Everyone is Different: How Do I Instill Rugged Individualism in My Child?

BERKELEY HEIGHTS, NJ: I have a quip about the way we teach at White Tiger Dojo:

I teach everyone the same way, differently.

Every Child Learns and Progresses Differently

It amuses me because, in an age where everything is personalized, the one thing we seem to forget that is truly personal is ourselves.

Why is it that we can personalize all of our belongings, but when it comes to education, we want everyone to move in the same direction, at the same time, in the same way?

Why We Don't Group Test Students at White Tiger Dojo

At WTD, it is rare that I test more than a few people in any class precisely because of these differences.

Some students are incredibly dedicated. They come to more classes, work out on their own and may even have physical or mental attributes that are above average.

I know, right?

It's almost like we aren't all cardboard cutouts.

Other students aren't in a rush. They may not have the drive, time or desire to push for rank at the same pace, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Progress shouldn't have to look the same for everyone.

Every Student Needs Their Own Optimal Challenge

That's why each student is given their own personalized optimal challenge.

An optimal challenge is designed to keep a student walking the tightrope of failure while forever reaching for the lifeline of success.

Make the challenge too easy and there's little reason to grow.

Make it too difficult and repeated failure can become discouraging.

But find that place where success is possible without being guaranteed, and something interesting happens.

The student has to work for it.

Challenge Builds Discipline, Resilience and Confidence

Learning this way helps create self-discipline, fosters resilience and establishes confidence, all while reinforcing that never-quit attitude.

And those qualities don't develop because everyone receives the same challenge.

They develop because the challenge is appropriate for the individual standing in front of us.

One student's difficult may be another student's easy.

One student's six months may be another student's year.

The standard doesn't have to disappear simply because the path toward reaching it is different.

The Real Competition Is With Yourself

No matter what kind of student you are, we're invested in you doing the best you can do.

Not somebody else's best.

Your best.

After all, the real optimal challenge isn't about triumphing over the student standing next to you.

It's about triumphing over yourself.