Posted On: 2023-08-25 10:34:58
In modern society, good grades and smarts aren’t enough to secure a future. With ever-increasing competition, one must develop skills beyond the workplace to climb the social ladder. So having an extracurricular talent has become a must for your child to stand out.
While common misconceptions say that a person is born with a talent, that is not the case. A person’s talent has to be nurtured, trained and developed. Mozart wasn’t born a musician, he was crafted into one as his own father, Leopold Mozart, was a successful musician in his own right.
Benjamin Bloom, an American psychologist, said: “What any person in the world can learn, almost all persons can learn if provided with the appropriate conditions of learning.” He described five vital aspects when it comes to developing talent, which include:
A child needs to be introduced to a domain, rather than a child discovering it by themselves. A nurturing environment where a child is encouraged to pursue talents from an early age is a great starting point. Adora Svitak, an author of 2 books at the age of 11, didn’t have parents who were writers, but their house had a tradition of reading, as they read ‘interesting and fascinating books’ to her. They also encouraged her to write, and publish and guided her to fame.
It is also necessary for parents to introduce children to experts in their said craft. If a child is interested in writing, a parent can introduce their child to classic writers like George Eliot, Virginia Woolf, Rabindranath Tagore and Mary Shelley or modern-day writers like Khaled Hosseini, Alice Walker, Arundhati Roy, Bapsi Sidhwa and John Green.
After getting coached indirectly by experts, a child must practice almost daily. While it is cliche to say ‘Practice makes Perfect’, there is some truth to it, as many people swear testimony to it.
If by their teens, a child is serious about making their craft their career, you can enrol them in schools which will help them to develop their skills. These experts will personally train them to touch the skies.
The next step might be taken only if a child is serious about making a career out of their hobby, and not just wanting to develop it to climb the social ladder.
The child should be solely devoted to mastering the craft. They must live and breathe it, and make it their driving purpose. One must be careful while treading this path, as it can lead to social isolation and loneliness. If a child is serious about their craft, their parents must encourage them to go further, but at the same time be careful about the social life of the child. Many talented artists have lost their lives because of this obsession, and it would be tragic to be an addition.
Filaantro understands the need to develop talent from an early age. This year, we got students to participate in Jamnabai Narsee Monjee School’s Aashayein, where children participated in myriad events. The students were able to bag prizes and a scholarship.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article. Make sure to share it with your friends and family members.
AUTHOR: ADIL SAYYAD
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