Working from our strengths
"We all have some skills that come more naturally than others. Some of us are better at speaking and finding the right word, while some of us are great at solving problems or getting along with a lot of different people. Kids are the same way. Every child has his own strengths and by using those strengths you can help boost overall academic success. There’s actually an entire theory based on this, called multiple intelligences, or MI, by Howard Gardner. He wrote that there are eight intelligences that are directly linked to a person’s problem-solving ability. The idea is that if people could identify their strengths and their intelligences, they could apply this knowledge to their learning and help maximize their academic abilities.
Professor Gardner identified 8 total intelligences, or eight different ways to solve problems. The first two are often used in schools and pretty recognizable for most parents; linguistic (reading and writing) and logical-mathematical (mathematics). But there are six other areas where your child’s strengths might lie. They are spatial intelligence (used by architects, and designers,), musical (musicians), bodily-kinesthetic (athletes, surgeons, carpenters), naturalist (veterinarians, farmers, campers), and the two personal intelligences, interpersonal and intrapersonal.
In too many schools, there’s a narrow road to success; if you’re a good reader and writer, school comes easily. In an MI school, there are many pathways to learn. Reading and writing are intelligences which encompass key skills but other intelligences can also be used in learning.
In most households, children naturally pursue and develop the intelligences in which their parents are strongest; children see, hear, and imitate. Kids who grow up in a household with lots of music will learn to appreciate music at a young age and are more likely to enjoy and learn to play music as they get older. Similarly, a child whose parents are painters or sculptors will probably be more comfortable playing with colors and clay at an early age.
Expose your child to the “other” intelligences. It’s good for parents to consciously give children experiences in the “other” intelligences, those that are less likely to be part of their home. Children are brimming with potential in many different intelligences, and too often they narrow their focus and only want to explore areas in which they are already comfortable.
Encourage diversity through multiple intelligences. Most importantly, learning and enjoying a range of intelligences is another form of diversity. It helps to remind us that we are all different and we learn differently, and that’s OK. What counts is that we solve problems, not how they’re solved!"
Taken from an article by Thomas Hoerr
“What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead”