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Core Competencies
This chapter helps to answer the age-old question;“What makes a perfect parent?” Once you have
read and carefully studied this chapter you should be able to complete the following tasks which,taken
together,answer this and related questions.
Students's should provide thoughtful answers to the following questions on Graham's Blog and then give thoughtful responses to 5 answers posted by at least 2 other students in the class.
1. Why are parents more susceptible to “fearmongering” than other people?
2. What market forces give rise to parenting books that appeal to a parent’s fears and inadequacies
rather than books which present an objective and evenhanded articulation of the state-of-the-
science of good parenting?
3. How does the information in this chapter regarding the contradictory and confusing assemblage
of information from parenting experts support the major theme of this book
(Hint:incentives matter)?
4. Based on the example of perfect parenting in this chapter,provide examples that illustrate how the
combination of asymmetric information and fear can lead to inefficient outcomes.
5. When looking at statistical data over a period of time,what does “correlation” mean? How is
it different from “causation?”
6. What tool does an economist use to make sense of data which include many variables? In general
terms,how does regression analysis sort out the data?
7. Describe the difference between normative and positive analysis.What can you learn about
the utility of this distinction from this chapter on perfect parenting?
8. Describe,in general terms,the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS)? Who conducted it,
who was the target of the study,and what was the purpose of the study?
9. According to the data in this chapter,what are the main differences between a school which
overwhelmingly has black students versus a school which overwhelmingly has white students?
10.Academically,how well does an average black student do in a “bad” school? How is this different
from an average white student in a “bad” school?
11.According to the data developed from the ECLS,what is more important regarding a child’s success
on standardized tests:what a parent does for a child or what a parent is? In your opinion,what
might be an explanation for such a strange conclusion?
12.According to the data developed from the ECLS,having lots of books in the home is correlated
with higher scores on a child’s tests,reading to the child nearly every day is not.If a parent were
only interested in having his or her child achieve higher scores on standardize tests,what would
you imagine his or her benefit/cost considerations to be when it came to the purchase of books
and this use of his or her time?
13.According to the data developed from the ECLS,a low birth weight is correlated with lower test
scores on standardized tests,but the attendance by a child in the Head Start program is not.If you
were a government official with limited financial resources,how would this inform your decisions
regarding the allocation of government funds?
1. Having a child is one of the scareist moments of a persons life, since their childrens survival depends on them. This makes the parents try do do everything that is best for their child.
ReplyDelete2. Since fear makes people do things to try to prevent their fears, parents would prefer to buy books to help releive their fears that they already have, instead of trying to read about their fears.
3. All the information the experts say makes the subject of parenting confusing, which supports the theme of the book that tries to find explanations to interesting questions who people dont usually ask. Its just like how the crime drop was caused by abortion becoming an acceptable practice.
4. the combination of asymetric information and fear can cause ineffiecent results. If someone is scared of their kids getting shot and people assume that guns are violent, they may end up sending them to a more dangerous location, like a pool. Its just like how people are scared of getting attacked by sharks, when very few people die from sharks every year.
5. Correlation is how one variable affects another variable. Causation is the explanation for why somthing is affected. A causation would be the fact that the reason the sky is blue is because of the way the sun hits the sky. A correlation effect would be somthing that isnt an explanation for somthing, but rather an ovservation between 2 variables. An example is how when kids with more books do better in school, and that people without books do worse at school.
6. When economists get a lot of data, they like to find situations where all variables exept for 1 are the same, and compare them. Regression analysis then takes the singled out vaariables and compares them with the effects tehy cause to see what causes what, or what doesnt cause what.
7. Normative analysis is somthing that can not be proven by conventional reasearch, and usually reflects someones opinion, while positive analysis is somthing that can be proven by reasearch. This can work into parenting, an example of a normative thing people beleive is that a babys development depends on their parents. It may be true, but it is hard to prove, there are to many factors, and everybody is different. An example of a positive thought is how kids in better neighborhoods do good in school, it can be tested and proven.
8. The U.S. Department of Education conducted the ECLS study. The ECLS sought to measure the
academic progress of more than twenty thousand children from kindergarten through the
fifth grade. It was created to represent an accurate
cross section of American schoolchildren.
9. A school with more white people usually is a better school in general, and all the people in that school generally do better than a school with more black people. This is because it isn't the people themselves, but the school is. The white people in the bad school also don't do well.
10.There isn't really that much of a difference. Most people in a bad school don't do well, regardless of there race.
11. The ECLS says that what a parent is determines a childs sucess, becasue IQ is determined geneticaly, and the parents pass down their skills to their child. There are exeptions, but usually this is the case.
12. If a parent wanted to help their kid, then buying a lot of books may not be the best course, because the reason kids with a lot of books do well is because of how well their parents did, regardless of wether they read them or not. If a person just bought a lot of books, it wouldn't affect the kid that much.
13. I would take my goverment funds and try to encourage mothers to keep their children healthy by staying healthy during pregnancy. Maybe even make a few laws about it, but that probably woudln't happen. Making sure that babies are healthy can help support learning.
3. I agree that all the information that expert say was confusing.
Delete5. I thought correlation is whether two variables move together?
9. So do you think because of their backgrounds students do better in school.
10. I agree with you that there is no difference because their both attending they same school.
11. Are you saying that what a parent is more important.
2. I agree that the one thing that makes a parent feel safe about their children is relieving their fears.
Delete4. I agree that parents feel safer about things that produce less fear even though they are more dangerous.
5. I agree that looking specifically at one piece of data does produce the best results.
12. You are right about a parent purchasing more books and no result coming from it.
13. I disagree that being healthy during pregnancy has any correlation between the size of the babies. There would be no benefit from trying to make babies bigger.
1. I agree that parents feel that their child's survival and health depends on them, but i disagree that having a child is scary, i see it as very exciting, happy, and parents being in disbelief.
Delete2. I agree that parents relieve their fears by making sure their children are safe.
5. Im not sure that looking at one specific peice of data broduces the best results, i personally like to look at a few different ones.
9. I agree, in general predominantly black schools have a worse overall GPA, test scores, etc...
13. I dont think a parent can control how big their baby is by being healthy, but i do think that it can help reduce the chances of something being wrong with the baby.
1) i agree with you on how parents want the best for their kids but i totally disagree with you when you say that it is scary to have child because some people out there want to have a child badly so having a child is not scary.
Delete13) i disagree with you when you say a parent being healthy during their 9 months has something to do with the size of their child because i mom can be skinny but their child could be big.
12) i agree with you when you say buying lots of books for the kids will not affect them much.
11) i am not too sure that is always the case cause i know some people whose parents success was not what their child got but sometimes its like that too.
9) i not not agree with you on a school having all white kids is the best
2) Not sure I understand your answer... I agree that parents buy books to relieve their fears, but are you saying that they buy them then don't read them just because they feel secure with the books? I guess I can see that side of the argument too.
Delete4) I totally agree with the shark example
5) I liked how you phrased your response, saying that a correlation isn't an explanation. That's a good way to put it.
10) I agree and I think more people need to realize that bad schools have nothing to do with race, but the people who fund the school.
12) Right; just because your parents bought the books, doesn't mean you'll read them, especially if they didn't read them.
1.) I'm sure that having a child isn't all scary... it's happy too :). But for the most part, I agree.
Delete2.) I think you used the word "fear" too many times in this answer. Like I get what you're trying to say I think, but it's kinda confusing.
12.) I agree with this answer. Just because a kid has books in their house doesn't mean that they're going to make any use of them..
13.) How are you going to use your money to "encourage" the mothers? What does that mean?
4.) I totally agree with your shark analogy. I like it!
2. I believe that parents would also read books to find new fears so nothing happens to their child, its really and endless cycle.
Delete4. I agree, some things are scarier than others when in actuality they are less dangerous (According to statistics).
8. I like your answer, it seems like you got it right from the book and its very good.
12. I kind of believe that because the parent is a person who buys, then that means the parents agree with the idea of reading and are higher educated or at least value education and learning.
13.I agree on this, as it showed the low birth rate had an affect on their school "skillz" so trying to help decrease the kids who are born with low birth rates every year would be a good investment.
1.) having a child might be scary at first like if it is your first child or something, but it should also be happy as well i mean you have a child.
Delete2.) i agree but some book also might put in fear into parents lie if you dont burp your baby the something bad could happen idk
4.) i totally agree with your example about fear. some people overact abut that stuff when really its the parents fault. parents might just leave guns out when they should be hiding them.
5.) I strongly agree that looking specifically at one piece of data does produce the best results but it might be the other way around also.
10.) its really all about the students not the race
1. I disagree that having a child is scary, yes some things may be frightening but generally it is a good experience.
Delete2. I kind of agree that parents relieve their fears by making sure their children are safe, that could only be one of the many things they are afraid of.
5. I feel that multiple sources of data should be evaluated, instead of just one.
9. Statistics did show that generally 'black' schools had a lower GPA, test scores, etc.
13. I don't think that parents have TOTAL control of the babies health, but they can do many things to prevent illness and keep their baby in good health.
1. Parents are more susceptible to fear mongering because they are frightened by the thought of bad things happening to their children. Parents want to keep their children as safe as possible, so when they imagine the danger of something they do the best they can to protect their children.
ReplyDelete2. Parents are more likely to read about how they can protect their children from outrageous things that greatly scare them. Even though there are less outrageous things that threaten the life of a child more, parents would rather be safe from outrageous occurrences.
3. In this chapter, the theme of incentives plays a role. Parents are given the incentive of peace of mind when making sure that their children are safe from outrageous incidents. One of the main goals of a parent is to know that their children are safe.
4. Like the example of the gun in the house versus the swimming pool, skydiving is an over feared event. Most parents would never let their child jump out of an airplane with a parachute but would let their child drive a car. Even though there is a great fear of skydiving, only about 30 deaths occur per year from this. Unlike the thousands of people that die per year from driving a car, skydiving is actually much safer. However, parents refer to their fears and the amount of control that their child has rather than actual facts.
5. Correlation describes how one thing affects another. Causation describes the reason for the affects.
6. When conducting a research, economist use controlled variables and then change one of those variables. They then compare the results from the changed variable.
7. Normative analysis express someone's opinion, while positive analysis reflects results through research. In parenting, people often believe what they want to hear based on someone's opinion, rather than proven research.
8. The ECLS study was conducted by the U.S. department of education, to measure the success of students. They wanted to know how the average american student was progressing in school.
9. A school overwhelmingly which black students tends to score poorly, unlike an overwhelmingly white school that tends to score well.
10. A student in a bad school generally scores poorly no matter their race.
11. According to the ECLS, a student's success is mostly passed down through genetics. What the parents do also helps, but most of the students IQ is passed down through the parents genes.
12. The amount of books in a household does not reflect a students success in school. It just reflects the education level of the parent.
13. First of all, I strongly disagree with this data because I happen to have been born at a low weight and I am smart. I think that that is very bias information and is false. Secondly, I would put my government funds in an early start program to encourage education in young kids and praise good parents. Also, the parents who enroll their children in early education programs often have a higher education level, which means that it was passed down through genetics to their child.
1. I thought you did good job answering this question because you had example that everyone can relate to.
Delete10. I are you stating that school affect the way the kids academic performance than their background.
11. I agree that what parent is more important than what they do.
12. So you don't agree with the study that the more book in the house the better chance that student will pass the standardized test. I your right that it can also reflect the education level of the parent.
13. I also agree with you but I think what matter most is help the children get good education.
1. Good example, i can relate to it because my mom always tells me about how much she sacrificed to keep me safe.
Delete3. I agree 100% that parents have the incentive to keep their child safe so they can have a peace of mind to not be worrying about if their child is safe or not.
7. Normative analysis doesnt only have to be an opinion it is anything that falls under the category "cannot be proven" like myths.
9. They only kept track of 20,000 students and they may have selected those children for a reason so i wouldn't say "average" american child.
13. I see both sides of the debate on this one, but i think getting a better education is more important because not all people get "Smart" genes from their parents, so putting more money toward education could raise their intelligence level.
1) i agree with you because my parents always tell me I'm doing all of this because of you
Delete9) i disagree with you strongly on this because my middle was full of black people and some of white and we was one of the top 3 best schools with good scores in Columbus City Schools
10) I disagree with you because that is not the case in some schools because i know a school that is bad but they ave some good students
13) I agree with you but sometimes it might be the other way around
12) I agree with you on that
Matthew Rodler
Delete1)Good job answering number one, put great emphasis and description.
4) Great stat to back up your statement.
5) Simplest way to describe the difference.
7) So it is normative analysis?
13) The best way to know the information is to prove it by personal experience.
1, I thought you did a great job of answering this but i believe it also has to do with the fact that human babies are the more defenseless than most animals when they are young.
Delete2. I don't believe its that they only protect from outrageous things i think its because the outrageous things happen to be obviously scary and people make movies about them. No one makes movies about drowning kids.
4. I like how you have numbers to back up what you said.
8. I believe you could of gone more in-depth with this, like saying a few of the things they where measuring.
12. I'm not exactly sure that the amount of books directly relates to the level of education of the parents.
1. Parents are more susceptible to fearmongering that others because they are responsible of taking care of another life. Their babies fully rely on them to survive and grow up, and their parents wants to do the best they cam. Because of that parents are extremely focused on trying to do what's right, and they're afraid of messing up everything.
ReplyDelete2. The market force of fear.
3.This chapter supports the major theme of incentives in that parenting experts all have similar or the same incentives. The experts want to push their ideas in hopes they may become conventional wisdom as well as make money off of it. People want to do this, so they all come up with their own unique ideas as to what makes good parenting, resulting in a sea of contradictory information.
4. An example would be with doctors and patients. Patients go to doctors to find out what is wrong with them, and the doctor has all of the information. The asymmetric information with the patient have little to no idea about anything and the fear something is wrong with them can lead to the doctor using the patient to take multiple tests for no reason except to give the doctor more money.
5. Correlation means when two items in statistical data are similar to each other with a pattern. It is different from causation in that one item is actually causing the other to change in that pattern and correlate.
6. Economists use regression analysis to make sense of data. A regression analysis puts up all of the many variables and puts all of them with controls and then 'flip a switch' on certain variables to narrow and sort the data.
7.Positive analysis uses scientific ideas to come to conclusions that can be proven. Normative analysis uses facts as support, but alone they are not factual. You can learn how many people use normative analysis to recommend their own ideas as expert advise, and not straight facts of what there is like positive analysis.
8. The U.S. Department of Education conducted ECLS, which was a study where they targeted over twenty thousand students across the country and to measure their academic progress.
9. The main differences between schools are that the school with the majority of black students test lower than the school with white students because of problems that school faces such as gangs and little funding.
10.An average black student does poorly in a bad school, but it is not different from an average white student in a bad school as well.
11. What a parent is is more important regarding a child's success on tests. In my opinion, it is because if a parent is highly educated, their child will likely follow by example because their parent sees the value in education and teach their child that. When a child grows up with a parent that just is, they will likely be similar to them, while if it's a parent that does something like take their child to museums it does not make them any smarter.
12.A parent's benefit/cost considerations when buying books would be the cost of buying books- how much will they have to spend on how many books? Another cost would be the loss of their time acquiring these books and possibly reading them to their kids. If they buy the books and neither they nor their child reads the books and the child doesn't test strongly, it will be seen as a waste of time. The benefit would be if the child does do better at testing because of the collection of books.
13.This information would help decide that more of the government funds should go into the health sector for providing better pre-natal to improve the chances of children born at healthy weights to families instead of funding a program advertised to get a child ahead in life when it actually does not.
2. I agree but what are some examples?
Delete3. I agree that experts want to do this, but what makes the parents do what they do?
9. I agree that gangs and low funding are problems, but what about the background of the black kids and their parents?
10. I agree that that is the case.
13. I disagree that this will help improve caldrons health and education level.
2. More information, and example.
Delete4. I agree with you 100%
10. I thought that the white kids did better
11. I agree but it also the parents genes will affect the kids
13. I agree it will definitly approve the health and education level
2.)Good comment but maybe add some examples.
Delete9.) i agree but it might also have to deal with family issues, and location of school.
10.) i agree with you, it really just depends on the student
11.) also it depends on the student he might be very smart but dosnt try and does nothing in school.
12.) i think that another loss would be the cost of the books and the time to just read it to the child. but overall i dont think books will have that big of a child at a really young age.
1. Why are parents more susceptible to “fearmongering” than other people?
ReplyDeleteParents are under the fear that if they do not listen to these experts, who, do to media and hype, CLEARLY know so much more than they ever will, that they will then be failing their children if they don’t listen to me. On tiny mistake, and anything wrong could happen to their children.
2. What market forces give rise to parenting books that appeal to a parent’s fears and inadequacies,
rather than books which present an objective and evenhanded articulation of the state-of-the-
science of good parenting?
The fear of their child be unsafe or unintelligent or lonely or anything gives these people reasons to write these books. The parents do not want to make any mistakes in bringing up their child, so if a bring by some expert tells them about how to make their kid smarter or safer, they’ll do it.
3. How does the information in this chapter regarding the contradictory and confusing assemblage
of information from parenting experts support the major theme of this book
(Hint: incentives matter)?
Basically, parents believe that if they believe and follow the practices of what these people are saying, (incentive) they’ll have a smarter or safer or more outgoing, etc., child.
4. Based on the example of perfect parenting in this chapter,provide examples that illustrate how the
combination of asymmetric information and fear can lead to inefficient outcomes.
