This week’s recommendation comes from:
Chris Schunn
IFL Research Liaison
Chris says, “I love how this 18-minute podcast shows the ways in which little decisions stack the deck in favor or against students; it also makes us see new aspects of what unique child assets are and what tracking does to kids.”
Singled Out
Michael Barrier
“I cannot get past that sense that they have found their calling, that they are actively in love with the thing they do. Absent that, you can’t be a genius. … Love is not the complete explanation; love is the way in.” – Malcolm Gladwell, author and journalist, on talent being an extraordinay love for something
The hosts talk about parents projecting where their children may end up based on perceived deficits and advantages at a young age. Malcolm Gladwell goes on to talk about the pitfalls of identifying children as being gifted at a young age, and he explains the “Mathew effect”: a small, initial difference in the performance of any two people will inevitably grow because the person who is a little bit ahead will get so many more advantages that they will end up being far ahead.