The Prodigy Myth
January
10, 2013
It
is a wonderful thing when we see early signs of a child prodigy. We are tempted to get stars in our eyes and
become hopeful of the fabulous future that lies just down the road.
If
your child is a budding prodigy, that is well and good. The awesome responsibility that now lies on
your shoulders is immense. Hang on.
However,
if your child has a great desire, yet struggles occasionally, have faith.
In our featured book – The Little Book of Talent - Daniel says
this:
Early success turns out to be
a weak predictor of long-term success.
A few examples:
-Michael Jordan was cut from his high
school varsity team as a sophomore
-Charles Darwin was considered slow and
ordinary by teachers
-Walt Disney was fired from an early
job because he lacked imagination
Dr. Carol Dweck of Stanford University
says this about prodigies:
“The praise and attention
prodigies receive leads them to instinctively protect their “magical” status by
taking fewer risks, which eventually slows their learning.”
If your child has some early success, find
a way to nurture and guide him/her to keep pursuing the edges of his/her
ability where improvement happens.
What we have to guard against is allowing
praise to swell their head; stunting growth and development.
If your child doesn’t experience early
success yet still has the drive and determination, treat their early efforts as
experiments, not as verdicts. Remember,
this is a marathon, not a sprint.
I
teach two students from the same family.
One started his musical interests by learning the trumpet and soon
switched to the sax and piano. The other
started on the trumpet and switched to the drums and piano.
It’s
a marathon – not a sprint.
Carolyn Biggs
Steps and
Skips
Tips for
the Developing Musician
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