A good sound education, that’s usually everybody’s favourite answer for what it takes to get ahead in this world. I do not disagree. But an education goes beyond what students are taught within the four walls that are classrooms, and beyond what they learn from a curriculum. It is far broader than that. It is also what we learn in our homes, in our neighbourhoods, and in our wider communities.

There is also some thought that success also depends on the cultural group to which you belong — which roughly translated into Bermuda terms would mean: black, white; expat, local; rich, poor. Cultural differences and the degree to which they have an impact were the recent focus of a study by two Yale Law School professors, Amy Chua and Jed Rubenfeld, who have come up with some pretty interesting findings. Their book isn’t out yet (“The Triple Package: How Three Unlikely Traits Explain the Rise and Fall of Cultural Groups in America”) but they recently gave us a preview in The Sunday New York Times in an article headlined: “What Drives Success?” What, indeed?

I want to try and hit a few highlights here for what I believe to be their relevance to Bermuda. It was a relatively long article and worth the read if you get the chance. While generally I eschew generalisations (they tend to perpetuate stereotypes) I found some of the observations compelling reading.

One of the first points they made was this: notwithstanding the diversity of the groups which they studied, those that enjoyed the greatest success in America all shared three important traits. They are: -

* One: a superiority complex — a deep-seated, ingrained belief in their exceptionality.

* Two: The exact opposite, an inferiority complex, believe it or not, that feeling that whatever you do is never good enough and that you have to always strive to do even better.

* Three — impulse control, the ability and willingness to sacrifice present gratification for the longer term goal.

Not surprisingly, these traits have their origins in the home where habits of discipline are taught and/or enforced and/or reinforced from an early age whether by parents, grandparents and then by teachers. Again not surprisingly, they also found that it is harder to achieve this goal when any one of those three groups have to work on their own without the support of the wider community and/or without the constant presence of role models and peer pressure, and/or, worse still perhaps, having to work under the weight of negative stereotyping.

The two professors do not duck the issue of race. When it comes to disproportionate poverty among African-Americans they do not attribute this to the lack of effective group superiority. Instead, they write: “The true causes barely require repeating: They include slavery, systematic discrimination, schools that fail to teach, employers who won’t promote, single motherhood and the fact that roughly a third of young black men in this country are in jail, awaiting trial on probation or parole.

“Nor does the lack of a group superiority narrative prevent any given individual African-American from succeeding”, they posit. “It simply creates an additional psychological and cultural hurdle that most successful groups don’t have to overcome.”

Other factors identified as preventing progress for some:

* Where people have learned not to trust the system, and come to a belief that no matter how hard they try they will not succeed;

* Where there has been a history of discrimination or prejudice and shrinking opportunities in the market place for entry, never mind advancement.

In such circumstances, the two professors contend, it takes more than just grit, hard work and determination to break through. It takes exceptional people as well.

But it doesn’t have to be the exceptional only. The good news is that the authors believe that there is a way to turn around the negative trends. They point to research which shows that perseverance and motivation can be taught, especially to young children. More of our attention and education dollars should therefore be spent on early childhood intervention, at the preschool age, when children are more receptive and farmable and it is fair easier to inculcate the values and traits it takes to get ahead. Easier said than done, I am sure, but worth the effort and the expense? Future success may depend on it.

* Your views are welcomed either on The Royal Gazette website or write jbarritt@ibl.bm.