Key Moments
The Myth of Excellence | Rae Chesny | TEDxOvertown
TEDKey Moments
Children are being pressured to achieve excellence at the expense of their well-being, mirroring the struggles of historical figures like Zora Neale Hurston, suggesting our pursuit of success needs a more human-centered narrative.
Key Insights
Children are experiencing 'doing well' but 'not being well' due to the intense pressure to achieve excellence, a tension that mirrors historical struggles.
Zora Neale Hurston, a celebrated figure of the Harlem Renaissance, felt tired and 'forlor without rest without peace of mind' despite her significant accomplishments.
The myth of excellence suggests that hard work and achievement guarantee rewards like rest, acceptance, and fulfillment, but this often overlooks the sacrifices and barriers involved.
The 'talented tenth' model of black excellence from the Harlem Renaissance, while opening doors, flattened the complex and nuanced experiences of artists like Zora Neale Hurston.
Children are exposed to 'polished outcomes' without the 'private work' behind them, risking the development of identities centered on achievement while ignoring their feelings and personal growth.
Rae Chesny's nine-year-old son, Cameron, coined the phrase 'Mama, I feel like I’m getting punished for being smart,' highlighting the negative emotional toll of academic pressure.
The child's cry: 'I am doing well, but I am not well'
The talk opens with a poignant statement from Rae Chesny's nine-year-old son, Cameron: "Mama, I feel like I’m getting punished for being smart." This declaration encapsulates the central tension of the talk – the discrepancy between outward achievement and inner well-being. Cameron, despite consistently excelling academically with straight A's and high test scores, expressed profound exasperation. Chesny realized that while her son was 'doing well,' he was 'not well,' highlighting a societal conditioning within black and brown households that prioritizes excellence above all else, often at the cost of a child's emotional health. This personal anecdote serves as the catalyst for Chesny's broader exploration of the 'myth of excellence.' The pressure on children like Cameron is immense, with increasing homework and developmentally inappropriate testing, all in pursuit of an abstract ideal of success. Chesny's desire to shift this focus from mere achievement to holistic well-being sets the stage for her investigation into the origins and implications of this societal narrative.
The historian's search for Zora Neale Hurston's humanity
To understand if this tension with excellence was unique, Chesny turned to her research on Zora Neale Hurston. Hurston, a celebrated storyteller and anthropologist of the Harlem Renaissance, is typically remembered for her monumental accomplishments. However, Chesny sought to uncover Hurston's lived human experience, delving into her letters and writings. Through her research, which involved tracing Hurston's ink from centuries ago, connecting with scholars, and visiting places she lived, Chesny discovered that Hurston, like many others, struggled with the immense pressure of her own excellence. A letter written by Hurston to Langston Hughes in 1929, while she was conducting groundbreaking anthropological fieldwork, revealed she was 'tired and forlor without rest without peace of mind.' This discovery resonated deeply with Chesny, as she shared similar feelings at the same age. It offered a glimmer of hope that their experiences with excellence could eventually change, suggesting that even revered figures faced profound personal costs in their pursuits.
Zora's disappointment amidst her making
Chesny further explored Zora Neale Hurston's feelings during the peak of her career. In a 1937 newspaper interview, just a month before the publication of her iconic novel 'Their Eyes Were Watching God,' Hurston expressed disappointment, stating she had 'not made what she wanted to make of the book.' This reveals a stark contrast between public perception and private reality. Despite being a two-time Guggenheim fellow and on the cusp of literary immortality, Hurston felt a sense of unfulfillment regarding her own creations. Chesny notes that Hurston rarely felt victorious even in the moments her legacy was being solidified. This sentiment is powerfully captured in Hurston's own words: 'I have been to Sorrow's kitchen and licked out all the pots. Then I have stood on the peaky mountain wrapped in rainbows with a harp and a sword in my hands.' This quote illustrates that being extraordinary does not exempt one from the human experience, nor does being human negate one's excellence.
The Harlem Renaissance and the birth of a myth
Chesny traces the origins of her own understanding of excellence back to the Harlem Renaissance. This era was critical for Black intellectuals and artists working to reshape the representation of Blackness. Excellence became a strategic tool, with figures like Zora Neale Hurston serving as part of the 'talented tenth' – an early and enduring collective model of Black excellence. Their efforts, undertaken in a time when Blackness was significantly more dangerous, opened crucial doors. However, even during this period, there were debates about the definition and portrayal of excellence. These nuances and the artists' complex experiences were flattened into a 'myth' that promised rewards – rest, success, acceptance, fulfillment, and worthiness – for sheer hard work and endurance. This myth, Chesny argues, obscures the reality of navigating barriers, making immense sacrifices, and maintaining self-worth regardless of outcomes.
The dangers of the polished highlight reel
In today's digital age, children are constantly exposed to 'polished outcomes' through screens, with little visibility into the private work, struggles, and sacrifices involved. When our narratives about excellence function like social media 'highlight reels,' the risks are amplified. This can teach children to build their identities primarily around achievement, leading them to ignore their feelings and their own personal development in the process. The myth of excellence thrives on this silence, leading individuals to internalize perceived failures as personal shortcomings rather than systemic challenges. Chesny emphasizes that we can no longer afford this myth, as it prevents a more honest and complete understanding of success and its human cost.
Dispel the myth by telling more expansive stories
To dismantle the myth of excellence, Chesny proposes a two-pronged approach. First, we must re-examine the stories of excellence we use as benchmarks, searching for the inherent humanity within them, not just the accolades. Second, we must commit to telling more expansive personal stories about our own pursuits of excellence. These stories should authentically include the emotional toll, the sacrifices made, and the 'cost' of achievement. By sharing these fuller truths, we give ourselves and future generations permission to remain human within the demanding journey of striving for excellence, fostering a healthier relationship with accomplishment and personal growth.
Empowering Cameron to be a storyteller of excellence
The 'major plot twist' for Chesny came when she realized her role wasn't to curate a perfect story of excellence for her son, Cameron, but rather to create space for him to become a storyteller of excellence himself. Cameron, who was born just two days after Zora Neale Hurston's birthday and whose birth certificate was signed on her actual birth date, had already been integral to Chesny's journey. He was present at her early talks on Hurston, introduced her at a gala, and even served as the inaugural children's ambassador for the Hurston Trust, establishing the Zora Neale Hurston Children's Festival. Most importantly, Cameron provided the language that inspired this very speech. His presence in the audience signifies a full circle moment, transforming the talk from a monologue into a dialogue.
A call to dialogue: what story will you tell?
Chesny concludes by framing the discussion as a dialogue between storytellers – Zora Neale Hurston, Cameron, herself, and now the audience. She poses a crucial question: What story of excellence will each person tell? Will it solely amplify accolades and outcomes, or will it make room for the humanity inherent within them? Inspired by her son, Cameron, Chesny declares she knows the story she will tell – one that embraces both achievement and the human experience. The talk ends with an invitation for everyone to consider their own narrative of excellence, encouraging a shift towards more holistic and truthful storytelling.
Mentioned in This Episode
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Common Questions
Her 9-year-old son, Cameron, feels punished because the intense focus on achieving excellence, including increasing homework and developmentally inappropriate testing, is impacting his well-being. He expressed that while he is 'doing well,' he is 'not well.'
Topics
Mentioned in this video
A celebrated storyteller and anthropologist from the Harlem Renaissance, used as a central figure to explore the human experience of excellence.
A figure whose storefront porch in Eatonville, Florida, Zora Neale Hurston would listen to stories around as a child.
A prominent poet of the Harlem Renaissance, to whom Zora Neale Hurston wrote a letter in 1929.
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