Almanac Advantage

"It is those who are successful, in other words, who are most likely to be given the kinds of special opportunities that lead to further success. It's the rich who get the biggest tax breaks. It's the best students who get the best teaching and most attention. And it's the biggest nine- and ten-year-olds who get the most coaching and practice." (30)
-Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers

In the novel Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell explains that the success of a person is derieved from their culture,community, family, and generation. in the first chapter "The Matthew Effect," Gladwell studies the months in which professional athletes and students are born and how their birth dates relate to their superior skills and intelligence. At a young age there is a significant difference, with respect to maturity and size (29), for when a child is born at the beginning of the year versus being born at the end of the year. In sports and academics young children are divided up into groups depending on their skill and aptitude. the children born in the first few months of the year are favoured by being chosen for a rep squad (24) or bring put into an advanced learning class (28). This is because "in preadolescence, a twelve-month gap in age represents an enormous difference in physical maturity," (24) and "it locks children into patterns of achievement and underachievement, encouragement and discouragement, that stretch on and on for years."(28)

It is quite astonishing how much of an impact our culture has on deciding which individuals have a better possibility of succeeding. It is amazing how such a great percent of our population has a disadvantage in activities because of what month they were born in. This pattern also continues through postsecondary education as 11.6% of the youngest groups of students are under-represented in their classes. (29) Gladwell states that "students who attempt suicide are also more likely to be born in the second half of the school year." (29) This is because during exam time there is usually a build up of work which sometimes leads to poor school performance which can also lead to depression and suicide. (29)

The first chapter of this novel illustrates that there is a lot more to becoming successful other than being a hard worker and having determination. Although Canada is known for being a country where everyone is equal to one another, the way our society selects an individual to allow them to become successful is ultimately biased.