An insufficient outcome in this case comes a lot from non-correlating information. With what was said about the outrage out weighing hazard. The fear of a child playing out a house with a gun, is far more fearful than going to house with a pool, even there are more child death by pools drowning’s than children dying from being shot.
5. When looking at statistical data over a period of time,what does “correlation” mean? How is
it different from “causation?”
“Correlation” is showing how each piece of data effects each other, whereas “causation” shows WHY the correlation occurs.
6. What tool does an economist use to make sense of data which include many variables? In general
terms,how does regression analysis sort out the data?
Economists like to used independent and dependent variables, just like any other research project. By one of the variables changing, it allows for the researchers to compare and contrast the data.
7. Describe the difference between normative and positive analysis.What can you learn about
the utility of this distinction from this chapter on perfect parenting?
1. I agree with that, in most parents listen to experts because they 'obviously' know what is right and wrong in parenting.
Delete2. Your explanation is really good!
3. Do you think there are incentives for other people?
4. You brought an interesting idea with using the guns vs. pools example, I didn't think about that.
5. Good way of telling correlation and causation.
1. Parents are more susceptible to fearmongering than other people because they are steward of another creature’s life, a creature who in the beginning is more helpless than the newborn of nearly any other species.
ReplyDelete2. The market force that gives rise to parenting books that appeal to a parent’s fears and inadequacies rather than books which present an objective and evenhanded articulation of the state-of-the science of good parenting is they force make parent wonder what they are doing right and wrong as parents.
3. The information in this chapter regarding the contradictory and confusing assemblage of information from parenting experts support the major theme of the book what makes perfect parenting by providing different opinions on how to become perfect parent.
4. An example that illustrates how the combination of asymmetric information and fear can lead to inefficient outcomes is the gun and the pool as state in the book. As Sandman said “is that the risks that scare people and the risks that kill people are very different.”
5. Correlation is the connection between two or more things and it’s different from causation because it’s just looking at the relationship between two things not the cause and effects.
6. Economist use regression analysis to make sense of data which include many variables. Regression analysis is powerful tool uses statistical techniques to identify otherwise elusive correlations. It does so by artificially holding constant every variable except the two he wishes to focus on, and then showing how those two co-vary.
7. The difference between normative and positive analysis is that normative is statement that cannot be proven and positive analysis be proven. I learn the different factor that doesn’t affect the child life.
8. The U.S. Department of Education, the target of the study was American schoolchildren. The purpose of the study is to measure the academic progress.
9. The main difference between a school which overwhelmingly has black students versus a school which overwhelmingly has white students is the scoring test are different because of the students back ground.
10. The average black student does really terrible in a bad school and so the white student in a bad school does terrible as well.
11. What a parent is important regarding a child’s success on standardized tests. Their child will think about their parent’s accomplishment and will most likely try to reach their achievement or top it.
12. The parent will spend a lot money on the books and according to the study the child will pass the standards test but they’re not spend a lot time with their child which could led to separation between the parent and kid.
13. I would end up giving Head Start programs funds in order to have more highly educated children in the future.
1. they know that if they mess up once, it can be the end of their child's life.
Delete2. that market urges parents to buy things by working off of their fears.
4. i agree because the experts information is not always correct and they convince parents of things based off of fear.
5. an example of correlation is the amount of books and the better test scores becasue the books is not the cause, but they relate to eachother .
9. they are also differnet becasue of the school in general. black schools are worse than white schools.
1.) parents fear mongering because being a parent might be the most important thing in a persons life. Parents have a unshakeable bond to their children. Any threat that is projected can be over exaggerated but a concerned parent.
ReplyDelete2.) A new parent may not know how their baby should be sleeping. The wisdom that it is better to a newborn sleep on his stomach may change just because of a "expert's" opinion. Parenting books themselves could also give completely different opinions on the same subject at the same time. Parents want or need to know what to do it is almost impossible to keep up with the "right parenting" habits.
3.) It doesn't matter what the experts are saying as long as there is a scared parent their books will sell. The experts varied opinions will be respected by different types of parents.
4. )In the gun and swimming pool example, in theory it is safer for children to play in a swimming pool than in a house with a gun. The fear of your child being shot is more frightening so it would be logical that it is safer in a swimming pool. However, statistics show that more child deaths happen in swimming pools than by gun play.
The hype of the dangers of a gun in the home make asymmetric information a problem not telling how dangerous the swimming pool is.
5.)Causation is basically referred to as cause and effect. Correlation is the mutual relation between two or more things.
6.)In the example of children, schoolwork is used to make since of the parenting data. Schoolwork brings it to a basic level is the child doing well or not.
7.)Normative economic analysis refers to economic theories that cannot be proven whereas positive economic analysis refers to economic theories that can be proven. Data can show theories of what makes a good parent but different variables to a specfic child may mean that some data is unimportant.
8.)The ECLS was a study taken by the U.S. Department of Education that measured the progress of 20,000 student from kindergarten to fifth grade. The purpose of the study was to see what effects a child's performance in school: parents education, whether they took their children to museums, etc.
9.) The schools with more black students to do worse do to lack of funding, inner school problem such as gangs, and loitering non-students.
10.)The black students who did poorly in the "bad" schools had the same poor grades as the white students.
11.) According to the data it is what a parent is. In my opinion, this does not say that all parents who try make a better education for their children then they did all fail it just means that parents who are higher educated have more resources and money to put into their children and their education.
12.)Parents with many books in the home have a greater likelihood to value education because are have a higher education. The fact that they read to their children doesn't have anything to do with their test scores.
13.)The data would say that although Head Start is used, it is not needed. The education of children at Head Start doesn't matter, it would be more suited as day care without any education based classes.
1.) I like your answer to this question. I like how you worded it, it's very thorough.
Delete3.) I agree. It's a shame that people will use the parents like that just to get them to buy some crappy book.
10.) I agree... Pretty self explanatory
4.) Parents have to stop making that false assumption about pools!
2.) Again, it's a shame that the people who make these parenting books take advantage of parents like this. They should be ashamed
1) Your response to this question is very good. I liked how you pointed out the correlation between a parent's and child's bond and the exaggeration of a potential risk because of it.
Delete2) I think I understand what you're saying and I totally agree. An "expert" saying something can totally change a common belief.
9) What do you mean by "loitering non-students?"
12) You worded this very well and precisely. I thought it was so weird that a parent reading to their child had no correlation to their academics!
13) Do you, then, support cuts from the Head Start program?
1) I agree with what you said, especially about how concerned parents can often over-exaggerate. I'm familiar with this particular parental trait...
Delete7) I think that it would be a good idea to specifically define the acronym ECLS because even though I would hope that all of us have read the book and know what it means, it would be a good idea to define it just in case someone came across it and was clueless as to what it means.
9) I'm with Elizabeth on this, but I'm assuming by loitering non-students you mean either adults that hang around the school, or perhaps gang or drug affiliated persons who could adversely affect the sanctity of a learning environment.
10) I think you could use a little clearer wording and go a little more in depth on what you mean in both cases, but I think your overall point is very good.
13) I see that you interpret the data, but your personal opinion as a "government official" seems to be missing...
1. Parents are more prone to fearmongering because having a child is scary and they know that the survival of the kid depends on them.
ReplyDelete2. Parents will buy books that they think will help them protect their baby and make them feel safe.
3. It doesn't matter what experts say because if their are scared parents books will sell regardless of the expert opinions.
4. Generally people will go with whatever they are less afraid of, although flying in a plane is the safest for, of transportation people are still very afraid of them.
5. Causation is cause and effect and correlation is the mutual relationship between two or more things.
6. Schoolwork is used to see if a child has bad parents or not. If a child is not doing well then the parents aren't doing well and vice versa.
7. Normative economic analysis refers to theories that cannot be proven and positive economic analysis refers to theories that can be proven.
8. The ECLs were a study taken by the U.S. department of education that watched 20,000 students progress from kindergarten to fifth grade. The purpose was to see the effects of parenting on the students.
9. The schools with more black students tend to do worse because of a lack of funding, inner school problems like gangs, and worse environments.
10. The black students who did poorly in the bad schools did just as poorly s the white kid in the good schools.
11. What a parent is is what is more according to the ECLs, I agree with that.
12. Parents with books in their home are more likely to value education and reading to a child does not correlate with their test scores.
13. I would give more funding to the Head Star program in hopes of them raising their percentage of educating children.
3. Also, the parents are so susceptible to fear that they do not realize who the experts are and they believe the authors of the parenting books are always experts.
Delete4. They are afraid of what is uncommon to them.
7. Normation analysis uses conventional wisdom and facts to support, rather than scientific data.
9. They are bad schools to begin with and blacks are more likely to attend becasue they're more prone to low wages, bad neighborhoods, etc.
10. the black kid and white kid in the bad school did equally as bad as the other.
1. Completely agree, the life of a child falls on their hands.
Delete2. I guess, although its no thte books themselves that help them, i think the fact htat they buy books make them feel better about themselves.
