Happy birthday, Leonardo da Vinci, master learner.
The illegitimate son of a 25-year-old notary, Ser Piero, and a peasant girl, Caterina, Leonardo was born on April 15, 1452, in Vinci, Italy, just outside Florence. His father took custody of the little fellow shortly after his birth, while his mother married someone else and moved to a neighboring town. They kept on having kids, although not with each other, and they eventually supplied him with a total of 17 half sisters and brothers.
Leonardo’s life illustrates how young talent can rise to historic levels within settings similar to what many youth today encounter.
He grew up among classic texts in a setting known for its painters and paintings. He learned how to learn in his father’s house as well as in an apprenticeship.
I frequently wonder with each class of students, “Which person here today will we know tomorrow as a master learner at the level of Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, and Madame Currie.”