This little TED talk was given by 12 year old Adora Svitak, a precocious child with a big message. I love a lot of what she has to say (I think it could have been articulated more gracefully without the sarcasm) and I think it's important to equip and empower children to do big things. If we set the bar high, they will rise to it and exceed it…but if we set the bar low they will fall to it.
I don't mean that we should expect perfection from our children…or even excellence in the ways of the world. Perfect grades, notable athlete, beautiful, popular–these are some of the things parents of my contemporaries expected…and those things are stifling. I hope to encourage my children in their abilities…whatever they are. I hope to encourage them to think big…to do things bigger than I thought possible.
Let me know what you think of the video. I'm interested to hear. The comments on the TED site were varied and disparate. Enjoy it–it's about 13 minutes long-ish. :)
As far as I can tell, The Little Prince is at least in part about the magic of childhood…and I think that's is what Adore suggests we hold onto.