Challenging the Myth of Innate Talent

"Champions are not born... they are made."

A new way of thinking about excellence and achievement that challenges the long-held belief that excellence hinges singularly on innate talent. Matthew Syed, the author of Bounce, argues hard work and self-belief, not just talent, play key roles in achieving excellence.

I think this is a concept that holds true for our students as well. Hard work and self-belief are two traits that we must value and help to instill in all of our students. I believe that a student that seems to make exceptional grades with little or no effort should be praised, as always, but we should challenge them to reach new heights through hard work and fostering a belief in what might be. We should also instill these same beliefs in all students as I think we all have personal examples of "average" students that out work their peers which results in a much higher academic and professional ceiling than many of us.

The one thing to add to this discussion is to help our students dream. Nothing can be obtained from hard work and self-belief if there is no dream to guide them.

Please watch the following video to see some of Syed's challenges to the myth of innate talent:



Also see: BBC Meet the Author - Matthew Syed