David and Goliath starts where you might expect it to; however, Gladwell provides some unique insight that has the reader rethinking the context of the biblical story and what actually causes the underdog to prevail.

The part that resonated with me was the idea of class size and how we have the misconception that smaller is always better. Just as it is hard to tend to a class of 30+, you start to see the same challenges on the other side of the coin. Behavior and quality of discussions suffer when a class is too small and when a class is too large. How does this relate to David & Goliath? Anyone sizing up the two would have wagered on the latter because of our preconceived notions about what constitutes an advantage. Small class size is a selling point for many schools, but when is small too small?

Gladwell also delves into the concept of relative deprivation, how we compare ourselves to the ‘pond’ around us. This is a great part of the book that looks into our misconceptions in regard to the colleges that we find to be the most desirable. To illustrate this, Gladwell uses the example of Caroline Sacks who always had a love of science and pursued that field at an Ivy League school of her dreams. Smart girl gets her pick of universities. The sky is the limit. How did it work out for her? You’ll have to read the book to find out.

I was riveted by Part Two of the book about desirable difficulties. One thing I was struck by was a quote by Gary Cohn: “The one trait in a lot of dyslexic people I know is that by the time we got out of college, our ability to deal with failure was very highly developed. And so we look at most situations and see much more of the upside than the downside. Because we’re so accustomed to the downside.” I think about some of my students who no doubt have had this same experience, but I am hopeful that the struggles they face will turn out to be the very thing that made David a victor: an advantage.

The best reads leave the reader thinking, and Gladwell never disappoints in that regard.

Both of the Gladwell titles pictured above are available for purchase at our shop!
-Lindsay