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Steve Warren described Betty Hart and Todd Risley as “romantics.” Currently a professor at the University of Kansas, Steve Warren was a young graduate student in the 1970s when he first met Betty Hart and Todd Risley.
“Romantics,” he said, but not “head in the clouds” romantics. Undeterred by the prevalent philosophy of ascribing the failures of the War on Poverty to genetics, refusing to abandon populations written off by society, they became detectives, asking questions that might lead to solutions to perpetual problems.
The two questions they asked were:
What happens in the life of a baby and a young child during the 110 hours of being awake each week?
How essential is what happens during that time to the eventual outcome of the child?
Which led to an incredible realization.
“There was [absolutely] no literature [on the daily lives of babies] . . . none . . . which was shocking when you think about it.”
While there may have been some literature, there seemed to be little incentive, until Betty Hart and Todd Risley began their work, to pursue answers or solutions.