Activity 7.5

Outliers: The Story of Success

What is the author's main point (or two points) here? Is he correct?

The main point of Gladwell's (2008) excerpts is how culture can affect our behaviors, and in this case how having a culture of hard work and effort ingrained in your society can affect your view and behaviors surrounding education. I do believe that Gladwell is correct though I did find myself slightly incredulous when he wanted to so strongly tie it only to cultivating rice. If I've learned one thing about human behavior it is that there is never a simple explanation and it is never one thing.

How do the factors discussed by the author fit into a social cognitive theoretical framework (if they do at all)?

When Gladwell (2008) discussed Asian cultures he discussed how the expectation that hard work and effort is the explanation for success and how in North American culture we have expectations that your skill in math is based on something unchangeable like how smart you are. Clearly, Gladwell is of a similar mindset as Dweck. Dweck (2006) discussed the fixed mindset such as the belief that you are either good at math or not versus the more malleable growth mindset in which hard work, effort, and challenges lead to gains in your abilities. He also discussed how rice farmers must "believe in the efficacy of their own work" (Gladwell, 2008, p. 237). Again, this confidence in your effort and competence is echoed in Parajes (2006) article. Parajes (2006) states that those who are self-efficacious "work harder, persist longer, persevere in the face of adversity, have greater optimism and lower anxiety, and achieve more" (p. 343).

Are the author's views consistent with any other views we've read this semester? How so? How are they different?

In reading Gladwell's (2008) chapters I couldn't help but be reminded of Vygotsky. Like Vygotsky, Gladwell is putting a great deal of emphasis on the effect of one's culture. Gladwell also began the chapter by a very intriguing anecdote about how one's language could even affect memory. I also believe parallels can even be drawn between self-efficacy and the ZPD. The ZPD is slightly above a student's level and as Parajes (2006) writes "Academic work should be hard enough that it energizes, not so hard that it paralyzes" (p. 344).

Which theory of learning (or whose views) would this author most align with?

From these excerpts, it would seem that Gladwell (2008) is more closely aligned with a social cognitive perspective.

What might the author say is the role of failure in learning? How would the theorists we've read describe the function of failure?

I believe this author would agree with Parajes (2006) sentiment on failure: "self-efficacy is not so much about learning how to succeed as it is about learning how to persevere when one does not succeed" (p. 345). If your culture has instilled within you the belief that hard work, effort, and challenges line the road to success you would be more likely to view failure through the lens of self-efficacy.

Is there such a thing as a "recipe" for success that we could offer to teachers and parents? What are the ingredients?

I think like any recipe we make, we make it depending on our tastes. However, most everyone follows similar procedures. I believe pathways to success can be varied. However, I believe there are some "procedures" that everyone's recipe should follow. Above all, it seems most important that we instill in our children the view that effort can lead to many things and that challenges are not reasons to give up but instead things to learn from.

One caveat that concerns me in all of this is when I think of my own future children. Will I be able to accomplish all of these things if I myself do not act upon them? Will my telling my children these things merely sound hollow and in the end they will model what I actually do? When I think of behaviors I have taken from parents I know that not all of them would be behaviors my parents would like me to have.

Additional Questions

One thing I was reminded of while reading this is a recent SAT cheating scandal that occurred in South Korea. How does cheating fit in with this heritage of hard work and effort? Are these individuals outliers? Or does this show a shift in culture based on current pressures?

http://blogs.wsj.com/korearealtime/2013/05/28/group-of-south-koreans-barred-from-sat/

Gladwell (2008) spends a great deal discussing a girl going to a KIPP school. Because she is going to this school she seems to do nothing but homework and is unable to get a  full night of sleep. While reading about her life I couldn't help but question the school's practices. What are possible alternatives to this KIPP school? Is the deal she made worth it?