Sinthisis Paper

For all of the children who got A’s and B’s throughout their schooling career, there were even more who were struggling through their C’s, D’s and F’s. Could this possibly show that the A and B students were intelligent and that the C, D, and F student were not? What about the students who have A’s in one subject and D’s in another with B’s and C’s all throughout? These children are obviously not stupid, for they received one or more A’s, but how can they be called Intelligent when they earned a D?
In his work Frames of Mind: the Theory of Multiple Intelligences, Howard Gardner gives a reason to this dilemma. He states that there are seven different types of intelligences, not just the one tested for school. He suggests that everybody has one or more of these intelligences and that each one is just as valuable as the other. The first intelligence is Linguistic Intelligence, where a person is able to comprehend works of literature, and write thoughtful and well-organized pieces. These people are usually seen as poets or bookworms. The next intelligence is Musical Intelligence where one is very fluent in the art of music. These people are able to understand the concept of writing music and playing instruments. Logical- Mathematical Intelligence follows, with people who excel in straight-forward thinking. This is where things are the same no matter what. Next is Spatial Intelligence which is so difficult to explain that Gardner used visual examples to explain this category. If one is able to understand the relationship of space between objects and know when an object has changed when compared to other, similar looking objects, the person can be said to have Spatial Intelligence. Those with Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence are simply those who are athletic. People who are very good in sports and are able to play them are in this category. The last intelligence is Personal Intelligence where one is able to read a situation and respond in the appropriate way. Social butterflies and gossips are usually found in this section. After listing and explaining each Intelligence, Gardner explains that a person can have one, many, or all of the Intelligences. One example is a dancer, who needs the skills of Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence to move in the desired way as well as the ability to connect the movement to the rhythms of music, which comes from Musical Intelligence.
Even though many people read his work and agreed full heartedly, several people disagreed with Howard Gardner. One such person is Barbara Osburg. In her opinion piece titled Multiple Intelligence: A New Category of Losers, she explains how many people in the teaching profession have jumped right into this new idea, yet she was skeptical. She stated that even if students can be found to excel in the different groups, they would still be found wanting in the ones they failed. Students would still be separated into “winners and losers”. For example, if a student is a Personal, Musical, and Linguistic intelligent person, they will still be placed in a group who fails in the other categories.
As a response to Osburg’s and others’ comments to his work, Howard Gardner wrote Multiple Intelligences as a Catalyst. In it, he comments on how people have taken his theory to heart and how they have incorporated it into their classrooms. But as a response to Osburg, he claims that she “is completely off the mark” saying that he never had any intention or thoughts on separating students into winners and losers. Gardner suggests that she “has her own axe to grind and is simply using “Multiple Intelligences” theory to do some fresh grinding.”
So if we are to believe this theory of multiple intelligence, how are we to teach students? One way is to have a arsenal of teaching methods, accommodating the different types of intelligences. One method can be found in Gerald Graff’s Hidden Intellectualism, which can accommodate students with the Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence. Graff suggest using a student’s interest in sports to connect the student to school and other intelligences. This method can be used to connect other intelligences to each other, in that a teacher should use a student’s interests to help them see the connection in categories.
The world is full of people with different ideas and views. Arguments and agreements are made daily and all are a result to the differences in intelligences.