To Specialize Early Or Not To Specialize Early, That Is The Question

In a previous blog post, I talked about "spiky students" and whether specialization/focus in one area is an advantage. Specialization seems to be trending right now, but recently questions have arisen regarding whether the drawbacks of early specialization outweigh the benefits.

Kids seem to be specializing younger and younger. It's easy to see in sports—year-round travel teams are the norm these days rather than the exception. There are even travel teams for kids as young as seven. (On a personal note: as the coach for my seven year-old son's baseball team, my focus is usually trying to get the players to stay on their feet the whole game and face the batter. Winning the game is much farther down the list of goals.) The idea is that the younger you get kids to focus on a sport, the better they will be at that sport later in life. A picture of the tiny, young Williams sisters holding tennis rackets comes to mind.

And yet, the opposite is actually true. Studies show that a player is more likely to meet their athletic goals the longer they wait to specialize. According to a report by the American Academy of Pediatrics, "[s]tudies have shown that Division 1 NCAA athletes are more likely to have played multiple sports in high school and that their first organized sport was different from their current one." Further, there are tangible downsides to early specialization—physical injury and emotional burnout are two of the biggest.

There are similar examples in the realm of academics. Jeffrey Selingo, author of Dream School, highlights a study comparing a group of students from Scotland and a group from Wales and England. The Scottish students were required to explore different academic fields during their first two years of study, while the Welsh/English students had to choose a major before they began their studies. The study found that the Welsh/English students were more likely to change careers later in life, and, while their salaries were lower to begin with, the Scottish students quickly met the income rates of the students who had specialized earlier.

*As a side note: I highly recommend Dream School as a resource when considering what the "right fit" means in the college search.

Exploration is built into education. The result of that exploration may be affirming a previous focus or might spur a new interest. Interests change throughout life and fostering exploration can be a huge benefit for some. Anecdotally, as far as I know there isn't anyone from my high school graduating class who is currently a marine biologist, despite it being the most chosen profession in my 5th grade class.

This brings me back to my initial question: to specialize early or not to specialize early. When determining what is the right answer, I would ask the question: what is the motivation to specialize? If the answer is that specialization is based a kid's interest, talent, and request, it could be the right answer at that point in time (and could change later). However, if the answer is that it will give a student an edge in the admissions game, I would ask you to consider the importance of exploration and the edge that might come from providing the time and opportunity to find an unknown strength or interest.