On page 249 in number 62, Shenk references his other work's point about "three Polgar sisters in Hungary, all raised to be exceptional chess players. As each girl was exposed to chess earlier than her elder sister, she subsequently became the better player." (249). Shenk then connects this to Wolfgang's experience with his sister, Nannerl. These stories beg the question: is there a such thing as "too early" when it comes to teaching kids skills? What adverse effects could pushing too young of a child into something have on that child's development, and if encouraging kids to learn skills at a very young age has such a profound effect on mastery of that skill, why do most parents miss this supposed opportunity?
(Eric Savin, Dallastarsfan13@gmail.com)
6) Due to imprinting, in which there is a set amount of time during early age that an animal or person can learn certain skills that will remain with that him or her for the rest of his or her life. This time of learning is called the sensitive period, or also called the critical period (Campbell 1126). Thus, the younger sibling can become much more skilled than the older sibling because the younger sibling is taught more within the critical period for a longer time. This effect is easily seen in the case of the Polgars, in which "as each girl was exposed to chess earlier than her elder sister, she subsequently became the better player"(Shenk 240). The Polgars excelled at chess because of the age at which they were taught. The greater success or each subsequently younger sibling in this family demonstrates that the age that someone begins learning a skill is the most important factor for excellence in that skill. Similarly, Wolfgang Mozart became a better musician than Nannerl because he learned more musical skills and behaviors during the critical period. Also, according to the National Academies Press, “early success in mathematics is linked to later success in both mathematics and reading” (http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=12519&page=331). Therefore, early learning is important for acquiring excellence in many different skills.
ReplyDeleteHowever, there are some skills that a person is better off learning at an older age. In fact, David Shenk states that "child prodigies and adult superachievers are very often not the same people (Shenk 85). Some skills are simply too far beyond a child to be beneficially learned at such a young age. For example, weight training cannot be started at a young age, as such training would activate gene expression that would stunt the child's growth. Instead, the child must wait until adolescence, when he or she is done or almost done growing in height, so that the teenager now has the largest amount of body possible to build muscle in. Had the child started weight training earlier, he or she could never have reached his or her maximum potential strength.
This learning, especially through imprinting, relates to the biological theme of the interdependence of nature, in which all abiotic and biotic factors impact each others in ways both important for the survival of the individual and the survival of the community. So, every individual is affected by its environment. People are dependent on their environment for the development of skills at an early age. An environment filled with music will improve a young child's music skills. Furthermore, a child depends on those around him or her to take active interest in that skill for the child to improve on. Through competition or direct teaching, the child depends on the people around him or her that are dedicated to the same skill in order to reach his or her full potential in that skill. The environment a child grows up in is critical for learning certain skills, and the earlier a child is exposed to an activity, the better the child will become at that skill.
Neil Edat(neil.edat@gmail.com)