Musings on David & Goliath

I was at our board meeting last night and we got into a discussion about a book that I’m reading, “David & Goliath” by Malcom Gladwell.   One insight gleaned from this discussion was the analogy that a child can be seen as David and Poverty, Goliath.

According to Gladwell, however, wealth may not necessarily be the answer to happiness either and there seems to be an optimal level of wealth before happiness wanes. He illustrates this by examining the effects of academic achievement based on classroom size. The question of is “smaller better” (as most people would say it is) in classroom sizes, provides a surprising response. In fact, a smaller classroom size may not always have an advantage of a larger one. After offering up some proofs he suggests that academic achievement in smaller class sizes wanes to the same level as its opposite, and uses the inverted U-graph to illustrate.  His point is that in classroom sizes, the optimum level for academic achievement seems to be somewhere in the middle for class size.

Eg.

Gladwell also discusses the question of whether wealth does make one happy.  His conclusions are that the results are similar to the foregoing because happiness tends to wane after a family income level of $75,000 is reached.   As soon as the income level surpasses this amount, the curve actually begins to fall. Great wealth does not create happiness; in fact, it can make things worse if it is not handled properly. According to Gladwell, great wealth requires that values about money and how it is spent (not always giving your child money when their hand is out and/or not living decadently) be properly taught a wealthy child to create an environment where that child can grow to be an adult that thrives. Interesting!

But to the lower income individual, Gladwell states that wealth can also be seen as a giant that can never be overcome. For the low income child the impossibility of ever having that amount of money can be seen as Goliath as well. 

At City Kidz, we help a child to believe that it is possible to achieve a better income level and hopefully have a better lifestyle even though it seems like an impossible task for them to aspire to. However, we are NOT about helping a child to achieve great wealth. That is not the City Kidz message. Instead, it’s about providing lessons of faith, hope and love to a child so they become resilient. At City Kidz we teach these values and hope that they will bring them with them to adulthood.  This will enhance their life whether they are rich, middle class or even living happily in a lower income lifestyle.

City Kidz is in a child’s life to build him or her up, increase their resiliency and give them the tools to live a happy life. Achieving and thriving does not always mean having a larger income. It means becoming resilient and living the best life possible even in adverse circumstances. In this case, while our target are children living in a low income household, our message is for every child in every demographic.  All children will benefit from lessons and values taught at City Kidz and have a good chance of becoming thriving adults, whether they are rich or poor.  It’s values that enhance a child’s life, not money.

And ONE for all…