Train Up A Child
Nassim Taleb’s book Antifragile: Things that Gain from Disorder was a challenging read for me this past week, perhaps because it’s the end of the semester for both doctoral work and my job at school. I’m pressured to finish my assignments, give and grade semester exams myself, and so on. Then there is this very thick, small-printed book… I will admit that watching videos was an enormous help.
The book discusses the fragile and the antifragile. When faced with uncertainty, that which is fragile will break. [1] However, under the same circumstances, that which is antifragile will become stronger. [2] Somewhere in between these two, you have the robust. It is not affected by randomness. [3] Erik Abrahamsson, in his video summary of the book, gave an excellent example of this using cell phones. The modern phone would be considered fragile for sure. If you drop it on a hard surface, it will probably crack. An old Nokia type of phone would be considered robust. Those phones could be dropped over and over without any noticeable harm done to them. Antifragile phones have not been invented. That would be one that would perhaps multiply and even upgrade itself every time it is dropped! [4] The idea is that dropping it makes it even better. [5]
One of the takeaways of this book that I would like to explore further is what the author called “naive interventionism.” This would simply be trying to help a situation but causing more harm than good. [6] Another definition is fixing things that are better left alone. [7] Erik’s video gave some soccer moms as examples of this. They might be guilty of removing stressors in their children’s lives that, later on, might create a weaker or antifragile person who is unable to cope with situations on their own. [8]
When thinking of this, I can easily consider the many children I’ve taught over the years… hundreds and hundreds. I’ve known of many families where a parent or guardian has removed stressors for their children, made excuses for their negative behavior, and blamed everybody but their own child for very low grades and continual classroom outbursts. I’ve also seen these same children become adults… and the transition is almost always difficult.
The author says that we cannot remove randomness. [9] We can’t remove it from the world, and certainly not from our children’s or students’ lives. If we try, it will build up into something greater, with even greater consequences later. [10]
We really cannot go wrong with Proverbs 22:6, which admonishes us to “train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” [11]
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[1] Abrahamsson, Erik. “Antifragile Summary (by Nassim Taleb).” The Swedish Investor. April 21, 2019. Link.
[2] Taleb, Nassim Nicholas. Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder. Random House Trade Paperback edition. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2014.
About the Author
Tonette Kellett
Missionary, teacher, Bible student, traveler ... Having lived in Kenya and Korea, I now live in Mississippi and work with the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.4 responses to “Train Up A Child”
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Tonette – I love how you brought your teaching perspective into this post. When you have a student who is being protected from stressors, what are some things you’ve tried to help them gain some resilience skills?
Tonette – I think the proverb you reference is the key to this. It invites us to have a vision for our children then raise them toward that goal. That might result in difficult choices and natural consequences that would produce a strong, antifragile child. I think your role is difficult as a teacher as your vision may not line up with a parent’s vision (or lack there of ). In what ways might Antifragle influence how you approach teaching and interactions with parents?
Tonette,
I appreciate your perspective as this concepts relates to children. As a parent I have always had to carry the weight of letting the pressures of the world strengthen my children, while also balancing the need to protect them from the harm of the world.
Hi Tonette,
Such a great post. In your experience as an educator, what are the long-term impacts on children whose parents or guardians consistently remove obstacles and stressors from their paths?