Outliers Dialogue
Outliers Dialogue Galdwell book is interesting and thought provoking. His writings allow you ponder about what can and cannot be possible. Are Galdwell’s perceptions correct that is for the reader to decide? The meaning of Outlier is “something that is situated away from or classed differently from a main or related body”, and also “a statistical observation that is markedly different in value from others of the sample” (Galdwell, 2011).
The Matthew Effect
According to Galdwell (2011) a psychologist named Barnsley came to believe that what he saw was not a chance occurrence but an iron law of Canadian hockey: “in any elite group of hockey players—the very best of the best—40 percent of the players will have been born between January and March, 30 percent between April and June, 20 percent between July and September, and 10 percent between October and December" (Chapter 1, p. 22).
Galdwell’s opinion is to a certain degree a surprise; I am familiar with this happening within the education system but in hockey younger or older never crossed my mind. The players are grouped by age as of January 1st so this puts players that are older and younger together. Does this actually hurt or help the players, or do the accomplishments of the father and the involvement of the father in developing his son’s hockey skills become more important than birth month. When working with these players the same as working with students within a school the coach or teacher tends to help the players or students who stand out more and are willing to work harder. This relates back to the fact that if the child is older than they are more responsible and will take on more of a role in their learning. Is there evidence that supports these claims? According to Cascio (2007), “We find no evidence that being older than one’s kindergarten classmates raises test scores or the likelihood of taking a test to gain entry to a four-year college. Quite the contrary, being relatively old at the
The Matthew Effect
According to Galdwell (2011) a psychologist named Barnsley came to believe that what he saw was not a chance occurrence but an iron law of Canadian hockey: “in any elite group of hockey players—the very best of the best—40 percent of the players will have been born between January and March, 30 percent between April and June, 20 percent between July and September, and 10 percent between October and December" (Chapter 1, p. 22).
Galdwell’s opinion is to a certain degree a surprise; I am familiar with this happening within the education system but in hockey younger or older never crossed my mind. The players are grouped by age as of January 1st so this puts players that are older and younger together. Does this actually hurt or help the players, or do the accomplishments of the father and the involvement of the father in developing his son’s hockey skills become more important than birth month. When working with these players the same as working with students within a school the coach or teacher tends to help the players or students who stand out more and are willing to work harder. This relates back to the fact that if the child is older than they are more responsible and will take on more of a role in their learning. Is there evidence that supports these claims? According to Cascio (2007), “We find no evidence that being older than one’s kindergarten classmates raises test scores or the likelihood of taking a test to gain entry to a four-year college. Quite the contrary, being relatively old at the
References: Cascio, E. (2008, September 6). Race to the top? relative age and student achievement. Retrieved from http://www.voxeu.org/index.php?q=node/1609 Gladwell, M. (2011). Outliers, the story of success. New York, NY: Back Bay Books. Pelletier, J. (2007, August 19). The greatest hockey players of all time . Retrieved from http://www.greatesthockeylegends.com/2007/08/greatest-hockey-players-of-all-time.html Southern discomfort. (2010, July 2). Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/199211/southern-discomfort Stamm, D. (2011). Quality vs. quantity. Nonpartisan Education Review, 7(6).