Evening star., 1936-01-14
Genius Is
Born, Very
|SeldOnMade
Every Individual Has
Equal Chance to
Develop Talents.
BY ANGELO PATRI.

pARENTS look forward to the COM
ing of their children with high
hopes. They dream about them, weave
fairy stories about them and always
the children shine. They will be all
that their fathers and mothers hoped
to be. and, for some reason or other.
failed to be. When the children come
there is great rejoicing. The longed-
for triumph over life Is at hand.
The children begin to grow. Little
by little they shed the clouds of glory
that trailed after them at their COM
ing. Gradually they take up their
earthly shape. They are still lovely,
the dream still fingers. but doubts be-
gin to creep in. This child is not the
poet, or the statesman, or the scien-
tist, or the hberator Of the dream. He
is a careless, needless. unteachahle
disappointment. He must have been
snapped in his cradle. The disap-
pointment is bitter. The child bears
the brunt Of it always. He suffers
while his parents fondly try to make
him what he Is not and can never be.
Sometimes q dream child comes
true. Perhaps once in q century
great personality is born. Usually to
the surprise of his family who had no
dreams. but accepted what came with
good will and hopes for the best. The
usual child will grow up to be the usual
sort Of person, earning his living and
rearing his family decently. Few par
ents are satisfied to have that sort Of
child. They want that dream child
and intend to have him even If they
have to make over the one they got.
A child cannot be made over. His
creation is forever beyond any earthly
power. Genius is gift bestowed be-
fore birth. Those who have it have 1t.
Those who don't have 1t cannot ac-
quire it. Why not accept that and let
the ordinary child be happy, be him.
self? He is a good child, probably bet
ter than his parents were at his age.
He wants to do right. longs to please
everybody. but there are accomplish
ments beyond him. If he is a weak,
disorganized child he cannot be Q
leader in athletics. If he loves music.
but cannot learn to read it, he cannot
be a musician. If he Is q slow learner
he cannot become a master scholar.
II he loves the gay things Of life, caring
more for his pleasure than for that of
others, If he Is bent upon becoming .
travelling salesman he cannot be
clergyman even though his grandfath-
er was q famous man of the cloth.
If he insists upon working with his
hands and leans toward laying bricks
you cannot make him into Q lawyer.
Take the child you have. Each one
Is precious and has within him the ele-
ments of success. Those elements are
individual. They govern the child's
power. tastes and tendencies. You
can modify all Of them, you can
strengthen some and weaken others
to where they are ineffective. You can
train the child to use powers he has.
but you cannot give him any that be
has not. II he has red hair 1t stays red
though he live to be hundred. If he
was born to be q genius nothing can
stop him. If he was born to be that
happy person, an ordinary healthy hu-
man being, nothing can change that
either. Accept the kind of child he Is
and don't make his life miserable try
ing to make him dream child.
Copyright. 1850