Don’t Accept the World’s Opinion
In Angela Duckworth’s book GRIT, she shares how her father would tell her how she was “no genius” on a regular basis. (She went on to win what is nicknamed the “genius” grant.) Her father wasn’t being cruel. He was just repeating what the world says about our kids. And about us.
But it isn’t true.
You are a genius and your child is a genius. I like to turn it around as Elizabeth Gilbert does in her book Big Magic. She says that you HAVE genius. It is there for the taking.
You HAVE genius.
Sometimes that little distinction makes a big difference. Gilbert in her book shares that the Romans believed that there were house fairies that would bring genius to a family and it was up to the family to do something with it.
Genius is a responsibility.
You are given access to it and it is up to you to make something of it. You have to listen to it and grab it and run with it.
The idea of a house fairy or genie kind of makes sense to me. I can see how the Romans thought of it this way. It is all about the voices in your head.
You’ve got to be careful who you listen to.
Those genius thoughts are there to listen to and follow up on. They talk to you every day but there are also other voices.
Steven Pressfield wrote The War of Art and he shares how to deal with these other voices that he calls resistance.
Just like Gilbert, he uses the word resistance like it was a separate entity. Outside of ourselves.
You can listen to Genius or to Resistance.
This can be really hard but we need to figure out a way to differentiate between these two and listen to the right voice. Especially for our kids.
I had a student years ago who was autistic. He wasn’t able to look me in the eye and only responded to me in monosyllabic words when I tried to talk to him. He was in a class I was teaching and often he would get up and pace. Everything the world was telling me said he was “no genius.”
I refused to listen.
I caught a glimpse of his genius when I saw him in another class. Acting. He could speak in full paragraphs when he was in character. He could even use accents!
My co-mentor and I changed our class around. We did simulations where students acted out history lessons. This young man thrived. And the other students did as well.
It was an opportunity to listen to the genius and recognize it in this young man. Everyone in that class saw it. It was amazing!
As educators and parents, it is our duty to realize the genius in our kids.
It isn’t always easy. If you’d like help, let me know. I offer parent coaching. I can help you individualize your child’s education to help realize their genius. I can also work with you to help you realize your own!
For more information and to sign up email me at info@realizinggenius.com.