Outliers: The Matthew Effect

In our society we tend to believe that successful people earned the success through hard work. Malcolm Gladwell makes the argument that there are many other factors that are often significant. One place this can be easily seen is in sports. In Canada there is an uneven distribution of birth months among professional hockey players. When it comes to the best of the best, most hockey players are born in the first half of the year and the last quarter of the year is very poorly represented. The conclusion has been drawn that the phenomenon is connected to the age cutoff date for junior hockey players (Jan. 1st). Gladwell says that kids born early in the year are often significantly more physically mature than those born later. The eleven month difference between January and December is a big deal when your ten. The mature kids get recognition. They are invited to play in advanced leagues where they have more access to hockey rinks and better coaching. Then they really do improve until they are the best.

This same pattern repeats in other sports in other places. It repeats in education. Students are more likely to get into college if they were older in their school year. I am one of the many people who just sort of thought that the difference evens out over time. I see now that people are being influenced to a great degree by the structures we impose on them. Is it possible that some of the greatest artistic talents of our schools are lost because they haven't had the opportunities that others enjoy? How does the hierarchical organization of art classes affect who ends up excelling? What opportunities and attention do I give to students that further entrench perceived differences in skill level?