3. Im not so sure, usually when experts say somthing people follow them.
4. Fear is one of the driving factors of most actions.
6. I don't see how schoolwork directly relates to bad parenting, there are to many factors in between them.
8. Your right, exept for the fact that it wasnt made to effects of parenting, itw as just made to measure the academic progress of the children.
1. Parents are more susceptible …. They are personally responsible for their child’s life and get frightened by the media deaths of children. They try to avoid all “dangerous” things in order to be the best parents possible.
ReplyDelete2. Markets that are involved with fear. If the parents are fearful, they will buy their products for “safety”
3. The incentives of the parent are to be the best parents possible and they want to achieve this by following all the rules set in the parenting books written by “experts”
4. When the parenting experts know that swimming pools are more dangerous to kids than guns, but do not relay this information to the obsessive parents. Therefore the parents do not take necessary precautions and there are too many pool related child deaths.
5. Causality is the direct cause of data, and correlation is data that goes hand in hand with other data because they are similar.
6. Economists use regression, which holds all the variables constant except for the two that they are comparing. This sorts out the data because it shows which variables correlates with the data.
7. Positive analysis is something that can scientifically be proven. Normative Analysis is something that can be supported, but not proven. Normative is often supported with conventional wisdom and facts, but not genuinely proven.
8. In the 1990’s, the U.S. Department of Education started the ECLS project. It measured academic progress of 20,000 kids from kindergarten to 5th grade. The purpose was to “represent an accurate cross section of American schoolchildren”
9. Schools with overwhelming whites is usually a better school; schools with overwhelming blacks is usually not so good of a school. It is not because of their race, it is simply because statistically, more black children go to bad schools and more white children go to good schools.
10. Averagely, they both do not do too well. It is not relative to race. The white kid will do just as bad in the bad school as the black kid.
11. What a parent is. A parent’s IQ is passed down genetically. All the variables that positively correlate with doing better in school relate to what a parent is rather than what they do. For example, a parent who is highly educated will pass these values on to their children. A parent who reads to their children regularly will not help them educationally wise.
12. If a parent were interested in having their child score higher, buying a lot of books is not the solution because the books variable is an indicator, not a causality. The amount a books indicates that the parents is highly education, wealthy, etc. it is not the cause of the IQ level and such.
13. I would allocate more money to the Head Start program to hire more qualified teachers who will actually make a difference in the future education of the children in that program. There is not much you can do about children with low birthrates because that is based upon the sole choices of the mother during pregnancy.
1. Very smart observation, Liz.
Delete2. Thats correct. These "experts" do play on people's fear.
3. Yes, the incentive is to be "the best parent ever." even by trusting in an unreliable resource.
4. Nice answer. You can also add the data in the chapter about more drownings than shooting.
5. Nice answer. Just remember its called causation and not casualty.
1) I liked how you used susceptible, that's a really good way to put it.
Delete2) When you say "safety" what exactly do you mean?
9) I like that you made the distinction that it had nothing to do with race, more so to do with the schools.
11) The example you use in this situation is really great example
13) I really like how you said you would help the Head Start program. That's probably one of the more useful things that program could do (as opposed to new supplies, etc.). Nicely done!
1.That might be the reason why people over dramatize and over protect their kids.
Delete2.Regardless of the safety feature, it will be appealing if the fear is presented but the seller.
3.It seems to be the easiest way to just read the “experts” book and learn the best way to parent a child even though they might not be experts.
4.The pool seems to be presented a lot more to the public than guns so it seem to be more dangerous.
9. The schools in the city who do not so well with graduating or test, do not really have a difference in white or black scores.
1. Parents are more susceptible to fear mongering than other people because they have a protective instinct. They will do almost anything for their children especially if their children are in danger.
ReplyDelete2. Parents read books about things that could happen to their children because they want to be ready for anything that could happen. Also, newer parents are probably more worried about not doing the right thing when bringing up their child, so they turn to the "experts."
3. The incentive for a parent is to give their child a good life. Because parents want to give their child a good life, they have the incentive to use expert advice to help them raise their child.
4. The swimming pool and the gun example suggests that it is safer for a child to play in a swimming pool than in a house with a gun. But the stats show that it is highly unlikely that a child will be shot in their own house with a gun, it also shows that children are more likely to drown in a pool.
5. Correlation shows HOW one thing affects another, whereas causation shows WHY one thing affects another.
6. Economists use controlled data to help them collect data. Then they change one of those variables to see what happens and how it affects the other variables.
7. Normative analysis often refers to someone's opinion, or something that cannot be proven. Positive analysis is usually the results of research, or something that can be proven. Parents often believe normative analysis when bringing up a child, because in theory, there is no right or wrong way to parent.
1. That is a different and interesting point. I didn't think about parents and their protective instincts.
Delete2. I agree on your explanatino of why some parents turn to experts.
3. I didn't think of the parents and their incentives. Would you agree that the experts also have their own incentives?
4. Good point telling the statistics between pool and gun-related deaths.
7. Good explanation between normative and positive analysis.
8. In the '90s the US Department of Education tracked 20k students from kindergarten until fifth grade to keep track of their academic progress.
ReplyDelete9. This chapter says that schools with overwhelming white people is better than schools with overwhelming black people. They are making the point that usually white children go to better schools.
10. No matter their race, a person in a bad school usually does better.
11. What a parent is. I think the reason for this is because if your parents were smart then you will probably be smart. Its all about genetics.
12. The amount of books in a household doesn't affect a child's grade in school. It just shows that the parents are smart or not.
13. I would give more money to the Head Start program to help a child be smarter in the future. Birth problems are usually the mothers fault. For example, the mother drinks alcohol or smokes while the baby is still in her stomach.
1. Why are parents more susceptible to “fearmongering” than other people?
ReplyDeleteParents are very protective. They fear that the worst will happen to their children and they will do almost anything for their children.
2. What market forces give rise to parenting books that appeal to a parent’s fears and inadequacies
rather than books which present an objective and evenhanded articulation of the state-of-the-
science of good parenting?
They want to be prepared to do the right thing in any situation.
3. How does the information in this chapter regarding the contradictory and confusing assemblage
of information from parenting experts support the major theme of this book
(Hint:incentives matter)?
They want to be the best parent. They turn to experts because they will know what is best.
4. Based on the example of perfect parenting in this chapter,provide examples that illustrate how the
combination of asymmetric information and fear can lead to inefficient outcomes.
In the book it compares having a gun in your house to having a swimming pool. There is a higher risk of a child dying in a pool then them shooting themselves. The gun in general is more unsafe but it is less likely.
5. When looking at statistical data over a period of time,what does “correlation” mean? How is
it different from “causation?”
Correlation shows how something happens, causation shows why it happens.
6. What tool does an economist use to make sense of data which include many variables? In general
terms,how does regression analysis sort out the data?
They will change one variable to see the difference in the data.
7. Describe the difference between normative and positive analysis.What can you learn about
the utility of this distinction from this chapter on perfect parenting?
Positive analysis can be scientifically proven, normative can only be supported.
8. Describe,in general terms,the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS)? Who conducted it,
who was the target of the study,and what was the purpose of the study?
They tracked 20,000 students from kindergarden to 5th grade to see how they would do academically.
9. According to the data in this chapter,what are the main differences between a school which
ReplyDeleteoverwhelmingly has black students versus a school which overwhelmingly has white students?
White children normally go to a better school, so you can conclude that a school with more while children is safer. That is not always the case.
10.Academically,how well does an average black student do in a “bad” school? How is this different
from an average white student in a “bad” school?
Their race has no effect on them, only the school.
11.According to the data developed from the ECLS,what is more important regarding a child’s success
on standardized tests:what a parent does for a child or what a parent is? In your opinion,what
might be an explanation for such a strange conclusion?
Its about your parents. Over the time span of your life your parents can do things. It also may do with genetics.
12.According to the data developed from the ECLS,having lots of books in the home is correlated
with higher scores on a child’s tests,reading to the child nearly every day is not.If a parent were
only interested in having his or her child achieve higher scores on standardize tests,what would
you imagine his or her benefit/cost considerations to be when it came to the purchase of books
and this use of his or her time?
The books show the intelligence of the parents, not necessarily the students.
13.According to the data developed from the ECLS,a low birth weight is correlated with lower test
scores on standardized tests,but the attendance by a child in the Head Start program is not.If you
were a government official with limited financial resources,how would this inform your decisions
regarding the allocation of government funds?
The babies weight is typically the mothers fault. She may be doing drugs or drinking. By giving more money to the HS program a child will be in school more and do better.
1. Parents think that these "experts" know best about parenting, and they think tif they don't listen to them, their child won't be able to survive in society
ReplyDelete2. Fear of death, responsibility, and other unreliable sources.
