Aptitude, Attitude, Passion and Opportunity

As posted before, I'm a member of  a professional reading group and our first book is The Element by Sir Ken Robinson.  The following series of posts will be based on notes taken from the various chapters of the book and will form a basis for our discussions.

Chapter 1 deals with why many people never connect with their true talents.  Because of this they

don't know what they're really capable of achieving.  In that sense they don't know who they really are.

The element is the meeting point between natural aptitude and personal passion.  When people are in their element they connect with something fundamental to their sense of identity, purpose and well-being.

The element has two main features and there are two conditions for being in it.  The features are aptitude and passion.  The conditions are attitude and opportunity.

Aptitude - a natural facility for something

Passion - loving what you do

Attitude - our personal perspective on our selves and our circumstances - high achievers share similar attitudes:  perseverance, self-belief, optimism, ambition and frustration.  How we perceive our circumstances and how we create and take opportunities depends largely on what we expect of ourselves.

Opportunity - whether or not we discover our element depends on the opportunities we have or create and if we take them.

My reflections:  As teachers are we tapping into our students' aptitudes and passions?  Are we encouraging the attitudes that will help them to succeed?  Are we giving students opportunites to discover their element?

Photo Credit:  Question of passion  by Emily's mind