"Child prodigies rarely become adult geniuses
who change the world." So says Adam Grant in the Points section in the Dallas
Morning News. The thing that holds them back is that they don't learn to be
original. 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. "In adulthood, many
prodigies become experts in their fields and leaders in their organizations.
Yet only a fraction of gifted children eventually become revolutionary adult
creators. Those who do must make a painful transition to an adult who
ultimately remakes a domain."
One study shows
that parents of highly creative children encourage their children to think for
themselves.
They tended to place emphasis on
moral values, rather than on specific rules. Emphasis was placed on the
development of one's own ethical code. Here is a great opportunity to teach a
standard that is inclusive and not extractive, that brings people together
instead of splitting them apart, a standard of behavior where parents set the
example by their actions and provide a model, a standard that encourages
thinking "without the box,"
a safe place to exchange ideas, no matter how far out they may be. The TOV Standard provides this opportunity.
It teaches children (and their parents) to ask this question:
Will my Thoughts
and Words lead to Actions that Protect Life, Preserve Life, Make Life More
Functional and Increase the Quality of Life or will they Destroy Life, Threaten
Life, Make Life Less Functional or Decrease the Quality of Life?
Parents
can encourage their children to pursue excellence and success, but they can
also encourage them to find Joy in their Work! Their children have freedom to
sort out their own values and discover their own interests. "Mozart showed
interest in music before taking lessons, not the other way around." Many of
a child’s first teachers are not elite musicians, but simply people who happen
to live nearby. "What motivates
people to practice a skill for thousands of hours? The most reliable answer is,
passion-discovered through natural curiosity or nurtured through early
enjoyable experiences." Albert Einstein once reflected, "Love is a better teacher than a sense of
duty."
We
can include here the over emphasis on standardized testing! Jonathan
Cole, a Professor at Columbia University says: "What we have witnessed here in the United States is the TYRANNY of
high-stakes testing and the belief that you can measure ability-by simply
looking at SAT scores." I have never been a proponent of
standardized tests; they showed nothing of my creative abilities and my
experiences, but were a factor when I applied to Rabbinical School. My GPA at Rutgers
was high, Phi Beta Kappa, Who's Who in American Universities and Colleges, Rutgers
Honors, Rutgers Scholar. My GRE scores were, "Eh", but my experience, creativity and personality and my
answers in the interview played an important role as well. At Hebrew Union
College (Reform), the second question they asked me was about my GRE scores. In
my interview at The Jewish Theological Seminary (Conservative, where I
attended) -- that was their last question.
If
you want your children to bring original ideas into the world, provide them a
model and teach them the TOV Standard and TOV actions. Let them pursue THEIR
PASSIONS, not yours!
Would
you like to gather with others and learn more about the TOV Center Vision and the
benefits of incorporating TOV Values and the TOV Standard in their lives the
lives of their children? If you would be interested in attending or holding a
gathering, CLICK
HERE to email me. I would
appreciate it if you would do one or both of these:
Shalom,
Rabbi
Jeffrey Leynor
