Perfectionism

An exchange in Pixar's The Incredibles sums up the absurdity that has ensued: "Everyone's special," says one character, only to have another rejoin, "Which is another way of saying no one is."

An article by Will Fitzhugh entitled, "Art Without Craft" (May 2008) has a quote that made me think...."The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without work". You could use this with the gifted/talented students and then have a discussion on perfectionism. A teacher could refer to an art project - a piece of art - how long should you have to work on a single assignment? When does "enough" equal "done"?

Steve Jobs (Apple CEO) had a quote that may be helpful: "The only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work."

We, as teachers, do want EXCELLENCE, which is attainable. We can ask our students to strive for things that are important to them and the world. Remind the students that nothing or no one is perfect.

We need to be mindful that we have to learn to choose our areas of perfectionism. Perfectionism is exactly what we want out of our brain surgeons, but not all areas of our lives need perfection. We need to choose perfectionism in appropriate circumstances, and it needs to be saved for those areas where it really matters.

Teachers need to encourange excellence without exacerbating negative aspects of perfectionism. Children, of course, need encouragement and support. But they also need to be pushed beyond the very human inclination toward self-centeredness and impatience, and be given a chance to experience both the discouragement and, finally, the joy in spending time and effort in making a thing well or in pursuing an interest doggedly, just because it's worth doing — not for the sake of praise.