• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Demme Learning
  • Math-U-See
  • Spelling You See
  • Analytical Grammar
  • WriteShop
  • Store
  • Digital Toolbox
Demme Learning

Demme Learning

Building Lifelong Learners

  • Search

  • Sort by

  • Category

Customer Service: M-F 8:30am - 6pm ET
Live Chat • 888-854-6284 • Email

Shop Now
  • Home
  • About
    • Philosophy
    • History
    • Company Culture
    • Careers
  • Products
    • Math-U-See
    • Spelling You See
    • Analytical Grammar
    • WriteShop
    • Building Faith Families
    • KinderTown
  • Blog
  • Guild
    • Math Resources
    • Spelling Resources
    • Webinars
    • eBook
    • Digital Toolbox
    • Partnerships
  • Events
    • The Demme Learning Show
    • Virtual Events
    • In Person Events
  • Digital Toolbox
  • Support Center
Home Learning Blog Don’t Specialize Too Early [TED TALK]

Don’t Specialize Too Early [TED TALK]

Don’t Specialize Too Early [TED TALK]

Ethan Demme · October 22, 2020 · Leave a Comment

David Epstein's research provides a much needed caution against pushing our kids to specialize too early.

What does it take to become an elite athlete, musician, or craftsman? Is talent innate or acquired? What kind of practice is best for becoming great at something? Does it really take “10,000 hours” to become an expert?

As a society we are obsessed with these questions. And many parents can often find themselves struggling with the fear that if their child doesn’t start violin lessons at age 4, or practice chess for 6 hours a day, or drill in advanced logic puzzles, then they won’t be “successful” as adults. This pressure often leads us to overschedule our kids’ days, filling every available hour with scheduled and structured activities – lessons, rehearsals, workshops, classes. And as a consequence, our kids have less time and space to experiment and play.

Pushing Back Against Early Specializing

David Epstein is an investigative reporter and author. His research provides a much needed caution against pushing our kids to specialize too early. Epstein instead commends the winding path, in which general curiosity is the name of the game, and where specialization occurs much later after general skill sets have been developed. In his TED Talk below (based on the research in his book Range) Epstein showcases some counterintuitive findings.

For example, he shares that when you track elite athletes over the course of their development,

The future elites actually spend less time early on in deliberate practice in their eventual sport. They tend to have what scientists call a “sampling period,” where they try a variety of physical activities, they gain broad, general skills, they learn about their interests and abilities and delay specializing until later than peers who plateau at lower levels.

This pattern also holds when comparing career trajectories for early specializers versus later specializers: “the early specializers jump out to an income lead because they have more domain-specific skills. The late specializers get to try more different things, and when they do pick, they have better fit, or what economists call “match quality.” And so their growth rates are faster. By six years out, they erase that income gap. Meanwhile, the early specializers start quitting their career tracks in much higher numbers, essentially because they were made to choose so early that they more often made poor choices. So the late specializers lose in the short term and win in the long run.”

Epstein’s research leads him to conclude that, “in the well-meaning drive for a head start, we often even counterproductively short-circuit even the way we learn new material, at a fundamental level.” By giving our kids space to “sample” various activities and to pursue different interests, we can protect against this short-circuiting, and remove a lot of the stress that comes with trying to predict what skills will be most valued in the labor market a decade from now. As the world continues to change quickly, it is ultimately the generalists who will be best positioned for success.

Recommended Reading

Lessons Learned From Reading The Talent Code
What This Homeschooled Chess Champion Teaches Us About Talent
Can Education Make Us Robot-Proof?

https://demmelearning.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Don’t-Specialize-Too-Early-TED-TALK.png
Previous Post Next Post

Category iconEducation

Weekly Newsletter

Subscribe to the weekly Demme Learning newsletter for the latest blog posts, product information, and more!

The Demme Learning Show

Join host Gretchen Roe as she facilitates fascinating conversations with a wide range of guests in the education space. Watch the show live, or watch/listen to the recorded episodes.

Learn More and Subscribe

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Stories

  • A colony of emperor penguins at the South Pole.

    11 Wild and Wonderful Nature Documentaries for Kids

  • An illustration of a 60 minute timer and a light bulb.

    Genius Hour: Empower Your Students to Take Control of Their Learning

  • A young child plays on the monkey bars at a playground.

    Risky Play: Why Taking Chances Helps Children Grow

Primary Sidebar

Stories
show/hide
  • A colony of emperor penguins at the South Pole.
    11 Wild and Wonderful Nature Documentaries for Kids
  • An illustration of a 60 minute timer and a light bulb.
    Genius Hour: Empower Your Students to Take Control of Their Learning
  • A young child plays on the monkey bars at a playground.
    Risky Play: Why Taking Chances Helps Children Grow

Subscribe to our newsletter!

Thousands of parents enjoy our weekly newsletter, with informative blog posts, product information, and more!

Subscribe to The Demme Learning Show!

Join host Gretchen Roe as she facilitates fascinating conversations with a wide range of guests in the education space. Watch the show live, or watch/listen to the recorded episodes.

Learn more

Logo for The Demme Learning Show.

Footer

Our Location

Address:
Demme Learning
207 Bucky Drive
Lititz, PA 17543

Contact Us

Customer Service M-F 8:30am - 6pm ET
Live Chat 888-854-6284 Email

Hours

Monday through Friday 8:30 am to 6:00 pm, Eastern time.

Connect with us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn

Sign up for our newsletter

Sitemap

  • Home
  • About
    • Philosophy
    • History
    • Company Culture
    • Careers
  • Products
    • Math-U-See
    • Spelling You See
    • Analytical Grammar
    • WriteShop
    • Building Faith Families
    • KinderTown
  • Blog
  • Guild
    • Math Resources
    • Spelling Resources
    • Webinars
    • eBook
    • Digital Toolbox
    • Partnerships
  • Events
    • The Demme Learning Show
    • Virtual Events
    • In Person Events
  • Digital Toolbox
  • Support Center

Terms & Conditions  •  Sitemap  •  Copyright © 2023 Demme Learning •  Return to top