Wolfgang Mozart was introduced to the music at a much younger age than his sister Nannerl, who was four and a half years older than him. Because of the combination of the earlier exposure to music and his parents' experience at teaching Nannerl, Mozart was able to learn extremely efficiently. Similarly the three Polgar sisters in Hungary were all raised to be exceptional chess players. Each sister was introduced to chess earlier than the previous one, leading her to become a better player than each older sister. Eventually, the youngest sister, which was introduced to chess at the youngest age, "became the youngest grandmaster in history at the age of 15," (Shenk 215).
Can the timing of introduction to a subject truly cause greatness? Were Mozart and the Polgar sisters the beneficiaries of innate genius that allowed them to master their subjects, or was their accomplishment based on their achievement as young children. Were the younger, more accomplished siblings simply benefiting from the older siblings' knowledge of learning their respective subjects and their parents' knowledge of teaching their respective subjects? Would having more siblings increase the chance of achieving great accomplishment?
Laura Perlman (laura4@comcast.net)
As discussed with the Head Start program in America in the 1980’s, timing is essential (Shenk 45). Getting to the kids when they were already 3 or 4 wasn’t enough, so the fact that Mozart’s father was a composer and his watched his sister learn meant he was exposed his entire life. Both of these phenomena may be due to this early exposure. One study also showed how parental approval and pressure influence children’s learning abilities from grades 4 to 12. This study showed that parental attitude had a significant impact on the child’s educational growth (http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=6f01dff3-a8ac-45b3-9de4-356635f4908c%40sessionmgr104&vid=18&hid=19).
ReplyDeleteFrom a biological and behavioral standpoint, there is some sensitive period from pre-natal to approximately three years old in which some level of early intelligence of ability is strongly influenced. While many animals’ sensitive periods are limited, the sensitive period in white-crowned sparrow occurs once when they are young and again each mating season (Campbell 1129).
Based on this evidence, I believe that the timing of the introduction of music in Mozart’s life was very important in his success. That being said, he spent years studying and working to reach the level of talent he is known for, so the continued exposure and hard work played a great deal as well. While Mozart and the Polgar sisters benefited from their family’s expertise, I believe at some point having so many siblings would be detrimental to the development of skills because it decrease the amount of attention each child can get; Mozart’s father didn’t give Nannal as much focus as Mozart.
Cassidy Levy (clevy3)
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ReplyDeleteOne thing that can influence the development of greatness in a subject is the age at which the subject is introduced. Children such as Mozart and the youngest Polgar sister who are introduced to a subject at a very young age often demonstrate a greater aptitude for the subject. One reason for this may be that the children are experiencing something similar to a sensitive period, “a limited developmental phase where certain behaviors can be learned” (Campbell 1126). In this period, children may learn skills better that would carry with them for the rest of their lives. In addition, early exposure to music has been shown to make the brain better by enhancing spatial performance. In a journal article by Raucsher, Robinson, and Jens from the University of Wisconsin they determined that rats that listened to Mozart in utero plus 60 days post-partum had better maze performance, suggesting improved spatial-temporal learning and demonstrating that environmental enrichment can induce hippocampal plasticity (http://www.uwosh. edu/psychology/rauscher/NeuroResRat.pdf). The younger the children are, the more an increase in brain performance would benefit them because they would have more time with the higher level brain performance to learn the skill.
ReplyDeleteMozart and the Polgar sisters may have had genes that made them more inclined to become masters in their subjects but ultimately it was their hard work and intense dedication that made them masters. Skenk , citing “The Historical Development of Domains of Exercise”, make the point “today many young children exposed to Suzuki and other rigorous musical programs play as well as young Mozart did—and some play even better” (251). Anyone can become a master with the right combination of hard work and focused practice. In addition, Mozart and the youngest Polgar sisters must have benefitted from the older sibling/s' knowledge of learning their respective subjects and their parents' knowledge of teaching their respective subjects. A crucial factor to Mozart’s success was his father’s teaching method, which was described as “centuries ahead of his time” (62). Having more siblings could increase the chance of achieving great accomplishment in a subject if the siblings were in the same subject and all helped each other. Thus, they could benefit from each other’s knowledge and develop at an accelerated pace.
Jessica Hua (jhua33@yahoo.com)
As Cassidy mentioned, parental approval and pressure play a role in children’s learning abilities from grades 4 to 12. Mozart was subjected to great parental pressure, which may have also contributed to his success because he had the support and pressure of his family backing him. His family was a source of motivation because they depended on his to be "the pride and financial engine of the family" (63).
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