Smart- An ugly word that destroys potential.

I recently saw a video about a multiple intelligences school in the United States.  For those of you who are unaware, the Multiple Intelligences theory was created by Howard Gardener and he suggests that the traditional notion of intelligence, based on I.Q. testing, is far too limited.  This makes sense because every child/person is different and they excel in different areas.

Gardner chose eight abilities that he held to meet these criteria: musical–rhythmic, visual–spatial, verbal–linguistic, logical–mathematical, bodily–kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic.

Alright, so with this being said, Gardener has a point.  His theory makes perfect sense to me (having a background in psychology) but the next step is asking ourselves, "How should we use this information to benefit students?"  After watching the video of the school in the United States something did not sit right with me.

Here is a link to this school's website:

http://www.gcssk12.net/eesweb

Enota Multiple Intelligences Academy focusses on what kind of "smart" each student is, whether they are music smart, language smart, or body smart, etc.  They have an area of the school called Smartsville and they advertise the school as "The Smart Place to Be".  I understand that this school wants every student to feel smart (because they are obviously not terrible human beings...) but I believe they are doing the exact opposite and most likely limiting students in what subject they are "smart" in.

First of all, I hate using the word smart.  I believe that we must praise effort and not intelligence.  If someone works hard at solving a math problem, do not say "Oh Wow Jenny! You are so smart!!" A more appropriate response would be, "Wow Jenny, you worked really hard at that problem! Great job!"

And why is this??

By telling a student that they are smart, they will never want to do anything more challenging because they will not want to lose their "smart" title.  If someone always told me I was smart at addition, I would not want to move on to multiplication because I might not be smart anymore if it is too difficult for me.  By praising effort, a student will always want to try newer, harder problems because even if they arrive at the wrong answer they are still working hard to get there and in turn, they will still be praised for their effort.

This being said, you may be able to figure out why I am already starting to have an issue with Enota Multiple Intelligences Academy.  If a student believes they are music smart, they may not believe they are math smart, or language smart and vice versa for all of the other intelligences.  Nota emphasizes which areas each student is smart in, and I believe that this takes away from their potential in every other subject.

A better way to implement Gardener's Multiple Intelligences into teaching would be to keep it a secret.  Don't tell the students that they are mostly smart in one area.  We should use the multiple intelligences to change the way we teach.  We should develop lessons that touch on each intelligence because every student learns differently and we are more likely to reach everyone by implementing each intelligence into every/most lessons.

Here is where the fun part begins.

Another way to implement the Multiple Intelligences would be to incorporate them into assignments. That is where the students will have the most response.  If you provide options or different ways students can complete assignments based on their interests and strengths they will be jumping for joy! Instead of writing a book report, a student should have the option to a) write a song about their novel, b) turn their novel into an interpretive dance c) re-write the last chapter in another setting (i.e. on Mars, or in the future).  There are limitless opportunities to incorporate the intelligences into the curriculum and the everyday life of the students.  But do it in a way that will allow them to succeed in every subject, and every intelligence.

I would love to hear others opinions on this topic.  Here is the video of Enota Multiple Intelligences Academy in action!!

P.s. Thank you for bearing with me for the entirety of my "smart" rant.