Recently the wife and I got to tag along with my oldest as he went to LSU to an early Orientation/Testing invitation for kids that have really high academic achievements. We were there with about six hundred other sets of proud parents. All of us grinning from ear to ear that our kid had been selected for this prestigious honor. While the kids took their tests, we parents were sent into large theaters to listen to chancellors talk about everything from GPA's, to dorms, and even saying good byes on move in day. After the second test, which was Calculus, my Son text me to meet him at the lunch line. While waiting in the line he informed me that no less than fifteen of the three hundred taking the test stood up with in minutes of receiving the test and turned it in. The proctor asked if there was a problem and the students replied they had never seen anything like this. While standing in the line I could overhear several other students complain to their parents how badly they had bombed the Calculus test.
How could this be? How could the best of the best on ACT scores and High School GPA's not know what was waiting for them at the next level? The answer is very simple. We as parents, teachers, coaches, mentors, and the like teach our kids to be the biggest fish in the pond they are in. We rarely teach them or prepare them for the next pond they are going to advance to. This is not just an academic thing. This happens at the local ball field as well. To often a coach will have Little Johnny be the best slugger at the local recreation field but when invited to go to try out for a minor league team, he can't hit the broad side of a barn. Surely this is crazy talk on my part. But it's just part of human nature. We want to be the best in the environment we are in, even if that means ignoring long term needs. And we all to often transfer this to our kids. We want our kid to win the big trophy at the local event without any consideration of what benefits it is or is not giving him for the next level of life.
What good is it to have the best GPA or ACT in your High School if your not ready for college? Bragging rights and a job at the oil change shop? What good is it to be the most decorated ball player in your district if you aren't able to make it to the next level? A case full of trophies to collect dust in your subsidized house? Achievements at any level are a good thing and worthy of praise, but they must be seen as building blocks. If you are not prepping for the next level up, or excuse the expression a bigger pond, then you are just wasting your talent. By all means celebrate your child's good grades, ACT scores, home runs, swim meet medals, and every other accomplishment, but make sure it's all part of a bigger plan to prepare him for a bigger pond in the long run. No one ever remembers who was the Valedictorian of the Eighth grade but everyone knows who the name of Microsoft's CEO! Make sure you are aiming for that next and bigger pond in everything you and your kid does and things in life will be a lot smoother for everyone.
That's not only good advice for parents ... but for everyone. Sometimes we are content with our "pond" and never find out what other talents we have. The world is full of amazing things ... it's a shame to limit our kids or ourselves! Thanks for an interesting, thought-provoking post!
ReplyDeleteSmall Footprints is right. The advice relates to adults too. Never be too comfortable in the small pond, but explore and learn new things in bigger ponds. We have a duty to help our children achieve their goals, and they must be guided to the next rung of the ladder each time a goal is reached until they are able to do it for themselves. Good post.
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