Malcolm Gladwell who wrote both Blink and The Tipping Point has a new book called The Outliers. If you read and appreciated his insights in the first two books, you will enjoy The Outliers. One of his conclusions is that while a certain amount of intelligence is necessary for excelling in a particular field, super intelligence does not register as a major factor. Besides the necessary luck and attitude, he discovered that outliers of achievement in a particular field of expertise (those who are impressively beyond the average) all had at least 10,000 hours of association with their field of expertise before they began to make their mark. Among the examples he provides are Bill Gates and the Beatles.
Ken Robinson also has a new book out called The Element. One of Dr. Robinson’s conclusions is that only when we discover our passion and work at it, do we experience work being invigorating, exciting and meaningful. Dr. Robinson describes this as being in one’s element or being true to one’s calling.
If Gladwell’s and Robinson’s conclusions are correct, all our students have within them the seeds of true excellence and achievement in some field or calling. What they need is help in discovering where their passion lies. One way we can help, is to encourage those flashes of creativity, insight and aptitude we notice in our students – even if that passion may lie outside our own course or subject area. That word of encouragement may inspire further inquiry and a subsequent aha elemental moment!
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