Do YouHave It In You?

We live in a peculiar culture: so much is made of private enterprise, of the self-made person, of individuality.  Yet every day the media are star-studded, as if the real point is not the individual but the star -- not at all the same thing.

The belief is early instilled into young children that their "job" is to compete, not to develop.  As I write that sentence I am struck by the motivation behind that approach to child rearing: For one thing, it assures that your child will not surpass you.  Heaven forbid.

My children have both, each in her/his own way, surpassed me.  I learn from them.  They have picked up things I would never have noticed.

Is it because parents and teachers are afraid they might have to bend down and actually learn something from someone younger than themselves that so many of them persist in passing on this madness?