MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Avid reader kid dominates reading contest, library director miffed

fjtorres · 08-22-2013, 05:59 PM

Creativity is great. Two thumbs up for anybody willing and able to bring something new to the world.

But creativity is not the only form of achievement worth being proud of.
Discovery, exploration, mastering a skill, assisting others in need...
Living a good life in these trying times, improving *yourself* intellectually or economically...

Setting a goal and meeting it is a good enough definition of achievement for me. And I'll happily applaude any kid who has willingly read one book about each of the 50 states in the union.

(But, then, at that age I would read each year's new World Almanack, cover to cover, as soon as it hit the street.)

Edit: Attitudes toward achievement is something I've been observing for years now, ever since reading Malcom Gladwell's OUTLIERS. There is a big rift between how different people and entire societies view and treat high achievers. I expect even bigger consequences down the road.
(shrug)

08-22-2013, 05:59 PM	#148
fjtorres Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,732 Karma: 128354696 Join Date: May 2009 Location: 26 kly from Sgr A* Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000	Creativity is great. Two thumbs up for anybody willing and able to bring something new to the world. But creativity is not the only form of achievement worth being proud of. Discovery, exploration, mastering a skill, assisting others in need... Living a good life in these trying times, improving yourself intellectually or economically... Setting a goal and meeting it is a good enough definition of achievement for me. And I'll happily applaude any kid who has willingly read one book about each of the 50 states in the union. (But, then, at that age I would read each year's new World Almanack, cover to cover, as soon as it hit the street.) Edit: Attitudes toward achievement is something I've been observing for years now, ever since reading Malcom Gladwell's OUTLIERS. There is a big rift between how different people and entire societies view and treat high achievers. I expect even bigger consequences down the road. (shrug) Last edited by fjtorres; 08-22-2013 at 06:06 PM.