Harlem Agency Hopes to End Poverty Cycle

March 21, 2009— -- As the nation roils with fear of poverty and political debates over socialization and the free market, there is one man who has been wading through that thicket for years. And he may have found a "cure" for poverty.

His name is Geoffrey Canada. He was raised in New York City by a single mom who provided enough for him to earn a master's degree in education from Harvard before he went on to work as an urban do-gooder.

But for years, no matter how much he did, he saw very little good.

Canada, 57, has been working at the Harlem Children's Zone, which includes two charter schools, for more than 20 years. His main goal has been to turn children of tough inner-city neighborhoods into college-bound citizens. He does it by getting to those kids when they are still in the womb and well before they ever hear a discouraging word or feel a slap of anger.

Three out of four kids are born into poverty in New York City's Harlem neighborhood, according to a report from the Children's Defense Fund. And most stay there, despite expensive social programs. This cycle confounded Canada, until his wife got pregnant 11 years ago and he had an epiphany.

"I really started thinking about how little I knew about early brain development," said Canada, president and chief executive of the Harlem Children's Zone.

Canada became a new dad right around the time of the "Baby Einstein" boom. Bookstores were filled with new science theories showing that a toddler's brain is like a sponge.

"That brain is receptive from birth and you, as the parent, have to be putting in valuable information," he explained. "You have to be talking, you have to be singing, you have to be playing with this child, you have to read to this child."

One study by the American Educator, the professional journal of the American Federation of Teachers, found that by the age of 3, children of upper-class parents hear about 30 million words, most of them encouraging, while children of parents on welfare hear only 10 million words, most of them harsh and scolding.

Parents from the suburbs swarmed bookstores, clamoring to get their children exposed to more words, but the people of Harlem were using a style of parenting handed down since the days of slavery.