Traditional schools refuse to teach kids how to be great
Kids need to understand a universal-yet-misunderstood law.
There is a verse in the Bible that economists refer to all the time:
"To those who have, more will be given. From those who have little, even that will be taken.” – Matthew 13:12
They call it “The Matthew Principle” or the Pareto Principle. Another popular formulation of this idea is the “80/20 rule.”
Misunderstanding this idea — that inequality is natural and sometimes compounding — has ruined many lives and entire cultures.
Your kids need to internalize and intuitively understand this rule if they want to flourish. With it, they can formulate a life path so above “average” that it’s hard to overstate.
On the other hand, because of this mathematical phenomenon, when your kids are aiming for “average” (like most are in traditional schools), they are essentially aiming at the bottom.
Here’s why.
Let them aim as high as they can imagine
When people say, “aim for the moon; if you miss, you’ll land among the stars,” they’re referring to this principle (even if they can’t explain it).
Here’s a simple breakdown of why this is true: failure breeds failure, and success breeds success. If you have a little success, you’re likely to have more and more. If you have a little failure, it can snowball (if you’re not careful).
For example, as most people know, if you already have money, making more is easier.
That doesn’t mean the game is rigged! It only is if you don’t understand that a tiny success today makes a slightly larger success tomorrow more likely. Keep at it long enough, and those little successes compound. That’s why kids (from any background) have so much potential.
That’s also why “average” isn’t stable. You’re much more likely to spiral up or down. So, always have kids aim up. The higher, the better.
Of course, having a high aim can produce a feeling of “failure” by not achieving it right away. But, kids need to understand that the most fun in life is to be had in crossing the distance between where they are and their high aim. No need to feel discouraged! It’s good to have something noble and worthwhile to do with your time on Earth. And, those humble little steps will one day be not-so-humble (if they keep at it).
Another way to look at it is this: A good definition of a winner is someone who never lets failure stop them.
Traditional schools can’t (or won’t) teach kids these fundamental ideas because they have an allergy to greatness. Greatness hurts the feelings of average. So, schools lie to them. They push down excellence for the sake of the other kids’ feelings. They tell them the game is fundamentally rigged. They are “oppressed.” Instead of teaching them the laws of winning, they teach them to be “activists.”
By refusing to teach our kids about the powers that give them so much potential, we’re not only dooming them to mediocre lives, but we’re also missing out on their enormous potential as a society. A double loss.
Before traditional schools get to them, kids instinctively aim high. What kid says she wants to be a middle manager or a protestor? No—they want to be astronauts, firefighters, and marine biologists.
Sure, they have to interact with the reality of the world, the limits of their abilities. We’re not naive about that. But they should never stop aiming as high as they can imagine. It doesn’t matter if that aim changes as they learn about themselves and the world. It should.
Don’t let schools tamp down the expectations of the life they could live. That’s an unacceptable loss.
Teach them about compound interest early
Compound interest is just another way of talking about the Matthew Principle.
It’s an excellent thing to understand if you want to make a bunch of money on investing. Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger cover it in great detail.
It’s also the bedrock rule for success in every aspect of life—even creative success. In short: patient kids end up more successful in all facets of life. And don’t worry–patience can be taught.
Here are the key lessons to get it right:
Small investments become exponential over time
Therefore, always be patient and consistent
If your kid wants to become a writer, a good, manageable investment might be writing 500 words daily. Do that for two years, your progress will be exponentially higher than the sum of your effort. That’s the Matthew Principle at work. The next two years of writing will be even more productive, and so on.
If your kid wants to be a physicist, break down the smallest specific steps between where they are and the goal. What credits do you need? Grades? Test scores? Contacts? Invest in those steps daily. Break them down into the smallest possible bites. Be patient, and be consistent. Because of compound interest, their success is almost guaranteed over a long enough period. The most powerful summation of this idea is from the book Atomic Habits.
That’s the secret to how people become so wildly successful and productive.
Why doesn’t everyone know this rule? Because it’s harsh to the people who aren’t where they want to be in life. But remember, effort compounds over time, so it’s rarely too late to turn the tide. Everyone, kids and adults alike, needs to understand The Matthew Principle.
Understanding it (and implementing it) is the only way to improve nonlinearly. Let’s teach it to our kids early so they can do better than we ever could.
Teaching them this principle early is almost a guarantee of a successful life in whatever way you want to measure success.
Don’t let traditional schools steal that dream of excellence from them.
If you know a kid whose potential is being stolen, send this to their parents.
If you’re that parent, subscribe for more like this every Tuesday.
Thank you for reading,
Taylor + rebelEducator team
P.S.
Here’s what we’re looking at:
Here’s a website that hooks you up with the resources to pay for your kid’s alternative schooling
Here’s a program devoted to the gifted kids among us
What is the most precious resource?
Quotes we’re pondering:
“Teenagers need to learn how to write for the world, not just for teachers.” — Austin Scholar
"The only way to make learning truly relevant to each student is to teach the tools and strategies they will need to take a more active role in their learning." — Nina Parrish
“The hardest part of teaching: Having to justify to students that what they’re learning in school is relevant and will be useful in the future.” — Ana Lorena Fabrega