3. The incentive for the "experts" is that parents will take their advice. The incentive for the parents is that they will raise their kids in the way they think is the "best way possible"
4. If an "expert" would give you advice on breastfeeding your baby instead of bottle-feeding it, you might only breast feed instead of bottle-feeding.
5. A correlation is a positive or negative relationship between data. A causation is what can happen in the relationship.
6. Economists use what matters and what doesn't matter. If more variables show, it gets complicated. He determines which factors are correlated and which aren't.
7. Normative regression is when something that seems normal is less than normal. Positive regression is when something that seems positive is less than positive. With parenting
8. The U.S. Department of education made a project called Early Childhood Longitudinal Study. ECLS wanted to measure the academic progress of more than 20,000 children in kindergarden-5th grade. Using children and parent interviews, this regression analysis identified interesting correlations.
9. Since a black student's parents have low income jobs, they would score worse, even though he and the white student came from the same background.
10. An average black person would do better than a white person in a bad school.
11. What a parent is is important because good parenting skills don't make a good child if the child doesn't like the parent to start with.
12. The parent would purchase the books for the kid and read the books to him or her on a daily basis, thus achieving what they think is a high academic status.
13. If I were a government official, i would probably give the Head Start program the necessary funding by getting my resources to invest more money in education.
10.
1) Parents are more influenced by fear-mongering because they are the most protective of their children and if something is rumored to be bad or harmful to their children they would most likely be the first to listen to such things.
ReplyDelete2) Sometimes parents look for more experienced sources to help them parent their children. Experts, lont-time parents, basically authors of those type are usually the ones who parents buy and recommend books from.
3) The major theme of this book relates the interests of people to the gain of those catering to people’s needs and wants, and this chapter serves as a good example in the parenting field. The main incentive to buying parenting and child raising books/guides is that they usually want to raise their children in the most acceptable, healthy way possible because they love their children so much.
4) One example that was given about child safety was comparing a swimming pool to a gun. If a child was around one or the other, the chances of them getting caught in a shooting incident would be much more slim than drowning in the pool. Because of these results, some parents may now be a lot more careful about their children’s exposure to pools.
5) A correlation is the relations between many results in data and the causation is the original cause and effect of the experiment.
6) A way that an economist comprehends data is by using regressional analysis, which helps to show how two independent variables are somehow related. A way that this is found is by the economist taking similar variables in an experiment and changing some of them to see what makes them different than the rest.
7) Normative is when someones opinion is used in analysis. Positive is when actual facts and experimental results are used to prove something. This chapter describes the differences by talking about parenting tools and how a lot of advice and tips are results of different opinions.
8) The ECLS was conducted by the US Dept. of Education. The purpose of the study was to see overall school performance amongst American students.
9) The main differences have mainly to do with the condition of the environment that a school is usually in rather than the background of the students individually, although that could play into the difference between Black and White schools. The main reason that a school does more poorly than another is because of general funding going towards the running of the whole program.
10) On a State standardized test, it only makes sense that if a student does bad on a test, it’s because of their poor performance, not their race. However, smaller things like quizzes or worksheets given in different schools can show different results in each child because the level of difficulty the method of teaching in each school can easily vary.
11) Ultimately, what makes a parent is the children they have. One cannot be a parent without children. That said, there are parents out there who do a lot for their children, and those who don’t do as much or even nothing at all. It is not mandatory for a parent to be perfect for their child, but if one does try to attain perfection, their child would have a higher chance of success because their parent is making more things in life possible for them.
12) Based off of these results, it might make sense that the availability of more books could make a child smarter, but not always. People’s interests differ, and if a child who is interested in mostly science is given a book about history, chances are that it would be harder for them to actually read the book. In this case, it would be better for a parent to buy many books that match a child’s interests since they would get more out them.
13) I would spend more money on educating children of people in general about staying healthy in numerous ways rather than focusing it on one organization. It could just be public service announcements or performances where people go across the country to speak to the public about staying healthy and doing good in school.
1. Parents are more susceptible to fear mongering then any other people because they want their kids to be safe so they make illogical decisions because fear is a becomes a factor to their decisions.
ReplyDelete2. Parents would choose the book that talks about their inadequacies and fears because they want to be ready for anything.
3. The incentives for the parent is that their kids will grow up being the best they possible can be. So they will by books, listen to lectures, etc. because they think the "experts" know what they are talking about.
4. For example, if a expert was to say that physical discipline is the best way to deal with a situation with a child then new parents might start relying on spankings than any other method because an expert said so.
5. Correlation is the relationship between the data or how something happens. While causation why something happens.
6. When a economist has a lot of variables in a data he has to make sense of it. The way the economist does is by seeing if the factors correlate or not.
7. Positive analysis can be backed up with real numbers. While normative analysis is when the numbers are used to make a bias statement.
Ex/ Positive analysis - Lil wayne make millions of dollars each year
Normative analysis- He shouldn't get paid that much money because he isn't a good rapper.
8. The U.S Department formed the ECLS in the 1990's. It was a monumental study taken to see the the academic progress of 20,000 k-5th graders.
9. Schools that is dominantly black will have worse education then a school that is dominantly white.
10. There isn't a difference in test score if a black and white student goes to a "bad" school.
11. What a Parent is. If the parent is smart and has a high IQ, then genetically the child should be just as smart as the parent.
12. Parents should have more books around the house because that would mean they actually care about education. Reading to your child everyday doesn't really mean anything when it comes to tests.
13. If i were a government official, i would give more money to the educate the children of america because ultimately they are our future and we need to help build a better one.
10. YOu couldn't put it more simply, that is the truth.
Delete2. I guess that makes sence.
9. The data seems to say that, guess your right.
8. YOu speak the truth, thats what the ECLS was for.
7. Thats true, Lil wayne makes a lot of money, but you can't prove wether he is bad or not. Personally i don't listen to him that much, so i can't say wether he is bad or not.
1. Parents are responsible for bringing a human being into the world and therefore they feel that new human being is theirs to protect and keep out of harm.
ReplyDelete2. The books that show the most common fears is very appealing to the parents because they think it is a simple fix of the common fears that will make you feel more secure.
3. People who have fear of being parents will seek help to make them feel more secure, therefore they go to “parental experts” and get the answers they feel are correct. But you may never know, those experts could honestly have the same problems because no one is the perfect parent because there are no absolutes in parenting.
4. One parent didn’t want their child to go over her friends house who’s parents had a gun but didn’t mind her going over her friend’s house with the pool. The parents feared the gun more than the pool, where it should have been the other way around since more children drown in swimming pools than get shot.
5. Correlation means that two things have a connection with each other. Causation refers to one thing causing another.
6. An economist may use regression analysis to make sense of data with many variables. Regression analysis focuses on the relationship between dependent variables and independent variables. This is fairly simple when looking at only a few different relationships but the more variables the harder the regression analysis is.
7. Normative analysis cannot be shown to be true, but positive analysis can. I believe that a lot of the instances in this chapter are normative because being a perfect parent cannot be proven. It is all based on opinion and how people live.
8. The ECLS was conducted by the U.S. Department of Education. The targets of the study were 20,000 students. The purpose of the study was to measure the academic progress of those 20,000 students from kindergarten to 5th grade.
9. The amount of troublesome indicators is the largest difference. Schools with more black students have more gang problems, lower funding, and nonstudent loitering in front of the school, along with the low-income household.
10. Academically, anyone in a bad school does poor compared to anyone in a well kept school. So race in this situation does not really play a part because on a equal playing field it seems that white and black students do the same.
11. Regarding a child’s success on standardized tests, what a parent is would be the strongest factor. I think this is because a lot of who a child is and what a child does is actually inherited from our parents. Its not that your parent spends lots of time reading to you that makes you a good reader, its that you parent likes reading and feeling it is important
12. I think just purchasing books would be fine and get the kids to interest themselves in reading them. The thought of a parent thinking that far into getting their child to read well will probably heighten the chance of the child being able to read at an accelerated pace.
13. I would apportion funds to hospitals and programs that would educate young parents about premature/underweight babies. I would also reduce the money being spent on the Head Start program. I believe that in the long run,
this would increase test scores based on the facts focused on in the book.
1. Parents are susceptible to fear mongering because they are in charge of another person’s life and are shaping them while being responsible for keeping them alive.
ReplyDelete2. Parents are scared they are going to do the wrong thing so they get the books that would solve what they are doing wrong instead of what articulates the science of a good parents.
3. The assemblage of information in the chapter fits in with the theme of the book because it show the incentives to be the perfect parent and the incentives of those who try to teach how to be a perfect parent. It then shows the connection between the two and how their incentives influence each other and what they do.
4. -risk assessment
-death
-“expert” opinnions
-public opinions
-safety
-marketers
5. Correlation is the connection between two different subjects that have an influence over each other. Causation is the relationship of cause and effect.
6. Economists use data and variables. The economist uses the data to find a correlation.
7. Positive analysis is based off of facts and numbers while normative analysis is bias and opinionated. You can learn that parents are usually susceptible to normative analysis because they are so scared they will tend to listen to anyone.
