If you’re over 40 years old and grew up in the U.S., you probably vividly remember a tsunami of roadside litter along American highways. It was fairly common as recently as 30 or 40 years ago for people to simply pitch trash from moving cars. There was little societal pressure to do otherwise. Then along came this guy:
The “Crying Indian“ did as much as anyone to change Americans’ attitudes about littering, and their behavior. Some have even credited this public service campaign from Keep America Beautiful, which debuted on Earth Day in 1971, with launching the modern environmental movement.
I thought of the Crying Indian while reading this op-ed in the Washington Times. Childrens’ book author Jennifer Bryan reminds us yet again of the benefit of reading to young children. “In an era of high-stakes testing and education reforms and revolutions, research has repeatedly proved that one simple parenting technique is among the most effective,” she writes. “Children who are read aloud to by parents get a head start in language and literacy skills and go to school better prepared.”
Right. We know this. But how many low-income Americans–the group least likely to read to their children–are going to hear about it in earnest op-eds? If I’m Obama or McCain, I put a massive public service campaign touting the benefits of reading to young children at the top of my education “to do” list. Done well, it might be the single most effective thing we can do right now, today, to close the achievement gap.
Effective public service messages have a long history of changing behavior, and burning the ideas behind them into the public mind. Buckle Up. A mind is a terrible thing to waste. Just say no. Give a hoot, don’t pollute. Only you can prevent forest fires. This is your brain on drugs. Any questions?
Aim it at parents, air it where they’re most likely to see it, and plaster it on inner city billboards. Make it direct and hard-hitting, not warm and fuzzy.
“It’s ten o’clock. Have you read to your child today?”
![[del.icio.us]](http://images.del.icio.us/static/img/delicious.small.gif){kind=small}
What a cheap, and perhaps very effective method for helping to involve parents and at the same time involve parents in the education of their children.