And one more reason for mothers to feel guilty about what the social context is actually responsible for. Elsa


> ----------

> From: 	povertyracewomen-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Katherine G

> Reply To: 	The Poverty, Race,Women and Literacy Discussion List

> Sent: 	Wednesday, November 7, 2007 9:55 AM

> To: 	The Poverty, Race,Women and Literacy Discussion List

> Subject: 	[PovertyRaceWomen 1405] Re: The "Mother's Milk" of Literacy

> 

> 

> 1.  Mothers who breastfeed usually have more resources to do so.  So is it

> the actual breastfeeding that raises IQ or the socioeconomics of

> breastfeeding?

> 

> 2.  Educated mothers generally get better educated because again, they have

> the economic backing.  This of course translates into better advocacy for

> children.

> 

> 3.  What about educated mothers who are ill or can't breastfeed for physical

> reasons?  Are we saying their babies have lower IQ's and/or it's the

> mother's fault?

> 

> Sorry, but this discussion reads too much like eugenics to me.

> 

> 

> Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt, ESOL Online Instructor

> 

> Prince William County Public Schools

> 

> Adult Education

> 

> P.O. Box 389

> 

> Manassas, VA 20108

> 

> work 703-791-8387

> 

> fax 703-791-8889

> 

> 

> 

> 

> 

> -----Original Message-----

> From: povertyracewomen-bounces at nifl.gov

> [mailto:povertyracewomen-bounces at nifl.gov]On Behalf Of tsticht at znet.com

> Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2007 9:37 PM

> To: povertyracewomen at nifl.gov; familyliteracy at nifl.gov;

> healthliteracy at nifl.gov; learningdisabilities at nifl.gov

> Subject: [PovertyRaceWomen 1404] The "Mother's Milk" of Literacy

> 

> 

> November 6, 2007

> 

> The "Mother's Milk" of Literacy:

> How Breastfeeding May Improve Literacy

> 

> Tom Sticht

> International Consultant in Adult Education

> 

> Research has long established strong, positive correlations among most IQ

> tests and literacy (Gottfredson, 1997). This is based largely on the role

> of reasoning, language, and knowledge common to both intelligence and

> literacy tests.

> 

> Now recent research has revealed a relationship among breastfeeding and IQ

> scores indicating that the average IQ scores of children whose mothers

> possessed a particular gene, and who breastfed their children when they

> were babies, was seven points higher than the children whose mothers also

> had the special gene but did not breastfeed them when they were babies (BBC

> News, 2007). Referring to the effects of IQ upon educational achievement,

> according to the researchers, " Seven points difference is enough to put

> the child in the top third of the class."

> 

> Given that a major factor in educational achievement is the acquisition and

> development of literacy, and literacy and IQ are highly related, the new

> research suggests that literacy itself may be affected by breastfeeding

> amongst women who also possess the special gene. Genetic research indicates

> that some 90 percent of women possess the special gene. For this reason,

> Belinda Phipps, of the National Childbirth Trust in the United Kingdom,

> said: "This shows for the majority of parents they can have a positive

> effect on their babies IQ by breastfeeding."

> 

> Teach the Mothers and Reach The Children

> 

> The new research on genetics and breastfeeding of infants focuses attention

> upon the importance of educating women. For many decades, nations have

> emphasized the education and literacy development of boys and men. The

> failure to focus resources on girls and women shows itself in the

> international literacy statistics compiled by UNESCO. From 1980 to 1995,

> the illiterate population of men fell from 327 to 318 million, while the

> numbers of illiterate women grew from 551 to 565 million (Aksornkool,

> 2001).

> 

> However, research for UNESCO (Sticht & McDonald, 1990) illustrates the many

> positive effects of girl> '> s and women> '> s education on children and their

> educational development at various stages from before birth to the school> 

> years:

> 

> Before Pregnancy

> Better educated girls/women show higher economic productivity; better

> personal health care; lower fertility rates; and hence they produce smaller

> families. The latter, in turn, is related to the preschool cognitive

> development of children and their subsequent achievement in school.

> 

> During Pregnancy and at Birth

> Better educated women provide better pre-natal care; produce more full term

> babies; provide better post-natal care and this results in babies with

> fewer learning disabilities.

> 

> Before Going To School

> Better educated women produce better children> '> s health care; better

> cognitive, language, and pre-literacy development; and better preparation

> for schoolwork.

> 

> During The School Years

> Better educated women produce higher participation rates in schooling;

> better management of homework; better advocacy for children> '> s education and

> negotiation of school/child conflicts; and they produce children who achieve

> higher levels of education and literacy.

> 

> All this, and the new evidence on genetics and breastfeeding of infants,

> suggests that we should pay special attention to the need for resources to

> provide literacy educational opportunities to the millions of less literate

> women who will bring the next generation of children into the world. We

> should remember that, when we teach the mothers, we reach the children!

> 

> Poorly educated children are the source of adult functional illiteracy, and

> functionally illiterate adults are the source of poorly educated children.

> Perhaps through education based on a Multiple Life Cycles policy (Sticht,

> 2006),  in which children are guaranteed their right to educated parents,

> the vicious intergenerational cycles of functional illiteracy can be

> stopped at their sources.

> 

> References

> 

> Aksornkool, N. (2001). Literacy: A key to Empowering Women Farmers. Paris:

> United National Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization.

> 

> BBC NEWS (2007, November 6). Gene 'links breastfeeding to IQ': A single gene

> influences whether breastfeeding improves a child's intelligence, say London

> researchers.

> Retrieved online on 11/06/07 at:

> http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/7075511.stm

> 

> Gottfredson, L. S. (1997). Why g Matters: The Complexity of Everyday Life.

> Intelligence, 24, 79-132.

> Sticht, T. (2006). Toward a Multiple Life Cycles Education Policy: Investing

> in the Education of Adults to Improve the Educability of Children. Retrieved

> online 12/06/06 at

> http://www.nald.ca/library/research/sticht/06dec/06dec.pdf

> 

> Sticht, T. & McDonald, B. (1990). Teach the Mother and Reach the Child:

> Literacy Across Generations. Geneva: UNESCO International Bureau of

> Education.

> 

> Thomas G. Sticht

> International Consultant in Adult Education

> 2062 Valley View Blvd.

> El Cajon, CA 92019-2059

> Tel/fax: (619) 444-9133

> Email: tsticht at aznet.net

> 

> 

> 

> 

> 

> 

> 

> 

> 

> 

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