8. The ecls was a study to see the progress of students in school. It was conducted by the U.S. department of education.
9. The school with overwhelmingly amount of black students tend to do poor while the white students tend to do good.
10. The student in a bad school usually does poorly no matter what.
11. A students smarts is usually passed on from the parents and if the parents are smart the kid is smart what the parent does can help but its ultimately just the parent nurturing their kids nature.
12. The books usually just has to do with how smart the parents are.
13. I was born prematurely and at a low birth weight so I don’t agree with that statement and also I would put government funding into some sort of tutoring center that would help a kid find what they were good at and advance that skill. (nurturing their nature.)
1)I agree with your answer. Parents are more prone to protecting a child since they helped to make and raise it.
Delete6) True, but the more specific term is 'regressional analysis'
11) I disagree with your statement. To me, intelligence is more of a thing that people attain through experience than something genetic.
12) I think that parents are just more protective when it comes to children, not un-smart.
13) It's true that not all low-weight babies do worse on tests, however the chance of a child's failure in that case could be possibly higher.
1. Parents are more susceptible to fearmongering because they’re responsible for another life separate from their own. They always want to have their child’s best interest in mind, and they want to keep them as safe as they can.
ReplyDelete2. Parents are more likely to read parenting books about common fears so that they’ll know what to avoid with their kids. They’d also rather read about how they can maximize their child’s life and keep them away from these dangers and fears that they often have
3. The incentives of the parents are to be the best that they can possibly be and some of them think that they can achieve this by reading parenting books that the “experts” have put out
4. Parents are more likely to send their children to a friend’s house that has a swimming pool than someone that has a gun somewhere in the house. Even though more people die in swimming pools each year than playing around with a gun.
5. Correlation is when two variables move together like snow and cold weather. And causation is what’s causing the action.
6. Economists use regression. Regression is the relation between values.
7. Normative analysis is expressing whether a judgment is desirable or nondesirable. But it can’t be proven. A positive statement is a statement of what is. It can be proven
8. In the 1990’s, U.S. department of education began a study of over 20,000 elementary children. It measured the academic performance and gathered information about the background of the children.
9. Schools with overwhelming white children usually do better. And schools with overwhelming black children are usually not as good. It isn’t because of their race, but more black children live in bad neighborhoods with bad schooling systems.
10. Both the black and white student will do badly. It’s because of the bad school that they’re in; race isn’t a part of it.
11. What a parent is would be more important. A parent’s IQ is genetically passed from one generation to another.
12. If a parent were only interested in high test scores, they wouldn’t spend a bunch of money on books. Because it’s not the parents reading to the children that help them, and it’s not about the quantity of books either.
13. If I were a government official, I would allocate more money for head start programs/centers. Money can’t really help a low birth rate problem, there’s not much a doctor can do about that. But money can go into programs to better the head start centers.
1. Parents are more susceptible to fear mongering than other people because taking care of your child is one of the most important factors to living and they want to make sure they do this right. The fear is stricken by the chance that not being a good parent could morph a child into a poor example of a nice person.
ReplyDelete2. In a general statement, the strong appeal parents have to calming fears distracts them from the point of formal instruction. So, because people are more worried about what could happen, they don’t think about focusing how to manage what is and will happen.
3. This book is all about deconstructing confusing questions economically in the real world and answering them piece-by-piece. In the end a question is answered and the major theme of the book becomes clearer: economic incentives influence information that people believe. This chapter shares information about the overload of contradicting parenting techniques. Really, in correlation with the book’s theme, experts just support certain studies and sets of information that will benefit them socially or economically.
4. For one example; if the word gets out that cows have a disease, no one will by them even if it’s not true. The farmers may know that their meat is fine but the fear that the consumers have is too much to risk and it ends with farmers being short of profit and people not eating cow. Another example is if someone that lives near a nuclear power plant gets cancer, tons of power plant that produce this might be shut down. The plant workers know their work doesn’t cause cancer, but people fear cancer so they don’t want to risk it.
5. When looking at statistical data over a long period of time, correlation means: has a linear effect. So if the amount a Fruit Snacks has a positive correlation with the amount of Rice Krispy Treats, then the more Fruit Snacks, the more Rice Krispy Treats. Causation is when something causes another thing to happen. For example, the size of the fridge might cause the amount of food to be a certain size.
6. Regression Analysis examines data at an average instead of looking at specifics so you can receive a general conclusion instead of being fooled by tricky outliers.
7. Normative Analysis is usually proven by arguing someone’s opinion and moral ideas. Passive Analysis can be proven using research and pure information. Most of the discussion on perfect parenting is filled with both normative and passive analysis; parents just don’t know which to believe. Experts could testify a certain method that seems nice and humane, but then passive analyses have a strong argument and backing evidence countering those ideas. In the end it is almost impossible to know whom to believe.
1. It makes me thankful that I don't have overprotective parents. Obviously, my parents would be fearful of me being a failure, but they also give me a lot of freedom as well. I think that parents need to allow children to make mistakes on their own before they start to decide everything for them.
Delete2. Exactly; like in the previous chapters, when you have a group of people who a scared about EVERY possible thing that could happen to their child, it's really easy to take advantage of them.
3. Money > Telling the truth
4. Just another example of how fear is a huge factor (if not the main one) into how we make economic decisions.
5. Good analogies for both.
1)Sometimes this leads to overprotective parents or a trait in parents that makes them undesirable or over something.
Delete2)Parents tend to look at statistics to much for what could happen to their child instead of evaluating their own child and and seeing what is more likely wth their child.
4)Fear trumps almost everything economics i like that you show this
5)Good analogies with the fridge sie and sweets correlating with each other. what makes it good i think is the fact that it seems like teenagers are always hungry and those are the kids reading this.
6)i like how you are very specific and use the terms average and outliers to their full meaning.
8. The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS) studied to find out what caused students to have higher test scores in school. The federal government conducted these tests. The basic idea was, if the government could pinpoint the key to making students have higher test scores, they could make more people test better.
ReplyDelete9. A school with overwhelmingly white students has higher test scores than the schools with overwhelmingly more black students. This chapter argues that this is for multiple reasons. For one thing, the average income of the parents is lower at the black school, which affects the scores. The socioeconomic stature of the parents is higher, in general, in the white school. Overall, although there is a correlation, the poor test grades in the black school have nothing to with the parents or race.
10. In general, a black student in a “bad school” does not perform well academically. This is not because of race or school, however. The white student in a “bad school” performs the same as in a “good school”; the performance isn’t really affected by what school one attends.
11. The conclusion of the ECLS studies show that the performance of a student on standardized test is more affected by what a parent is, not by what a parent does. I believe such a conclusion can come to be because of the predictability of economic social and moral decisions.
12. Parents would spend the time and money to make their student have higher test scores if that’s what it takes.
13. If I was a government official I would inform fund officials so that they might spend less money on Head Start and more on other, more important things.
1.Parents are more susceptible to fear mongering because a human child is a very defenseless, much more than other species baby. So because of this they do all they can to protect it and they become very fearing of any possible threat.
ReplyDelete2.Books that appeal to parent’s inadequacies and fears tend to be edgier and edgier things sell better than other things.
3.All of the “experts” have the economic incentive to have a different and unique method for parenting.
4.insufficient outcomes may be things such as parents letting their children go to swimming pools or driving a car while not letting them go to a house who has a gun or ski because they seem much scarier than things that are deadlier.
5.Correlation is a mutual relationship of 2 or more variables; it is different form causation in that it doesn’t say which variable causes another variable.
6.To sort out data economists use regression analysis. When doing this they change variables one at a time to see which variables affect what.
7.positive analysis can be proven with data while normative is more so an opinion.
8.The ECLS study was a study performed by the US Dept. of education and it gathered a lot of information on over 20,000 students academic progress from grades k-5. The purpose was to see how the average student progressed through school.
9.A school that is all black tends to test poorer than a school that is all white, but I believe it did also show that if that all black school had several white children in it they tested the same as the black students.
10.The black student tested very similarly to the white student.
11.What a parent is affected it more, in my opinion having a better job helps you give more resources to your child for their education so that helps.
12.The amount of books in a home is just an indicator that the parent values education and/or believes that reading is important. If a parent values education they are more likely to help their child and push them to succeed.
13.If I where a government official with limited funds I would allocate them to programs and such that would help mothers try to prevent low birthrates and premature births because these are correlated with the success of children on standardized tests.
1) Another reason probably causing their fear is it is their baby and they are respnsible for that babies life and how it is developed in the first few years of life
Delete8) I wonder if the ecls did other school systems other than public that had kids that were only allowed of they excelled or met some sort of requirement.
9)I dont think its about race its more about location. Schools with more african american based populations tend to be in more rundown neighborhoods.
11) Sometimes your job dosnt matter if you just send your kid to the local public school and it happens to be in a rundown neighborhood with not very schollarly students.
