It's Time to Ask a New Question

Early in my teaching career; I noticed that my students had different talents that each of them brought to the educational setting. No individual student was exactly the same in their talents, but they were all evaluated the same way, a multiple choice test on arcane material that may or may not be applicable to a real world setting. Surprisingly, some of my colleagues failed to recognize these talents and would automatically write off students when they did not meet a certain testing or assignment criteria. After recently being re-exposed to the theory in a graduate leadership course, it caused me to wonder, how many educators do not receive exposure to Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences?

Gardner's theory covers eight potential intelligences that people may potentially have; spatial, linguistic, logical-mathematical, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal and naturalistic. The model allows for individuals to have varying rates of each intelligence type, because it is difficult to quantify human intelligence in the model. Traditional IQ tests only measure the ability for people to analyze linguistic or mathematical problems, they do not provide for the full range of human intelligence. The key difference between the traditional and Gardner's theory would come from Gardner’s definition of intelligence as the ability to solve a problem or create a product that is valued within one or more cultures. This definition does not lend itself well to traditional testing, therefore exposing the major faultline between Multiple Intelligence Theory and traditional education.

Numbers and scores in education do have their right place, they help us to gain a snapshot of the classroom and learning situation. Numbers fail to tell us the entire story, it is improbable to place a numerical value on someone's unique talents and abilities. When we have to look at individuals and not the artificial numbers that are attached to them, we are then required to provide that person dignity. It is a novel concept to empower individuals by working with their individual intelligences to generate knowledge. With the “glowing” results coming from public school districts across the nation, it is time we try a different approach. The question that we have been asking is "Are you intelligent?" The question that we should be asking is "How are you intelligent?"