On a more serious note....
WE ARE...MARSHALL and...
GO HERD!!!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
What was Marita's Bargain?
Marita's was that if she was willing to spend vast amounts of time on studying and homework, then in return, the Knowledge is Power Program would give her an education that woud get her out of a poverty-stricken lifestyle. Malcom Gladwell describes this as an example of being an outlier because Marita was given a chance to attend a good school. Because she was a very self-motivated girl, she was able to take advantage of that chance.
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I think the keywords (technically word since its hyphenated) is/are self-motivated. If she had been like all her other friends who thought it was too hard and not convinced herself to work, she'd probably never escape her poverty-stricken lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteAnd Go Herd!
Ok so I have to say my favorite part in this is the very last sentence (We are....Marshall...and Go Herd!!!!)
ReplyDeleteBut back to your actual assignment, I believe you're right in saying Marita was self-motivated. She would have to be to be willing to basically give up her childhood for a better education. Not only was she willing to give that up for a better life in the future, she also did it with a positive attitude, which is what I think makes her one of Gladwell's Outliers.
That is definitely a good point about why Gladwell considered Marita an outlier. Many children given the opportunity that she was given, would choose not to work hard, and therefore the school would have no impact on their lives. But because Marita was self-motivated and worked hard, she is going to be able to make something of her life and take advantage of the opportunity that was given to her.
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