12) the amount of books could also be a parent just trying to impress others with a first impression.
1. I agree. Nicely done, good view.
Delete3. Nowadays there are way too many so-called "experts."
5.Correlation doesn't imply causation, and people generally forget this. Remind people of the meanings more often
7. You left off an explanation
1. Parents are more susceptible to fearmongering because bringing a human life into the world is a massive responsibility and everyone is going to look for help from somewhere in order to lessen the burden.
ReplyDelete2. Parents will purchase books that they believe will give them inside information on raising children and giving their child the best chance in life.
3. Expert opinions are useless because the massive amounts of terrified parents looking for help with raising their child will help sell the parenting books like hotcakes.
4. Even with the information from experts that a swimming pool is more dangerous than a handgun for a child, parents feel safer when their child is playing in a pool over when they are playing in a house with a handgun.
5. Causation is cause and effect and correlation is how two or more things interact.
6. Schoolwork is used to see how effectively parents are raising their child. If a child is struggling in school, then the parents are doing a bad job and if the child is excelling, then this means that the parents are succeeding.
7. Normative economic analysis refers to theories that can’t be proven, and positive analysis refers to theories that can be proven.
8. The ECLs were a study taken by the U.S. department of education that analyzed the progress of 20,000 students from kindergarten to fifth grade. The purpose of this study was to measure the effects of parenting on the students.
9. The schools with more African-American students tend to do worse because of a lack of funding, inner school problems like gangs, outside distractions such as non-students loitering around the building/campus and worse learning environments overall.
10. There was no discernable difference between the poorly performing African-American children from the “lesser” schools and the Caucasian children from the “better” schools.
11. A child will attempt to emulate what he sees his parents doing as far as standardized testing goes, so he or she will try harder to at least achieve the standard that the parent has set, if not go beyond it.
12. Parents with books in their home are more likely to value education and therefore to wish for their child to perform well in school, and reading to a child does not necessarily correlate with better test scores.
13. I would without a doubt increase Head Start’s funding, and hope that my contributions would enable them to further the program and help more children.
1) I like the reason you gave to answer this question. It didn't really occur to me that parents would look to lessen the burden of having a child, more like they wanted to protect it.
Delete4) Yes, but the percentage of a child getting hurt by a pool is much higher than a child getting shot.
8) I thought that the purpose of the study was to test overall school performance?
10) yes, but the quality of material taught at each school can differ depending on the funding that the school gets.
11) Not in all cases, but this can be true for most.
3. I would say that expert opinions aren't useless, but rather that most of the so-called experts aren't.
Delete4. This is probably because people have different views on risk than logic would dictate, due to familiarity and other factors.
5. Correlation may not show an interaction necessarily, since two correlated factors may simply be coincidental.
10. The comparison between children of differing races from bad schools showed little difference.
11. I think parents set up a mindset in a child, and the child follows that mindset, whether it's what the parents intended or not.
1. Cause Parenting is extremely hard and many things can go wrong and they are scaredfor there children
ReplyDelete2. Since parents are worried about what could happen they don’t focus on what’s going on now
3. This book is about thinking about questions in a economic standpoint and its answered by the theme, That helps comprehend better on the material. This chapter shares info about the overload of over parenting techniques that are used.
4. One example is when cows got diseases and parents freaked out. Even though it wasn’t true. Another example when people live near a nuclear power plant they think that they are going to get radiation poisoning or get cancer. They fear about too much and think they have cancer
5. Correlation is the connection between two similar ideas that have an influence over each other . Causation is the relationship of cause and effect with two different relationships.
6. Economist will use data and variables to help find correlation between 2 influences
7. Positive analysis is based off of facts and numbers while on the other hand normative or nomal analysis is bias and opinions affect it dramatically. You can learn that parents are normative because of there past
8. In the 90’s, U.S.D.E. began a study of over 20,000 elementary children around the nation . It measured the academic performance of th and gathered information about the students and, background of the children.
9. White kids usually do better under pressure then black kids when they are under pressure
10. They both do bad because they are affected by the teachers and resources
11. the parents IQ and the enviorment the kids are raised in decide how th kid is.Also the amount a parent makes could limit a kid
12. parents with more education tools at the house will increase the intelligence which proves nuture
13. I would take my goverment funds and try to encourage mothers to keep their children healthy by staying healthy during pregnancy or be abscenent or get an abortion
2) this is a very vague answer in my opinion, and I think it would be good if you expanded a little on it...
Delete3) I don't think that it's the entirely the overload of techniques being used, but rather the overload of techniques available that aren't necessarily the best for the child.
6) you didn't answer how regression analysis sorts out the data.
10) again, very vague answer... to an outside reader that would make barely any sense... I think that it would be wise to expand on it and go a little more in detail.
13) This is an answer, but I don't think that it was quite the answer they were looking for... if you can connect how having no child benefits your child's test scores, I would love to hear it.
1. Having a child is one of the scariest moments in a person's life, and for this reason, parents often tend to be a little more fearful and protective of their children.
ReplyDelete2. Parents want the book that will calm their fears. If a company advertises a book as "answering your scariest questions," a parent will be more likely to buy this one than he/ she will be to buy one that tells you how to be a good parent. Markets often play on the element of fear.
3. Parents believe that by buying this book, they will be a better parent. The fear they have prompts them to buy books by these so-called "experts," and in many cases they are experts, however, in some cases they are just writers with a little bit of insight.
4. One of the examples in the book was when a person who lives near a nuclear power plant gets cancer, people surrounding the cancer-stricken person often blame the power plant for the cancer. The employees and owners of the company know that it wasn't the radiation from the power plant that caused the cancer, but the public is only getting part of the story, so they attribute the cancer solely to the power plant.
5. Correlation is how to things relate or interact with each other, while causation has more to do with the cause and effect.
6. They use an analysis method where they change one variable at a time to see which variables affect what parts of something.
7. Normative analysis is based more on opinion, while positive analysis is based on facts and numbers.
8. The US Department of Education studied 20,000 schoolchildren (K-5) to try to see the roles certain variables played in a child's test taking and academic abilities.
9. The school with an overwhelming majority of the students being black tended to do worse. They attributed this to lack of funding, location, gangs, and the like.
10. They both pretty much had the same result because they were both in the same environment.
11. It had more to do with what a parent is. It's kind of like "monkey see monkey do."
12. Parents who keep more books in a house tend to be more actively involved in their child's education. By having these books in the house, accessible to the child, it might peak that child's curiosity, leading to that child learning new things. By seeing the book, he or she might ask you to read it to him/ her, leading to this child learning new things. In my opinion, having books in the house is a good investment.
13. I think this information is somewhat skewed. Premature babies are smaller than babies who are born at full-term, and premature babies often times have disorders or disabilities, including learning disabilities. If they were to take out all children that had any sort of learning disability or other disorder that prevents them from from being "full- engaged" (for lack of a better term) at all times, I would be more okay with this study. But because of these premature babies, I think the information is not totally there. However, based solely on the information above, I would allot more money to education mothers on having a healthy pregnancy.
1. Parents are more susceptible because they are naturally fearful of anything happening to their children, no matter how outrageous the possibilities are.
ReplyDelete2. Basically, parenting has been turned into a “science”, and there is money to be made by becoming a parenting “expert”, and the way to do this is to come up with techniques in the hopes of it becoming conventional wisdom.
3 The main thing that I noticed was that the chapter explains how parenting experts try to turn things into convential wisdom, regardless of whether or not their opinions are true. It’s very similar to the example of the real estate agent from earlier in the book, where there is so much money to be made that they can take advantage of fearful parents.
4. There are a lot of misconceptions created about likely things that kill children-and example is how no parents are ever afraid of letting their kids swim, but they’re extremely afraid of guns, even though there are 5 times more deaths from drowning than there are from guns.
5. A correlation is simply a relationship between two pieces of data, while a causation is when one piece of data is directly causing the other to change.
6. Economists change individual variables in order to discover which ones are related to each other; It’s pretty self-explanatory as to how this helps to sort data.
7. Positive analysis is backed by data or evidence (objective, cause and effect), while normative analysis is usually an opinion of some kind (subjective, inferences)
8. It was a study conducted by the US Department of Education to track students in school, and to figure out what causes their test scores to go up.
9. In general, a school with mostly white students has higher test scores than a school with overwhelmingly more black students.
10. In general, a black student in a “bad” school does poorly academically, while a white student tends to do the same as well as they would at a “good” school
11. The ECLS concluded that standardized test scores are more determined by what a parent is than what a parent does. I think this happens because children tend to shape their opinions and tendencies from what they interpret rather than what they are told.
12. I think that parents, if they knew a little bit more, would actually allow their kids to have a bit more freedom to make their own decisions. Like the ECLS showed, you can surround the child with things that will help them learn, but going out of your way to make sure they do it doesn’t necessarily work as well as letting them decide to do it themselves.
