In a wonderful article that he wrote in January, Adam Grant argues that for us to develop creative children, we need to back off - not the easiest thing these days, but an essential one to do. I think his discussion of "gifted" kids relates pretty well to those of us who teach and work at schools where there a large number of hard-working and driven kids. As great as the regimented educational process can be, Grant argues that we need creative and artistic young adults, and to encourage creativity, a different approach is needed.
How to Raise a Creative Child. Step One: Back Off
THEY learn to read at age 2, play Bach at 4, breeze through calculus at 6, and speak foreign languages fluently by 8. Their classmates shudder with envy; their parents rejoice at winning the lottery. But to paraphrase T. S. Eliot, their careers tend to end not with a bang, but with a whimper.
Consider the nation’s most prestigious award for scientifically gifted high school students, the Westinghouse Science Talent Search, called the Super Bowl of science by one American president. From its inception in 1942 until 1994, the search recognized more than 2000 precocious teenagers as finalists. But just 1 percent ended up making the National Academy of Sciences, and just eight have won Nobel Prizes. For every Lisa Randall who revolutionizes theoretical physics, there are many dozens who fall far short of their potential.
Child prodigies rarely become adult geniuses who change the world. We assume that they must lack the social and emotional skills to function in society. When you look at the evidence, though, this explanation doesn’t suffice: Less than a quarter of gifted children suffer from social and emotional problems. A vast majority are well adjusted — as winning at a cocktail party as in the spelling bee.
What holds them back is that they don’t learn to be original. They strive to earn the approval of their parents and the admiration of their teachers. But as they perform in Carnegie Hall and become chess champions, something unexpected happens: Practice makes perfect, but it doesn’t make new.
The gifted learn to play magnificent Mozart melodies, but rarely compose their own original scores. They focus their energy on consuming existing scientific knowledge, not producing new insights. They conform to codified rules, rather than inventing their own.Research suggests that the most creative children are the least likely to become the teacher’s pet, and in response, many learn to keep their original ideas to themselves. In the language of the critic William Deresiewicz, they become the excellent sheep.
My friend, Jim Richardson, who blogs over at Fiat Lux, posted today about a New York Times article highlighting the return (actually they never went away!?) of indulgences...you've got to check it out!
Jim writes: The New York Times has a curious story today about the return of indulgences in the Roman Catholic Church. It seems they never really went away but the current pope is bringing them back. You may recall from your western civ course that indulgences were a major issue of the Reformation, with Martin Luther contending that we cannot buy our way into heaven. A contemporary Lutheran scholar, quoted by The Times, points out that the basic problem is trying to quantify God's grace. That said, the writer gives this subject a fair treatment. See what you think. You can read the story HERE. The photo is from The New York Times and goes with the story.
After more than three years out of professional cycling, Lance Armstrong — the cancer survivor and seven-time Tour de France winner — announced Tuesday that he would emerge from retirement and climb back onto his bike.
Armstrong, who will turn 37 next week, briefly spoke about his decision in a videotaped statement posted on his foundation’s Web site.
“Hey everybody, I know there’s been a lot of reports in the media today about a possible return to racing,” he said. “Just want to let you know that after long talks with my kids, the rest of my family, a close group of friends, I have decided to return to professional cycling in 2009.”
Armstrong provided few details, but he said he was making the comeback to begin an international cancer strategy. He did not return telephone messages, but in an e-mail statement he said his return would “raise awareness of the global cancer burden.”
Armstrong, who retired from racing after winning the 2005 Tour de France, said he would discuss his plans during an appearance at the Clinton Global Initiative on Sept. 24 in New York.
News of Armstrong’s return made its way through cycling circles in minutes. Steve Johnson, the chief executive of USA Cycling, said Armstrong’s comeback would be a boon for the sport.
“Lance did so much to put the sport on the radar screen and, to me, I think heroes and role models are big in sports development,” Johnson said. “I think a lot of people will tune in, just out of curiosity alone.”
Bob Stapleton, the owner of the Columbia cycling team, also welcomed Armstrong’s announcement.
“His ability to focus the world on other issues is a powerful tool,” Stapleton said from the Tour of Missouri. “I hope this is part of a bigger story than just winning another Tour.”
Stapleton cautioned that Armstrong’s return would not necessarily be well received by all within the cycling community. While Armstrong’s career was filled with amazing achievements, it was not without its clouds. As a rider, he was dogged by doping allegations.
“He can be polarizing,” Stapleton said. “There may be a different view in Europe about this than in the United States. It’s a provocative issue.”
Still, Stapleton said he had no doubts about Armstrong’s ability to return as a competitive rider.
“It’s quite a different dynamic; he’s going to take the sport by its nose,” Stapleton said. “He’s dealing the cards right now.”
Armstrong may not be the oldest rider in next year’s Tour de France — if he competes in the race — but he will be beyond the typical age for an elite cyclist. An eighth victory would make him the oldest winner of the Tour. Firmin Lambot, a Belgian, won in 1922 at age 36, according to the Tour’s official history.
But first, Armstrong must find a team. Even the most talented cyclist cannot win on his own. Teammates provide shelter from the wind, chase down opponents and free the sport’s stars from mundane, energy-sapping tasks such as picking up water bottles from a team car.
