Comments on: The Childhood Pattern of Genius https://www.isegoria.net/2011/01/the-childhood-pattern-of-genius/ From the ancient Greek for equality in freedom of speech; an eclectic mix of thoughts, large and small Fri, 26 Jun 2026 21:34:46 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.6.1 By: Isegoria https://www.isegoria.net/2011/01/the-childhood-pattern-of-genius/comment-page-1/#comment-101386 Isegoria Mon, 17 Jan 2011 22:58:12 +0000 http://www.isegoria.net/?p=23188#comment-101386 David, I think your comment there is worth repeating:

I think the helicopter parents are missing some important points about what really matters. They tend to be very concerned about ensuring that their kids acquire credentials and “skills,” but often fail to understand the importance of meta-skills, or what used to be called “character” — things like bouncing back after a setback, for instance. No matter how high the IQ and how extensive the credentials, someone with too many meta-skill deficiencies is going to fail. And when you micromanage everything about your kids’ life, you are suppressing the development of these meta-skills.

]]> By: Isegoria https://www.isegoria.net/2011/01/the-childhood-pattern-of-genius/comment-page-1/#comment-101345 Isegoria Mon, 17 Jan 2011 21:34:14 +0000 http://www.isegoria.net/?p=23188#comment-101345 I think Minsky is making the usual mistake of declaring that children need what little Minsky could have used.

]]> By: David Foster https://www.isegoria.net/2011/01/the-childhood-pattern-of-genius/comment-page-1/#comment-101116 David Foster Mon, 17 Jan 2011 16:22:00 +0000 http://www.isegoria.net/?p=23188#comment-101116 One of the problems we already have in the schools is too much encouragement of kids to focus obsessively on themselves. There may be some useful ideas in Minsky’s paper — haven’t read it in depth yet — but the last thing on earth we need is more “it’s all about me” thinking.

Interesting related post by an experienced teacher here.

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