GARDNER’S GUIDING LIGHT

GARDNER’S GUIDING LIGHT
Dr. Howard Gardner is an acclaimed Professor of Education at Harvard University. He determined his important theory in the early 1980's. His purpose was to “Determine a profile of an individual and determine a strategy on how to best teach them.” His landmark studies propose the idea that we all learn differently and have various (8) ways of acquiring and utilizing intelligence. He asserts that in our present day educational process, we tend to focus to a fault on the first two forms of human intelligence; linguistic and logical, or simply in America, English and Math. He believes in doing so we do not tap the potential of the majority of students who may find greater success utilizing the other 6 forms of human intelligence. Gardner goes so far as to say that “School matters, but only insofar as it yields something that can be used once students leave school”. That paradigm of thought is revolutionary, but gaining in acceptance. I for one, agree wholeheartedly! Let’s examine Gardner’s eight forms of intelligence: Linguistic: From the Latin root lingua: tongue. It is that intelligence with which we communicate. Those who flourish in this form of intelligence read well, like words, remember spellings, conjugations, in short, those who abound in their native tongue. It is one of the key forms of intelligence upon which we base our present systems of education. Unfortunately for those who don’t thrive in this form of learning, it becomes difficult for them to succeed in the system. Logical: These are those who love to play with numbers. They are those who delight in mathematical machinations and cavorting in calculations. If a student excels in the above two intelligences it is smooth sailing for them throughout their academic career. But what about those who don’t. Spatial: This is the form of intelligence that can reason and judge relationships of time and space. This is crucial for those who seek to become engineers and architects. This is the form of learning which we were warned as parents of a child with mobility challenges, that we should not hold high hopes. Kinesthetic: Those who do well with their hands. These are they who flourish in making beautiful furniture, crafting fine instruments, understanding by hand how things work. These people make great carpenters, artists, mechanics, and technicians. If you are like me, and have to think through a keypad to remember a phone number, chances are you function well with kinesthetic learning. How many opportunities do students of the 21st century have to improve in these skills? Musical: This one is rather self explanatory. Those who develop this type of learning use both hemispheres of the brain and enhance the other 7 forms of intelligence Interpersonal: A person who deals well with others and functions well in a society. These of those who prosper through association with others. Intrapersonal: A person with this skill knows his or her shortcomings and talents and are comfortable with the results. They are secure in their abilities and are not frustrated by the gifts of others or their lack thereof. Naturalist: The addition of this intelligence came a decade later. He added naturalist as an intelligence (recognition and naming of natural things, cultural artifacts (cars, plants, shoes, dinosaurs) Darwin would have been a prime example. Gardner’s plea to the world of education is to strive to make available to students all eight forms of intelligence, or at least try not to base the system on the first two. It is his belief, and I concur that the vast majority of students do not abound in linguistic-logical thought and could benefit immensely by utilizing the other 6. Let us examine what might take place in an early morning choir class in school. Which forms of human intelligence, by Gardner’s definition will be utilized? Linguistic? Yes, whether in their native tongue or in a foreign language. Music by it’s nature has it’s own “foreign language” or symbols and signs and Italian, Latin, German and French notations as well. Linguists recognize that the ability of learning a foreign language later in life is greatly enhanced by doing so as a child. Children who learn music have that advantage. Logical? Yes, music IS math at a very high level. It requires multiplication, division, addition and subtraction skills. It requires the highest form of number concepts and as Einstein put it: it is the “fun part” of math. Spatial? Music is one of the best ways to see relationships of time and space, and as I discussed earlier with our son Ben, it is a means whereby some children can function in this way when theyu cannot in the traditional means. Kinesthetic? For a singer to produce a sound he must create it with his body, his lungs, his vocal cords, his mouth and teeth. It is a very physical discipline with aerobic and calisthenic benefit. Musical? This one goes without saying. Interpersonal? To create harmony in a choir requires hearing and adjusting to other voices. To match pitch and synchronize rhythm requires working together with others and enjoying it. Intrapersonal? To develop as a singer or musician requires understanding ones capabilities and lack of skill as well. Determining which part to sing in the choir requires understanding one’s range and stamina. Naturalist? Musicians develop the ability to recognize patterns and similarities, the same skill used by a computer to function. In case you didn’t notice, ALL the intelligences proposed by Dr. Gardner are used in the choir class. Imagine if a student has that opportunity first thing in the morning how the rest of the day will improve in productivity. Is it any wonder why students who have access to creative classes at school are at the top of the academic curve? One needs only to attend a graduation exercise and witness where the valedictorians come from...the choir, the band and the orchestra. This is not to imply that students who are attracted to music are smarter. I am sure from personal experience that they are not. What they do have is the marked advantage of using more types of intelligences and the ability to use more of the brain more of the time. And yet, we continue to cut funding to the arts in education.