PARENT NATION

A well-known pediatric otolaryngologist advocates for large-scale changes to American social policy as it pertains to children.

Suskind founded the Thirty Million Words Initiative in the wake of a research study that revealed that during early childhood, children living in disadvantaged circumstances are exposed to 30 million fewer words than their more privileged peers. The research confirmed what the author observed in her hearing-impaired patients, who, after receiving cochlear implants, varied widely in their ability to learn speech. “My team and I developed evidence-based strategies to show parents the importance of talking to babies and young children,” writes the author. “Those strategies became the theme of TMW: Tune In, Talk More, and Take Turns, or what we call the 3Ts.” In this book, co-written with Scientific American contributing editor Denworth, Suskind makes a sensible case for the necessity of strengthening social services and for making pediatricians’ offices hubs where families can easily access these services, particularly when they are in distress. According to Suskind, these changes must be implemented so parents can take responsibility for their children. “Parent and caregiver talk and interaction is the key to building strong cognitive abilities,” she writes. That claim represents the book’s primary contradiction and main weakness: While Suskind convincingly argues for widespread societal change, her vision for equity rests on individual responsibility. Furthermore, the author fails to note the contributions of educators who have made these same arguments before, most notably the late Jean Anyon, author of Ghetto Schooling, Radical Possibilities, and other books; and the researchers behind the community schools movement. Suskind’s consistent surprise that America is not, in fact, a meritocracy—a fact that marginalized Americans know all too well—and her blithe dismissal of the exclusionary foundations of the American school system may not sit well with many educators.

An individualistic, ultimately myopic vision for parent-centered structural change.