It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.

~Einstein

I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.

~ Mark Twain

Have you ever felt that a teacher or the school where your child attends doesn’t understand your child?  That they look at your child as either being smart or not smart?  I know I have.  If your child does not fit into the typical profile then he or she may struggle and not be very successful at a traditional school.

I remember, not too long ago, coming from one of the boy’s 3rd grade conference.  I had taught third grade and felt it is usually one of the best years a child can have in elementary school.  So I was very frustrated at how unhappy my son was.  Everything his teacher described did not fit my easy going, bright child.  She didn’t even know what kind of books he read.  He had a teacher who taught with an overhead projector and advised ritalin for the students (mostly boys) who could not sit still and copy from the overhead, including my child.  What I learned from that conference is that a teacher does not always know your child.  I also learned how to give a good conference for my own students.

That’s why at our preschool we like to look at Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences.  We really try to get to know the individual child and present our findings in a positive way at conferences.  Here are his nine different intelligences:

Linguistic (Word Smart)

These children love words, reading, and writing.  They need words to learn.  They might end up being writers, teachers, journalists or public speakers.

Logical Mathematical (Math Smart)

These children have good reasoning and problem solving skills.  Not only do they like numbers, but time, calendars, patterns and riddles.   They might end up being a math teacher, an engineer, or an economist.

Visual Spatial (Art Smart)

These children are able to plan and use space with color.  They look around and see details of their world.  They are often good at solving puzzles and love to draw. They’re destined to be graphic designers, artists, architects or inventors.

Bodily Kinesthetic (Body Smart)

These children see their world through movement.  They have great eye hand coordination. They may like to work with their hands.  They could be dancers, athletes, surgeons, or physical therapists.

Musical (Music Smart)

These children learn through music.  They appreciate music and are moved by it.  They have a sense of rhythm.  They could end up being musicians, music teachers, singers, songwriters or composers.

Naturalist (Nature Smart)

These children learn through nature and will focus on the Earth.  These children are good at categorizing things, even things outside nature.  They may organize their dvds  They love to be outdoors. They may be Forest Rangers, farmers or scientists.

Interpersonal (People Smart)

These are the children that work best in a group, that need to be with people to function.  They are great at communicating and mediating.  They do well in student government.  They might become a politician, go into sales, or become managers or teachers.

Intrapersonal (Self Smart)

These are the children that work best by themselves and recharge their batteries by being quiet.  They know themselves well.  They keep journals, plan for the future and think about the past.  These children might become philosophers, psychologists, theologians or lawyers.

Existentialist (World Smart) - this is sometimes not considered one of the intelligences but I like it.  These children understand the big picture.  They may ask the question why about the Earth, God and people around the world.  These are the spiritual people of the world.

Everyone has a little of each intelligence; you’re usually stronger in one or more areas.  How does your child fit in?  How do you fit in?  Your child will be most successful and happiest when learning in an environment that fosters his or her “intelligence”.

Once you understand the Multiple Intelligences, you’ll begin to see them in people all around you.  I believe you become more understanding of your spouse, siblings, co-workers, neighbors and of course, your children!  You’ll suddenly see your neighbor’s beautiful garden as “art smart”;  your sister whose journal you always tried to read as “word smart”; your best friend who loves to talk about life as “world smart”; your child who learns his phone number by learning it with a song as “music smart”.

"As human beings we have many different ways of representing meaning, many kinds of intelligence.

Since the beginning of the last century, psychologists have spoken about a Single Intelligence that can be

measured by an IQ test; my research has defined 8 or 9 human intelligences

(linguistic; logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal,

naturalist, possibly an existential intelligence). We all possess these several intelligences,

but no two of us -- not even identical twins -- possess the same profile of intelligences at the same moment.”

~Howard Gardner