-
9. Multiple Intelligences: A Digression
- Fordham University Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
9 Multiple Intelligences: A Digression Ican’t wait to tell you about Dolores, Marisa, and Pedro; their stories are coming up next. But in order to write about them, I have to introduce you to (if you don’t already have his acquaintance) Dr. Howard Gardner, John H. and Elizabeth A. Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. If you have no interest in either fixing or knowing what’s wrong with urban and rural education, you can skip the following digression. But I warn you, I may think less of you if you do, because every American, well educated or not, private- or public-schooled or not, has a stake in our society’s progress; whether it flourishes is totally dependent on our children, yours and mine and everyone’s, native-born or immigrant. We owe it to America’s children, all of them, rich or poor, to make our schools the best they can be. What follows is a very short introduction to the theory of multiple intelligences, with an apology to Professor Gardner for its brevity. If you do choose to read on, you will be on the road to understanding how to make our schools, and thereby all of our students, reach their full potential. Professor Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences was described in his groundbreaking, provocative, life-affirming, life-altering books: Frames of Mind, (1983) and Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in Practice (1993). His theory should have sparked a revolution in what we teach our students and how we help them ‘‘master the tasks and disciplines 78 Multiple Intelligences: A Digression 79 needed to thrive in the society.’’1 Professor Gardner identified seven intelligences in his 1993 book and added an eighth intelligence in 1995. 1. Linguistic: Sensitivity to the meaning and order of words. 2. Logical-Mathematical: The ability to handle chains of reasoning and to recognize patterns and order. 3. Musical: Sensitivity to pitch, melody, rhythm, and tone. 4. Bodily-Kinesthetic: The ability to use the body skillfully and handle objects adroitly. 5. Spatial: The ability to perceive the world accurately and to recreate or transform aspects of that world. 6. Interpersonal: The ability to understand people and relationships. 7. Intrapersonal: Access to one’s emotional life as a means to understand oneself and others. 8. The Naturalist: One who is able to recognize flora and fauna, to make other consequential distinctions in the natural world, and to use this ability productively in hunting, in farming, in biological science.2 The profound, notable quotes that follow are taken from Professor Gardner’s books, and I use them to illustrate his theory and his beliefs. ‘‘We must recognize and nurture all of the varied human intelligences, and all of the combinations of intelligences. We are all different largely because we all have different combinations of intelligences.’’3 In addition, he stated that ‘‘the purpose of school should be to develop intelligences and to help people reach vocational and avocational goals.’’4 And now for the pièce de résistance. Professor Gardner said, ‘‘I am convinced that all seven [now eight] of the intelligences have equal claim to priority. In our society, we have put linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligences on a pedestal. Much of our testing [see NCLB] is based on this high valuation of verbal and mathematical skills . . . but whether you do well once you leave [school] is going to depend on the extent to which you possess and use the other intelligences’’ (emphasis mine).5 Many urban and rural students across the country are either failing the standardized tests or devoting most of their school day and time to passing these tests. In New York City, students are left back by the thousands (against proven studies that show retaining students is not only unproductive , but also psychologically harmful), often two or more times, because they fail to meet the standards. Then they are mandated to spend [54.243.2.41] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 12:34 GMT) 80 Defying Expectations their summers in non-air-conditioned classrooms, and their regular school day is lengthened so that they can receive tutoring after school to help pass the exams. When students fail (actually it’s the school that fails), the consequences for them are devastating. Their self-esteem is so low, they can barely function either in school or in later life. Schools beat the heart and soul out of so many students...