Richard Rossi Talks About The Rule Of High Achievers Can Be A Myth

10 Jul 2018 · 2 min

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In this interview excerpt, Richard Rossi explains his lifelong passion for high‑achieving, well‑behaved children, who he says are often neglected by schools. He recounts a conversation with a mother who noted that such children receive the "short end of the stick" because educators focus on other problems and assume the high‑achiever will be fine. Rossi argues that these children are the most important resource for the future, possessing the potential to change the world. He emphasizes the need to help them envision a larger future, realize their capabilities, and receive the advantages they deserve. Rossi also stresses the importance of involving parents and the broader community—"it takes a village"—to support these youths.

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So I'd love you to share a little bit about yourself and your passion with everyone watching today.
Absolutely. Well, my passion is, and it always has been, the high-achieving child. Because it's funny, actually, there was a day long ago where I was talking to a mom and she said, Richard, you know, the high-achieving child who's well-behaved often gets the short end of the stick. And I was shocked to hear that. What does that mean? And she explained that really, if you are well-behaved and high-achieving, in most of our schools, the administrators and the teachers and to a large degree the counselors say, you know, she's going to be just okay. We need to deal with all of these problems here and all of these problems there. And so often they don't get the attention, they don't get the advantages. Mm-hmm. They don't get the kind of things that I've always believed they deserve. I think that they are the most important resource that this world has. It's the young people that have the potential to change our future, to change the world, to truly, truly make a difference. And anything I can do to help them see a bigger future for themselves, to realize that they can be So much more than they ever thought they could be, and to give them a vision of how they can change the future of the world. Right. And help their parents to see it too, because it takes a village, right? Absolutely.