This chapter was one that I dog-eared the pages the second most, and I believe it was because I do not have any experience with individuals who are prodigies, and I also see prodigies as people who can do something well, whereas people with disabilities are perceived to have the inability to do things that neurotypical people can do well, like socializing. In this chapter, I was blown away right off the bat:
"Being gifted and being disabled are surprisingly similar: isolating, mystifying, petrifying. ...dazzling brilliance is an aberration, as horizontal an identity as any in this study" (p. 405).
In my perspective based on my limited experience, I saw "gifted" and "disabled" as opposites, as "gifted" implies something added to an individual, and "disabled" implies something removed.
Solomon describes a case where he mentions the inevitable topic of practicing music. He mentions that kids can and have been made to practice for hours, days, and years on end, but this does not guarantee being the best.
"But more profoundly, normal life in these contexts is a euphamism for a richer life. Single-minded devotion to an instrument builds proficiency--but music embraces experience" (p. 451).
A theme in this book is parents' desire to give their child a "normal life." As Solomon shows in his diversity of cases, what is considered "normal" depends on the context. Depending on that context, some parents indeed decide that what is considered normal is not what is best for their child.
"'In America, every kid has to be well rounded. They have ten different activities, and they never excel at any of them. Americans want everyone to have the same life; it's a cult of the average. This is wonderful for disabled children, who get things they would never have otherwise, but it's a disaster for gifted children. Why should Marc spend his life learning sports he's not interested in when he has this superb gift that gives him so much joy?'" (p. 453)
I was very surprised in this chapter at how the lives of families with children with disabilities can be so similar to the lives of families with children who are prodigies.
#challenge #professionaldevelopment #reading #bookreview #prodigy #prodigies #family #families #culture #american #genius
Solomon, A. (2012). Far from the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity. New York: Scribner Classics.
Comentários