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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2014
PAGE 7A
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Researchers work to bridge language gap among children
ALICIA GARZA
@AliciaoftheUDK
Researchers at the Juniper Gardens Children's Project looked at factors such as lower test and language scores among children before deciding to create a network of experts, researchers, funders and practitioners to carry out a nationwide study and bridge the word gap.
The Juniper Gardens Children's Project, a research office branch of the University located in Kansas City, Kan., has raised a half a million dollars in funding toward continuing a study that began in 1992. The study discovered a gap between the amount of language children from different income families were hearing, which created a significant difference between the vocabularies of
children.
In 1992, the researchers tracked children in all ranges of income from preschool into elementary school and studied how often they heard language in their home. Children who started school at a vocabulary disadvantage continued to have a disadvantage, the study found. Now, the experts are looking at the results to identify which areas need more research.
The mayor of Kansas City, Mo., and the mayor's chief of staff traveled with a researcher to Washington, D.C., three weeks ago, where the grant was announced at the White House. Many people are involved in the project, such as experts in fields like language intervention research and developmental psychology, teachers, parents, funders for home childhood
work and people who do home visiting interventions.
The study is focused on bringing cities and communities together to address the problem using innovative ideas that can be used by parents and childcare providers.
"Having met a lot of people who come from poorer backgrounds, finding what they need, and this research is very important, and very personal," said Griffin Hughes, a freshman from Denver.
Part of the research done was during the War on Poverty, which helped move the project along.
In the study, the vocabulary difference can be affected by income levels. Specifically, lower income families have a higher chance of having children with lower vocabulary skills.
Betty Hart, a former University researcher, and Todd Risley, senior scientist at Schiefelbusch Institute for Lifespan Studies at the University, started a research project involving children younger than preschool age. They noticed
During the War on Poverty,
The idea is that these are ways to kind of shore up and build the opportunities for children to hear more language in their homes."
DALE WALKER Associate research professor
some children were already falling behind in vocabulary compared to other students. After bringing light to this
trend, Hart and Risley received a grant to fund a study in which they tracked children for three years. They went into the children's homes, took notes and recorded everything people in the homes said to the kids. The study concluded that children who had more opportunities to interact with their parents and had more chances to practice language ended up with better vocabularies.
Some children heard as little as 600 words an hour, whereas other children heard as many as 3,000 words an hour. After finding this information, the researchers calculated what the children's language exposure would be like by the time they were 4 years old, and the results were astounding. According to Dale Walker, an associate research professor at the Juniper Gardens Project, they found a
gap as large as 30 million words between children's vocabulary.
Most of the children who had low exposure and fewer opportunities to hear language were the children from low-income families because they had fewer chances to learn and practice language.
"This is all related to what children are hearing in their earliest years," Walker said. "By the time they got to school, children were already behind. The idea is that these are ways to kind of shore up and build the opportunities for children to hear more language in their homes."
Edited by Alyssa Scott
Students' parents react to sexual assault news
| PAIGE STINGLEY
@paigestingley
| CASSIDY RITTER
@cassidyritter
When Claire Sundermeyer opened a package from her dad in September, she was not ready for what she found inside. Instead of a typical care package parents send to their students, with food, money or clothes, her parents had sent her and her sister each a bottle of pepper spray. Now, she carries it with her every time she is out at night.
"He's a worrier," Sundermeyer said of her father, Joe. "So the second he heard about all of the sexual assaults on campus, he took every precautionary measure for us."
Sundermeyer is not the only one who's taken precautionary measures. Thirty-three respondents to an informal survey of 100 students on campus said
they bought pepper spray this semester. Others said they've made it a point to walk with others after hours, talk on the phone while walking home after dark, attend a self-defense class or look up self-defense moves on their own.
"I walk my girlfriend and her sister home every time we go out," said Alex Brennan, a sophomore from Shawnee. Brennan said he and his friends call BADD Duty or find rides home for other female students as well.
BADD Duty stands for Brothers Against Drunk Driving and is a service fraternities offer to students who need rides home and are unable to drive.
The impact of sexual assault has reached more than just students on campus. Joanna Campos, a sophomore from Liberal, is a student ambassador. She said while giving a tour of campus, she had a parent ask her about the sexual assault issues on campus. Campos directed them to a story in the paper that day. The family was happy to see it being reported, said Campos.
Student ambassadors, along with admissions representatives, are given talking points when parents and potential students ask about the sexual assault cases on campus. They are told not to discuss specific cases but to discuss how the University works with trained investigators and law enforcement.
An email sent to many supervisors, who passed the message along to their staff (including student ambassadors and admissions representatives), included a Campus Safety Message Triangle detailing what to tell visitors who ask about the cases.
The three main points discussed in the triangle are that "this is a national problem that requires community-wide action," a "robust process is in place
to investigate and respond to sexual assault," and the University's promise to individuals reporting sexual assault that the University won't discuss their case publicly without permission, according to the Campus Safety Message Triangle. Some of these points mention Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little's task force, the University asking the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights to provide recommendations for improvements and working with trained IOA investigators.
Chris Keary, assistant chief of police with the Public Safety Office, said parents call all the time, but wouldn't say they are receiving more calls due to the sexual assault issues.
"As part of those conversations, we talk about how we're proud of our student body for addressing this national issue," said Kress. "We also discuss safety on campus, such as that the University has its own trained police force. We also talk about how there is a robust process in place to investigate and address reports of sexual assault, and how KU has suspended and expelled students for violations."
Many other University offices reported the same findings - some parents have called but not many. Lisa Pinamonti Kress, director at the office of admissions,
Students who responded to the survey said they feel "somewhat" to "moderately safe" on campus, but had suggestions for improvements.
"We need more light sometimes so that other people can see you in case of abnormal situations," said Shannon Livengood, a senior from Clay Center. "I try
said they have had no more than 10 parents and prospective students ask about the sexual assault issue on campus.
to avoid walking home alone, or if I do, I talk on the phone with a friend... Make sure that you aren't alone if you don't have to be and that you're safe."
As for Sundermeyer, she said she feels relatively safe on campus.
"I feel fine on campus because it's well lit," said Sundermeyer. "But we could use more lighting or emergency blue poles, especially on Daisy Hill, because it's so dark walking there at night."
Still, she's glad to have the pepper spray in her purse. And her father's glad she's carrying it.
"Violence against women is a problem all over the country, all over the world really," Joe Sundermeyer said. "Fortunately, my daughters are strong, young women, and I hope they'll be smart and safe. But it's absolutely something every parent worries about."
Edited by Andrew Collins
Anatomy of a SafeRide Call
For every SafeRide call, the dispatcher requires the same information in the same order. Before you call, get to a place where the dispatcher can hear you and have this information ready. This will ensure shorter wait times for every Jayhawk that needs a safe ride home.
SafeRide runs from 10:30pm to 2:30am nightly (785) 864-7233
1 Have your KU ID ready.
Know your exact location.
3 Have your home address ready.
4 Know how many passengers are coming along.
5 Keep track of when and where the dispatcher tells you to wait.
Visit safebus.ku.edu for more information