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librarybonanza 's review for:
Thirty Million Words: Building a Child's Brain
by Dana Suskind
Tune in.
Talk more.
Take turns.
Suskind discusses the importance of speech for brain development in preschool aged children, and how important preemptive measures are for addressing our educational crises. As opposed to a jargon-heavy, scientific summary of test subjects and experiments, Suskind offers an accessible approach that is perfect for parents, educators, and politicians. Past research has identified that households with a higher word count lead to better school performance. Suskind provides an avenue for getting more words into kids' homes through parental involvement. Just like recycling is best done in conjunction with reducing and reusing, parents can talk more but must also tune in to the interests of their children and give their children a turn to talk back.
Theory in practice
Utilize the Three T's while reading a book. Parents may think a successful reading involves a quiet child who listens, but if the parents tune in to a more active child, the child can develop stronger vocabulary and more what-if conjecturing (156).
"While babies will not understand the words [in a book], they are comforted by the sound of a parents voice, the rhythm of the speech, and the warmth of the touch" (157).
Dual Language Learners
"Since the new language was learned by parents as adults, their proficiency will never match that of their native tongue in vocabulary, syntax, nuance, or overall quality. This is because when people express themselves in the language that's been part of their entire lives, they express more than just the concrete meanings of words; they express the more profound meanings, both emotional and, to the non-native speaker, somewhat veiled. While it is true that being bilingual, for a young child, may mean that early vocabulary size in both languages will be somewhat smaller, this is offset by the fact that the child is learning two languages, each of which, as the child gets older, can be enhanced " (123).
Beyond Talking
"Because thinking" or explanatory talking "helps the child understand that there is a rationale for doing something, that it's not just a parent to child order. It is also a step in learning to gauge cause-and-effect, the consequences of actions, and why things should be done in a certain way or at a certain time" (179).
A note on cultivating creativity
"when a child is allowed to express creativity, many, many things occur in the brain. Perhaps the greatest is independence of thought. Math and reading are entirely dependent on learning established rules. The arts are largely exempt from rules. Allowed to flourish, they help a child make sense of the world and to establish a sense of self in it" (185).
Meeting parents where they are
"It's important to stress that we are not talking about changing idiomatic speech or cultural linguistics. Early language interventions do not require people to change the words they use, nor do they ever denigrate customary language practices. Rather they focus on enriching those parent-child interactions that promote school readiness, including conversational turns and responsive language, encouraging parents to use the language, speech patterns, and stories most natural to them" (232).
Final thought
"if all parents, everywhere, understood that a word spoken to a young child is not simply a word but a building block for that child's brain, nurturing a stable, empathetic, intelligent adult, and had the support to make it happen, what a different world this would be" (247).
Talk more.
Take turns.
Suskind discusses the importance of speech for brain development in preschool aged children, and how important preemptive measures are for addressing our educational crises. As opposed to a jargon-heavy, scientific summary of test subjects and experiments, Suskind offers an accessible approach that is perfect for parents, educators, and politicians. Past research has identified that households with a higher word count lead to better school performance. Suskind provides an avenue for getting more words into kids' homes through parental involvement. Just like recycling is best done in conjunction with reducing and reusing, parents can talk more but must also tune in to the interests of their children and give their children a turn to talk back.
Theory in practice
Utilize the Three T's while reading a book. Parents may think a successful reading involves a quiet child who listens, but if the parents tune in to a more active child, the child can develop stronger vocabulary and more what-if conjecturing (156).
"While babies will not understand the words [in a book], they are comforted by the sound of a parents voice, the rhythm of the speech, and the warmth of the touch" (157).
Dual Language Learners
"Since the new language was learned by parents as adults, their proficiency will never match that of their native tongue in vocabulary, syntax, nuance, or overall quality. This is because when people express themselves in the language that's been part of their entire lives, they express more than just the concrete meanings of words; they express the more profound meanings, both emotional and, to the non-native speaker, somewhat veiled. While it is true that being bilingual, for a young child, may mean that early vocabulary size in both languages will be somewhat smaller, this is offset by the fact that the child is learning two languages, each of which, as the child gets older, can be enhanced " (123).
Beyond Talking
"Because thinking" or explanatory talking "helps the child understand that there is a rationale for doing something, that it's not just a parent to child order. It is also a step in learning to gauge cause-and-effect, the consequences of actions, and why things should be done in a certain way or at a certain time" (179).
A note on cultivating creativity
"when a child is allowed to express creativity, many, many things occur in the brain. Perhaps the greatest is independence of thought. Math and reading are entirely dependent on learning established rules. The arts are largely exempt from rules. Allowed to flourish, they help a child make sense of the world and to establish a sense of self in it" (185).
Meeting parents where they are
"It's important to stress that we are not talking about changing idiomatic speech or cultural linguistics. Early language interventions do not require people to change the words they use, nor do they ever denigrate customary language practices. Rather they focus on enriching those parent-child interactions that promote school readiness, including conversational turns and responsive language, encouraging parents to use the language, speech patterns, and stories most natural to them" (232).
Final thought
"if all parents, everywhere, understood that a word spoken to a young child is not simply a word but a building block for that child's brain, nurturing a stable, empathetic, intelligent adult, and had the support to make it happen, what a different world this would be" (247).