Evening star., 1939-10-18
Opportunity
Is Wasted
By Child
Desire to Succeed
In School Years
Must Be Born
BY ANGELO PATRI.

There are children who have high
intelligence. quotients, but fail in
school. In the elementary grades
their teachers and parents keep
driving them to work and, by sheer
weight of their authority and inter-
est, push them into graduation.
Sometimes they are graduated from
high school under the same drive.
The parents of these children are
astonished at the lack of interest
they show in their education. Cant
you see that you are throwing away
wonderful opportunities for educa-
ton, for place in life? Can't you
see that the thing you are wasting
is your own success? Why don't you
get down to work? Why don't you
try to make something of your
seH?"
Somehow they manage to get this
child into college. A friendly teacher
helps, some one provides a scholar
ship, or his people make sacrifices,
often vital ones, to get him there.
But the pattern does not change.
Under his own power now, he cuts
classes; he moves himself into a
fraternity building; he is busy about
everything except his college courses.
At the end of the year the last letter
from the dean comes. The student
returns home. What is the trouble
with such children? They have
intelligence, but they don't use it.
Why?
don't know. From what have
seen of them it appears they lacked
the drive that strong will, a deep
desire and a purpose should give
them. Nobody succeeds in doing a
worthy job unless he very much
wants to. Nobody has risen to
place of power unless he wanted to
get there more than he wanted to
do anything else in life. Before any,
thing is done by any one he must
hunger for the doing or the result
of the doing. Once that drive Is
born, once that purpose is set, MOTH
ing in life is as important as the
success Of it.
Is there anything one can do to
create that purpose in the child?
Nobody can create purpose and
a will In child. But-and this Is
of the utmost importance-parents
and teachers can, If they are in
telligent and have the opportunity,
stimulate a budding desire, ti1nid
gesture toward creative purpose, in
a child and encourage it into
strong growth. We could save many
wobbly mind, salvage many a
worthwhile youth, If we could help
him this way.
Teachers do not have the neces-
sary time and equipment in school
for such work. Few parents have
either the time or the understand
ing necessary for it. Did you ever
see gardener lowering over a seed
tray, watching for the first sprout,
measuring the temperature, the
moisture, the light; watching for the
precise moment for transplanting,
watering, shading or summing; whis-
tling for JOY when the things broke
just right, wringing his hands over
an hours check? 1t is like that
with the growth Of children.
There Is time when interest
must be caught or lost. There is q
time when praise must be given in
full. A time for discipline and a
time for relief. A time for offering
opportunity and time for using it.
If we lose that occasion, we lose it.
That is one side of the story. But
there Is another. Intelligence in
school subjects is not the whole of a
child's being. His other qualities
may overbalance it. One must take
the child one has, regardless of test
records. There is so much no test
ever touches