The speculation has focused on the Astana team because of Armstrong’s close connections to the team. Johan Bruyneel, whose holding company owns the team, was selected by Armstrong to direct the United States Postal Service team when Armstrong made his return to racing after his cancer treatment in 1999. As a team director, Bruyneel was part of all of Armstrong’s Tour de France wins.
Astana, though, is not guaranteed a berth in next year’s Tour. The team was excluded from this year’s race by the organizers because of doubts about the team’s willingness to root out doping.
Philippe Maertens, a spokesman for Astana, said the team was unaware of Armstrong’s announcement. He added that Bruyneel had been trying to reach Armstrong since Monday.
“O.K., you’ve surprised me,” Maertens said. “But I’m not surprised about what Armstrong says about making a comeback.”
Stapleton suggested that Astana’s surprise about the announced was feigned.
“I don’t think this is a rash action,” he said of the announcement. “It’s hard to believe that Astana is not the choice. If you announce something in an article like this, most of it must be worked out.”
In an article published Tuesday on the Web site of Vanity Fair magazine, Armstrong discussed his comeback. He said he would contact President Nicolas Sarkozy of France to plead his case if the Amaury Sport Organization, which owns the Tour de France, did not allow his team to enter that race.
Armstrong said the Olympic triumphs of older athletes like the 41-year-old swimmer Dara Torres inspired him to make his comeback.
Torres, who won three silver medals at the Beijing Games — her fifth Olympics — said she felt honored to have played a part in Armstrong’s decision.
“He’s young, only 37; that’s just a baby,” Torres said. “I’m sure he’s going to surround himself with the best people to be successful.”
Armstrong told Vanity Fair that he wanted to prove that he was competing without performance-enhancing drugs, mentioning that he would have a “comprehensive program” that would mean “there will be no way to cheat.”
So, today I'm on the train back to NYC and I start reading a discarded NYTimes and run across this article about how great the Wi-Fi is in New York City, and how you can be so hip to the scene at a moment's notice by googling all sorts of stuff. My experience has been that if you're willing to pay out the nose for T-Mobile at Starbucks, you are in good shape (provided that you don't need to walk 10 blocks to get to one), however, if you are not in Lower Manhattan, the Wi-Fi options are not so great ... still, an interesting article (even if it is a bit of a stretch)...
IS it worth taking a laptop along when you visit New York City?
Not to check your e-mail at the hotel or to sneak in a few hours on a PowerPoint presentation for next week. That is definitely not worth it; you’re on vacation.
But what about a laptop as a guidebook-that-knows-all, at least when it can find a free Wi-Fi hot spot? New York is, almost certainly, the most well-documented city in the land; from Chowhound’s no-menu-unturned food discussion boards to HopStop’s subway directions to Wikipedia’s accurate-enough-for-tourists historical summaries of just about everything under the Manhattan sun. Not to mention the information on nytimes.com and its worthy competitors, as well as the omnipotence of Google.
The name of this blog, Santos Woodcarving Popsicles, came from a photo that I took in Chimayo, New Mexico in front of a shop that advertised selling these three items. The town is also famous for the shrine there, and for the healing properties of the dirt in the shrine .... an interesting article in the New York Times this week on Chimayo:
CHIMAYO, N.M. — “It’s not the dirt that makes the miracles!” the Rev. Casimiro Roca said with exasperation.
True, discarded crutches line a wall inside the Santuario de Chimayo, a small adobe church in this village of northern New Mexico known as the Lourdes of America.
True, tens of thousands of pilgrims walk eight miles or more to the shrine on Good Friday, some bearing heavy crosses and others approaching on their knees. Scores of people visit every day the rest of the year, many hoping to cure diseases or disabilities with prayer, holy water and, most famously, the healing dirt, which visitors collect from a hole in the floor inside the church.
Now the disparagement of the dirt was jarring, coming from Father Roca, who has devoted much of his life to creating the present-day shrine and is its revered eminence. At 89, he wears a beret that reveals his Barcelona origins.
Some 50 years ago, he took over the abandoned, nearly ruined site of the church, which was first constructed in 1816. He oversaw the rebuilding of the sanctuary — holy hole included — into the spotless place it is today, with bright paintings and statues inside and giant cottonwoods out back that he planted as saplings. It has become a stop for tour buses taking the scenic route to Taos as well as for local residents in search of solace or cures, and was declared a national landmark in 1970. Visitors bring their own baggies or containers or can buy little plastic containers marked “blessed dirt” at the church’s gift shop.
The Episcope blog has posted a very helpful letter to the NYTimes Editor by Bishop Jon Bruno of the Diocese of Los Angeles on the recent article about the adult film star who was supposedly on the priesthood track...
July 17, 2007
+Bruno writes the New York Times
The New York Times To the editor:
I would like to clear some factual errors in the article by reporter Sharon Waxman, “Man of the Flesh to Man of the Cloth,” (Sunday July 15, Fashion and Style).
Mr. Ronald Boyer is not in any process for ordination in The Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Los Angeles. He has expressed an interest in ordained ministry, as do dozens of people every year. But the path to ordination is a long, careful, deliberate process, beginning with a discernment committee in the applicant’s own congregation, which over a period of time arrives at a prayerful recommendation as to whether or not to support the person’s application.
