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                                                                                SOCIETY, Page 59

Losing the Next Generation


The U.S. has failed to address the pressing needs of its
youngsters, argues noted educator David Hamburg

By ANASTASIA TOUFEXIS


    Dr. David Hamburg does not flinch from using strong
words. The U.S., he says, is committing "atrocities" on its
children. "We've already lost a substantial portion of the
generation of kids under age 16," declares Hamburg, president
of the Carnegie Corporation, a leading foundation in
child-development research. "They're lost to drug abuse, crime
and teen pregnancy, but also to more subtle corrosives like
malnutrition, illiteracy and poor self-esteem."

    The destruction that Hamburg chronicles in his new book,
Today's Children: Creating a Future for a Generation in Crisis
(Times Books, 376 pages, $25), has been inadvertent, a
by-product of the social and economic changes that have
convulsed U.S. families in recent decades. But Americans -- from
government officials to educators to parents -- have been
shamefully slow in addressing the impact of such upheavals on
youngsters. "Among the more developed countries of Western
Europe and Japan," says Hamburg, a noted psychiatrist and
educator, "the U.S. now ranks in the bottom quartile in caring
for children."

    He argues that special attention must be paid to two
crucial stages of development: prenatal and early childhood, and
early adolescence. Brain damage to the fetus through
malnutrition or drug abuse can diminish intellectual ability.
And failure to form a secure attachment to an adult in the first
two years of life can hamper a child's learning as well as
emotional growth. To forestall such damage, Hamburg asserts,
women must have access to prenatal care, drug-treatment programs
and nutrition counseling. It also helps to assign parental
mentors to new mothers (and fathers), and to consolidate social
and health services into "one-stop shopping" at local hospitals
and clinics.

    Youngsters ages 10 to 15 are also vulnerable. "The
original idea of junior high school was to ease the transition
from childhood to adulthood," notes Hamburg. "Unfortunately,
junior high has become a replica of high school. There are no
distinctive social relationships or curriculum. It's actually
wound up forcing children to make the transition to adulthood
even earlier." Hamburg favors abolishing junior highs, or at the
least radically reforming them, by creating smaller, more
intimate schools within larger institutions and setting up a
curriculum in the sciences and health that builds on students'
natural preoccupation with their changing bodies.

    The major stumbling block to reform, Hamburg notes, is not
a lack of money: simply reallocating current resources could
yield dramatic gains. The higher hurdle is social selfishness.
"People resist giving up what they have," he explains. One group
that may be called on to sacrifice is the elderly, on whom vast
sums are spent to sustain the last few weeks of life. Says
Hamburg, who is 66: "People my age need to understand that our
well-being depends on the workers of the next generation.
Moreover, as a society, we've got to stop concentrating on the
short-time horizons -- the next election, budgetary cycle or
quarterly report -- and start taking stock of the long term.
Children are a long-range investment."