When I was getting my master’s degree in education, my mom gave me sagacious advice: “Don’t put a box around a child; all kids are smart in some way.” Being in education for 35 years, part of her tenure was teaching art. Working with the students in art class, she saw something others did not. Her colleagues would tell her that a particular student was failing math or reading. Disregarding any preconceived notions about any one student, she allowed for multiple ways of expression. Those labeled as the “problem students” thrived in her class.
When we talk about a child being smart, one would make the assumption that this child can read challenging books, compute difficult math problems with ease or finish a puzzle in record time. It is an automatic response we use, yet it’s unfair and passé.
Plenty of research exists on this topic showing that there are multiple ways to be intelligent. Howard Gardner, in his 2011 re-released book Frames of Mind, confirmed the theory that there are Multiple Intelligences (MI). But, sadly, most of our schools are not fully set up to take advantage of each intelligence since universally schools focus on growing linguistic and mathematical intelligences. Therefore, if a child has a musical gift or is highly independent, a child can be labeled ADHD, unmotivated or behaviorally challenged (and sadly not considered “smart”).
While we cannot (in the short term) change the school culture and the tradition of school in general, we can be more aware of these intelligences and tailor our classrooms to bring these intelligences to the surface for our children allowing them to thrive and grow in his/her natural gifting. In fact, we can light that candle inside of them, helping them see the way they are smart.
According to Howard Gardner, the eight intelligences are:
- words (linguistic intelligence)
- numbers or logic (logical-mathematical intelligence)
- pictures (spatial intelligence)
- music (musical intelligence)
- self-reflection (intrapersonal intelligence)
- physical experience (bodily-kinesthetic intelligence)
- a social experience (interpersonal intelligence), and/or
- naturalistic (Not part of Gardner’s original seven; naturalistic intelligence was proposed by him in 1995). It’s important to note that these intelligences are not the same thing as learning styles. Hattie and Yates (2014) wrote an informative book on the learning style myth, discussing that, for example, we all visually or auditorily learn. In a practical sense, what we can gather from all the research is this: First and foremost, we must find ways to individualize our instruction. Second, we must vary our approach in how content is presented and how the knowledge learned is presented back to us. This will maximize our individual student’s intelligences and allow for all them to thrive.
- Back in the 1940’s, George Reavis, an Assistant Superintendent at the time, penned a fable called Animal School. It’s about a school made up of ducks, fish, rabbits and eagles. I always read it to my students (and parents) the first days of school. The moral: Allow those fish to swim, rabbits to run and let those eagles soar. We can’t have a room full of average ducks. Why do I take time to share this? To enlighten their understanding that they are all smart in their own special way. Showing them a pie chart with all eight slices of intelligences can follow the story to further illustrate their individuality. We must become masterful at acquainting ourselves with our students’ strengths those first few weeks of school. This could be done with the following: