Dear Jenny,
It was a pleasure to hear from you! I am always glad
to expound on the merits of Gardner's M.I. Theory! Why does it make sense?
We are at a time when the world is changing rapidly,
largely due to advances in technology and
communications. Today's children are growing up in an
age where they are used to things being in constant
flux. They will not live in an Industrial age where
they can master one trade that will serve them a
lifetime. Rather, they will have several careers and
they will need a number of skills to function
successfully. Being merely good at paper and pencil
tasks or mathematical processes or working with their hands will not suffice.
M.I. theory addresses these realities for children and
the schools who are educating them because it
recognizes that we have many different kinds of
intelligence. Gardner gives the IQ and Achievement
tests their due and then looks at the bigger picture.
Workers in the 21st century will need to:
- see themselves as part of a global economy
- use technology applications seamlessly
- be able to work with teams of people in ad hoc groups
- successfully complete team projects
- access information successfully
- assess information critically
- use information to create products and solve problems
- think flexibly
- adapt to quickly changing information
- generate a number of answers to a problem
Traditional education will not provide for these
needs. It emphasizes strong Language Arts and Math
skills with a tendency to teach towards the one right
answer. This worked well in the 20th century, wherein
productive adults learned highly specialized trades
which served them well in a self-contained office, on
an assembly line, or answering to one immediate
supervisor. There is no provision in traditional
education (which was based on an industrial age model:
neat rows, set assignments, cut and dry grades) for a
global community where thinking divergently and
creating group products are valued more than rote skills.
Once you achieve this perspective, it is striking to
wonder what ever happened to students who did not fit
this mold in the 1900s? How were you accommodated in
school if you were not proficient in Math or Language
Arts? The answer is, you weren't. You did the best
you could to meet minimum requirements. You hoped to
pass and find a niche in society where you could be accepted and productive.
"What's wrong with that?" Our parents may ask. "It
worked for us." Yes it did. In the 20th century it
worked sufficiently well to become the status quo. But
can you imagine the prototypical 20th century hero (do
one thing and do it well, rugged individualist, win at
all costs) functioning in an Information age where
adapting to change around us, collaborating, and
thinking "outside the box" will be the norm?
Ironically, the shoe will be on the other foot: the
hero the 20th century would find him/her self the
outsider trying to conform to the expectations of the 21st century.
In short, Multiple Intelligences theory truly reflects the reality
of the range of human potentials which are being empowered by the
revolution technology is creating in our life times. If Howard Gardner
had come up with this approach to learning 100 years ago he never
would have been published let alone revered. What use would M.I.
be to a nation of farmers and factory workers? The timing is right.
It accommodates society's needs as it evolves in the Information
age. These are the reasons I see M.I. making so much sense.
Let me know if I can be of any further help in
your studies of Multiple Intelligences!
-Walter
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