13. I’ve always personally thought that those head start programs were fairly useless-I think that parents get WAY too concerned with making sure their kids are successful in school, so they go out of their ways to do everything possible. Like I said, sometimes it’s better to just send the child to school, and to give them some freedom (to a degree).
4. This is also related to how humans percive risks, and our intuitive sense of what is dangerous and what is not.
Delete6. Specifically, only two variables are changed while the rest remain the same, in order to ensure one is responsible for the change.
9. This is mostly because 'good' schools tend to have more white students, since they usually come from more favorable socioeconomic backgrounds.
10. The data showed that white students at bad schools did as well as black students at the same school. The school was a more important factor.
11. I think this is also because what a parent is affects the environment the child will be immersed in more than what the parent does.
Very intesting Shuyler, very well thought out. Good in-depth answers. Nicely done, overall
Delete@anthony do you think that with more and more people buying guns every day and more people knowing how to use them that eventually a gun could be more harmful then a pool?
ReplyDelete@nik why do you think schools with higher african american populations get less funding?
1. Parents are more susceptible to fear mongering than other people because a parent is responsible for their child’s life.
ReplyDelete2. Parenting books give parents information and opinions from an expert. This makes parents feel like this information will help them become better parents.
3. This information supports the major theme of the book by showing us how different incentives, views, and scenarios effect how we think. The information in this chapter shows how parents specifically react upon different views and incentives, and how this affects their parenting styles.
4. An example of this is when the set of parents believe they are helping their child, by not letting her go to her friend Amy’s house because her parents own a gun. In reality, they sent her to Imani’s house, where she has a pool and the chances of drowning are higher than child shootings. Her parent’s views effected how they thought of Amy’s house
5. Correlation is when two things are connected to each other, while causation is when one thing causes a change in the other.
6. Economists use regression analysis to make sense of data. Regression analysis helps sort out information by artificially constant every variable except the two that the economist wishes to focus on. This shows how those two variables co- vary.
7. Normative analysis cannot be proven, while positive analysis can. When reading his chapter, I saw that many parents relied on normative analysis when looking at parenting techniques.
8. The ECLS was a study conducted on a group of 20,000 children. The purpose of the story was to study the academic progress of children from kindergarten to fifth grade.
9. The data in this chapter shows that a school that has an overwhelming amount of black students tends to get a lower quality of education than a school with mainly white students.
10.The average black student does badly in a “bad” school. In comparison to white students in a “bad” school, they do fall a little behind.
11. According to the data, what a parent is, is more important that that a parent does. This is because when a parent shows their values, a child would almost mimic them. And when this is taken in consideration to education, a parent’s value on education could rub off on their child.
12. I think that if a parent wanted their child to do good on their tests, the wouldn’t mind spending money on books. Considering the data, this would pay off in the long run, with higher test scores.
13.If I were a government official, I would allocate funds to hospitals and programs that would educate young parents. I believe that in the long run, this would increase test scores. I would also reduce the money being spent on the Head Start program.
@Sasha-I agree with half of your post for #1, while having a child can be scary for others, some might have been prepared for it or on their second child. I believe that most people just want the best for their child regardless of the scariness involved
ReplyDelete@Gameesa-Your answers were short, and easy to understand. I think your could have expanded on a few of them though. I thought it was pretty funny how you included Lil Wayne into your response for #7
1. Parents, being in charge of their child’s life, are very scared of potential threats to it. They are going through a lot of emotional turmoil in their efforts to keep their child safe and raise them correctly.
ReplyDelete2. Appeal to fear is good marketing strategy. Parents, in their attempts to care for their child, will take most any advice they can get, and ones that claim to solve their fears will sell well. Objective accounts fail to be bold and confident in their conclusions.
3. Parents’ incentive is to protect their child. The incentives of those looking to sell them information on this matter are mostly to make money by selling as much as possible. This means that they will often do whatever is necessary to sell books, whether it truly benefits parents or not.
4. Parents can be persuaded by the illusion that others have information they do not, and might be led to do unwise things under the assumption that the experts truly are experts.
5. Correlations show that two factors increase or decrease in correspondence with one another. They may be unconnected, or connected, or connected by some third factor. Causation means that one factor is directly responsible for the change in another factor; that is, any change in it is reflected in the other.
6. Economists can use regression analysis to determine which factors are related, changing one at a time and measuring the response to determine the degree to which factors impact some measurement.
7. Positive analysis shows which factors do correlate, while normative shows those that do not. This can be used to predict what changes can be made to improve one factor, and what changes don’t make a difference. In the context of parenting, it can be used to determine the best parenting strategy.
8. The USDE conducted a study of 20,000 randomly selected children in order to measure overall academic progress. It measured their performance as well as connecting it to many other factors in their life, such as their parents’ education.
9. Black students tend to go to worse schools, since they are often from worse socioeconomic backgrounds. All the students in these schools perform worse, on average, than other schools.
10. All students at a bad school perform worse than their counterparts at a good school; black students simply tend to go to bad schools more often than white students.
11. The socioeconomic status of the child’s family are much more highly correlated with good test scores than what the child’s parents have done for them. I think this could be because parents with a good socioeconomic background tend to do these things more often than those who don’t.
12. The purchase of books or ownership of books does not correlate to higher test scores. It’s simply more likely for the families with high socioeconomic standing to be able to afford or desire books. The actual purchasing of books is not important.
13. I would use this information to argue that the Head Start program is a poor use of money, and I’d try to allocate the money to programs that can help with some of the correlated factors.
1. Why are parents more susceptible to “fearmongering” than other people?
ReplyDeleteBecause they are worrying about their children, the next generation.
2. What market forces give rise to parenting books that appeal to a parent’s fears and inadequacies rather than books which present an objective and evenhanded articulation of the state-of-the-science of good parenting?
Because parents are afraid of the big things, and the little things generally are assumed to be able to be just brushed over
3. How does the information in this chapter regarding the contradictory and confusing assemblage
of information from parenting experts support the major theme of this book
(Hint:incentives matter)?
Parents are given the incentive of peace of mind when making sure that their children are safe from outrageous incidents, while disregarding the minor issues.
4. Based on the example of perfect parenting in this chapter,provide examples that illustrate how the
combination of asymmetric information and fear can lead to inefficient outcomes.
Gun vs. Swimming Pool. More kids drown in swimming pools, hugely so, than injure themselves with guns. However, guns are more hated by parents because the media portrays guns as dangerous no matter where they are, even though more kids die in swimming pools.
5. When looking at statistical data over a period of time,what does “correlation” mean? How is it different from “causation?”
Correlation means connections or associations between variables. Causation implies being a causing force.
6. What tool does an economist use to make sense of data which include many variables? In general
terms,how does regression analysis sort out the data?
When conducting research, economists change a set variable and see how it affects the outcome.
7. Describe the difference between normative and positive analysis.What can you learn about
the utility of this distinction from this chapter on perfect parenting?
Normative analysis expresses someone's opinions, while positive analysis reflects results opinions through research and analysis. Parents believe what shocks them, rather than what is proven.
8. Describe,in general terms,the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS)? Who conducted it,
ReplyDeletewho was the target of the study,and what was the purpose of the study?
The U.S. Department of Education conducted Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, which was a study where they targeted twenty thousand+ students across the country in order to try and measure their academic progresses.
9. According to the data in this chapter,what are the main differences between a school which
overwhelmingly has black students versus a school which overwhelmingly has white students?
Predominantly black schools test lower, while predominantly white schools test higher
10.Academically,how well does an average black student do in a “bad” school? How is this different
from an average white student in a “bad” school?
There is no difference between the two.
11.According to the data developed from the ECLS,what is more important regarding a child’s success
on standardized tests:what a parent does for a child or what a parent is? In your opinion,what
might be an explanation for such a strange conclusion?
What the parent is, is much more important than what a parent does. If the parent is highly educated, the value of higher education is seen by the child, pushing them to excel in school so that they may someday be on par with their parental figure.
12.According to the data developed from the ECLS,having lots of books in the home is correlated
with higher scores on a child’s tests,reading to the child nearly every day is not.If a parent were
only interested in having his or her child achieve higher scores on standardize tests,what would
you imagine his or her benefit/cost considerations to be when it came to the purchase of books
and this use of his or her time?
The parent will spend a lot money on the books, and according to the study the child will pass the standardized test. This leads to a class gap, as the ones who can afford books do better than the ones who do not, even if the ones who do not are more intelligent.
13.According to the data developed from the ECLS,a low birth weight is correlated with lower test
scores on standardized tests,but the attendance by a child in the Head Start program is not.If you
were a government official with limited financial resources,how would this inform your decisions
regarding the allocation of government funds?
I would ask for more funds being allocated to hospitals in order to ways to increase birth rate. Correlation may not imply causation, but to hell if that will stop a government official from implementing a far fetched plan!