This month, I wanted to share with you my new favorite book by James Heckman. Dr. Heckman is a Distinguished Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago, and a Nobel Prize Recipient who has devoted his career to understanding the root cause of social inequality and injustice. Stay with me on this one…you will be surprised to try it! It’s an easy read, great for an afternoon summer at the pool. Great info….This is not just gloom and doom; this is a solution-oriented book!!! He has taken insights from his work to devise strategies and solutions to address these problems to make a difference in the lives of these children born into disadvantage and in turn be of benefit to all of society!! Being a mom, I have seen the innocence, the love, the joy of a new baby and a toddler…they all deserve our effort to help give them a chance in this life!!
I love Dr Heckman’s thinking, I love that he has so much info to share on the early life environment of kids and the research which has been shown to make a difference. It is easy to assume that how things operate and the reality of our world is “just the way it is”. That nothing can be done to make a difference-people are poor, some starve, some go to jail, some die and that is just the way it is. What Dr Heckman calls us to do is to revisit this “as is” thinking to reimagine the world which is in a period of Massive Transformation and how we can make it better. This is an opportune time to do this!!
I believe that we DO HAVE the KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, INTELLECT, KINDNESS, COMPASSION and MOTIVATION to make a difference for the next generation. Dr Heckman works at the Roots of Social Injustice and we can work at the Roots of Health and Wellness to make a difference for our kids and ALL KIDS, one step at a time. Moms Across America, Mothers Out Front, Savvy Women’s Alliance and Beyond Cancer Survival: Parenting for Health are working everyday to make a difference for all of us and the next generation(s). Moms are making a Difference; Get involved in your own way, Large or small. To your Good, Better and Best Life through W.E.L.L.N.E.S.S.