Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers: The Story Of Success

Outliers Summary Success is mostly recognized by the person who succeeds, but most do not realize the factors that upturn someone to great success. In the book Outliers: The Story of Success, written by Malcolm Gladwell, lists prime examples of what it takes to be a true Outlier. An Outlier is someone that fits out of the ordinary and does not fit under the category of normal achievement. Gladwell demonstrates that almost all of society’s success stories are a paradigm; a pattern of fortunate events. Realizing that maybe we should be more aware of the paradigm of success in our world. Our perspective over the years has been that people complete success on their own, however, success has other driven forces. A true outlier does not obtain
However, some do obtain success due to their upbringing. Child-rearing practices are different in each background. For example, parents from different social class backgrounds differ on how exceptional their kids will be in school. Gladwell discusses that the reason why poor kids do not excel in school is the time they prepare studying outside of school, which they put forth nothing. In addition to, kids from wealthier backgrounds are encouraged to read, express their emotions, and ask questions. Involved parents and parents who are not involved is the key difference that leads to an individual’s success. Upper class parents talk to their kids more and critically provide them a set of skills to endure. Gladwell asserts, “But social savvy is knowledge. It’s a set of skills that have to be learned. It has to come from somewhere, and the place where we seem to get these kinds of attitudes and skills is from our families” (102). An example from the book is Alex Williams and Katie Brindle. Williams came from a wealthy background and when school was not is session his parents were actively engaging him in activities. Because his parents believed in concerted cultivation, which is a style of parenting, that attempts to promote their children’s talents; by interesting them in activities. His parents took him to museums, enrolled him to special programs, and he attended summer camp. His parents encouraged him to read books when he was bored. This style of parenting allowed him to excel in his skills. Moving on to Katie Brindle, a poor upbringing for her. Her mother didn’t have the means to provide summer camp for her or provide her any special classes. When she was bored there were no books for her to read. She was provided a carefree summer with friends and the great outdoors. Thus, was the reason she was behind in her skills. Williams