All Authors
Ellen Galinsky holds a B.A. in child study from Vassar College and an M.S. in child development from Bank Street College of Education, where she was on the faculty for 25 years. She co-founded the Families and Work Institute and served as its president for over three decades. She later served as Chief Science Officer of the Bezos Family Foundation. She has been elected president of NAEYC and received an honorary degree from Vassar College.
Key Ideas
- →Seven executive function skills — including focus, critical thinking, perspective-taking, and self-directed learning — predict adult success far better than content knowledge alone
- →These skills are deeply undermined by high-stakes testing and rote learning, and built by rich play, inquiry, and project work
- →Parents and teachers are not in opposition — both play distinct and complementary roles in building these life skills
- →The way adults talk to and with children — the quality of back-and-forth conversation — is one of the most powerful builders of executive function
- →Children need challenge, not protection from difficulty; appropriate struggle is where the most important development happens