Post date: Feb 15, 2013 8:40:39 AM
That's the title of one of the best chapters in Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers. Gladwell tells the story of Marita, a 12 year-old girl from the South Bronx who won a lottery to attend KIPP, an experimental public school in the area with long day-hours, extended classes in July, and a strict discipline. She writes:
Well, when we first started fifth grade, I used to have contact with one of the girls from my old school, and whenever I left school on Friday, I would go to her house and stay there until my mom would get home from work. So I would be at her house and I would be doing my homework. She would never have any homework. And she would say, "Oh, my God, you stay there late." Then she said she wanted to go to KIPP, but then she would say that KIPP is too hard and she didn't want to do it. And I would say, "Everyone says that KIPP is hard, but once you get the hang of it, it's not really that hard." She told me, "It's because you are smart." And I said, "No, every one of us is smart." And she was so discouraged because we stayed until five and we had a lot of homework, and I told her that us having a lot of homework helps us do better in class. And she told me she didn't want to hear the whole speech. All my friends now are from KIPP.
Marita's right and wise and courageous.
Many times I feel like an alien even at the core of my own family, for all their wonderfulness.