that are all really, really important to children’s development. And aside from just the lack of time, I imagine that many parents are just exhausted at the end of the day and need mental space to recover for the next busy work day.

Let me be clear: I do NOT fault parents who do what they need to do in this economic reality. This is not me saying it’s working parents’ fault at all (and I am one). But I think it’s a bit naive to think that this has no affect on kids. [/quote]

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