Carla Flati on wed 17 apr 96
Carl,
This was my question......... "Ok, so can someone set me straight here. Are we
using the same word but meaning different things?"
.......... and I see that you and I obviously have different definitions for
the word talent. I also see that no matter how clearly we try to get our
points across, someone is going to misinterpret something.
>> I have a talent for library research... it's an extension of the logical
talents I have that
make programming easy for me. I happen to hate doing library research.
........If the talented potter is lazy (has no passion) and the untalented
potter
is full of passion and works hard at learning... who is the better potter? <<
In a round about, purely unintentional way I'm sure, you've proved my point.
You hate library research. Would you do it for a living? What if your parents
thought you might be great at it (or one of the MANY other things you're very
good at) and forced you to pursue it when it was the programming that you really
wanted to do? You would be miserable just as an untalented lazy potter has no
business being a potter and if he or she is, they won't be in business very
long. They're obviously doing something for a living that they don't enjoy. I
said too many kids are forced to do things that don't come naturally because in
my definition of talent, passion and dedication are involved and there's
obviously no passion in you for library research, nor is there any passion or
dedication in a lazy unmotivated potter. My post mainly had to do with kids and
letting them develop their talents naturally so they end up to be happy with
themselves in their adult lives or in other words, their lives' work. I feel
you've taken my words out of context because your examples seem to deal mainly
with adults making choices after the fact....... income taxes, emailers,
hobbies.
>>Clayart isn't reserved for professionals only; this is a hobby for many of
us.<<
I don't know how long you've subscribed to Clayart, but if you've been around a
while you woud know that I have to be one of the last people on this list that
you have to tell that to! I'm not a professional potter. I have to get up
every day and go to a job that's becoming harder and harder to go to. I'm
living proof of what happens when a kid, for one reason or another, isn't given
the chance to go for what they know and after everything you've described about
yourself, I can't believe that you don't realize the fact that you are too. The
only difference is that you were lucky enough to be able to change things by the
age of 27. I'm trying to change things, but I'm 40 with kids and it's going to
take me a while longer. Clay is not a hobby for me, it's part of me. It's a
passion, a dedication, and a creative outlet that has been inside of me for as
long as I can remember. This doesn't fit your definition of talent, but it fits
mine so to debate the issue any further is pointless, however, as usual there is
one more thing I'd like to add.
>>>Beside our immediate family, my kids' teachers are the most important people
i
[...agreeable but somewhat irrelevant stuff about teachers snipped...]<<
It wasn't irrelevent to me, buddy.
Carla
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