AUGUSTA, Maine - New England children's advocates say a video learning series is back at it again, making "unfounded claims" about infants' ability to read and learn.
In 2012, the Federal Trade Commission imposed a $148 million judgement against Dr. Robert Titzer and his "Your Baby Can Read!" videos.
A new complaint says the company simply changed the name of the video series and continues to make unfounded claims.
Susan Bennett-Armistead is an early-literacy professor at the University of Maine.
She says videos overall lack the ability to interact and provide the human contact that is vital to early learning.
"So, if I'm reading to my baby, I'm looking at her face," says Bennett-Armistead. "I might notice that she's maybe drifting in her attention, so I'm going to make my voice a little louder or a little quieter, or I'm going to do something to regain her attention. And a video is static, it can't respond in those same ways."
Armistead says Maine is ranked among the top states in the nation for parents reading aloud to children. She notes it doesn't require a big investment, as books can be checked out from the local library.
The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood filed the FTC complaint against the Infant Learning Company with the FTC, asking the commission to enforce the 2012 consent order.
On its website, the Infant Learning Company, maker of "Your Baby Can Learn!," continues to defend its product, claiming it is one of the most-studied baby products in the world and that studies show no negative effects.
Josh Golin, executive director for the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, says the video series has a history of pitching to lower-income families.
"And that's heartbreaking, when you think about a parent thinking if they spend this money, that this product will give their child a leg up," he says. "When, in fact, what we know is that babies don't learn anything from watching videos, let alone a complex skill like reading."
Golin points out the videos take time away from what he calls the "best thing parents can do," which is spending a few minutes a day reading to their children.
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The nonprofit group Alabama Possible has received a U.S. Department of Education grant to help increase FAFSA completion rates among students in the state.
Currently, fewer than half of Alabama's graduating seniors have filled out the Free Application for Financial Student Aid. Delays and glitches in the government's rollout of a new FAFSA system are largely to blame.
Chandra Scott, executive director of Alabama Possible, said the state has experienced one of the largest year-over-year declines in FAFSA completion, which makes summer support urgent.
"Who's going to stand in the gap in answering the calls of these students? They have gone through enough," Scott asserted. "The last thing they need to be faced with is, 'I don't know who to call. I don't know who can help guide me through this process.' And we want to remove that."
The most recent data from the National College Attainment Network show only about 47% of high school seniors nationwide have completed the FAFSA form.
Scott pointed out the grant has enabled her organization to enhance its call center and add more staff to assist families. She emphasized the assistance will be available via phone, chat and on Zoom, to help ensure support reaches every corner of the state.
"And they really, literally, will walk alongside with them on those applications, question by question, to make sure that they get it done and they are confident about the process," Scott explained. "They even follow up to make sure that, you know, those emails they were supposed to receive, to make sure they receive them."
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As some colleges in Pennsylvania and nationwide close their doors, one school in Erie has taken a big step toward making higher education more accessible and affordable.
Erie County Community College meets a need by serving an underserved county.
Chris Gray, president of the college, said the challenges of poverty and economic decline in the local area are being tackled in part, by creating a foundation to provide help to students with short-term, unexpected expenses, so they can stay in school and work toward their degrees and certificates.
"We call it an emergency fund," Gray explained. "It gives us a pot of money that allows us to step in and say, 'Hey, you've got this medical bill, you had to have a tooth pulled or whatever, it's 150 bucks.' Whether it's $50, $500 or $5,000, it's so out of reach for so many people that live in poverty. This allows us, through the generosity of our donors, to one time step in with that student and say, 'We're going to help you.'"
According to the school's website, the college offers affordable associate's degrees and technical certificate programs for jobs in fields with no requirement of a bachelor's degree.
Unlike many colleges, where enrollment is down, Gray noted their numbers have skyrocketed since opening in 2021. He pointed out they have had almost 600 students and are projecting enrollment of 700 to 800 this fall. He added some community funding has allowed some students to go to school at no cost.
"Through the generosity of the county government, we were able to waive tuition for the first two years," Gray noted. "And then, through the generosity of a private donor, the Susan B. Hagen Fund, we've been able to waive tuition for students. And it has had unbelievable results."
Gray pointed out along with the emergency fund, the college also offers scholarships, both recurring and one-time. He added in memory of his mother, they recently created an academic scholarship.
"That's a larger donation," Gray emphasized. "What we'll do off that is we'll basically use the interest, and every year with that donation, we'll be able to give out $1,000 to a student, for every year, for eternity."
Gray added the school is getting ready to do a major health care renovation, through a partnership between the county government and three hospital systems, which have committed more than $5 million to support the initiative.
Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.
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With just over a month before Indiana university students return, a new law affecting college professor tenures is in full effect.
The law targets public universities, mandating diversity committees to review faculty, administration, and policies on "cultural and intellectual diversity."
Professors must undergo reviews every five years. Trustees are required to accept complaints if professors fail to meet criteria related to free inquiry, expression, and intellectual diversity, though specifics are not detailed.
Ball State University student Michaela Ayeh said the law promotes bigotry.
"This is a prime example of Board of Trustee and government overreach, restriction of academic freedom and censorship," said Ayeh. "This bill is exemplary of the racism, homophobia, sexism, classes of ableism and other bigoted ideologies that bigots harbor."
Proponents say the law gives the board the ability to determine whether faculty are eligible for tenure or promotion depending on their performance in promoting intellectual diversity every five years.
State Sen. Spencer Deery - R-West Lafayette - helped author the bill. He argued it addresses concerns of ideological bias in universities.
"Pew Research Foundation actually researched this of why do you lack trust in our institutions of higher education," said Deery. "The number one issue for Republican respondents was professors pushing political views irrelevant to the classroom."
Some scholars are concerned with how their speech will be restricted because their positions are now on the line.
Some of the pushback claims the law encourages conformity, and may discourage professors from engaging in topics that run the risk of violating what they deem is vague criteria.
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