Is your child gifted? I believe that every child comes into this world with “gifts”, and thus every child is gifted. I don’t mean “gifted” in the traditional sense of the word. In the traditional sense, you are assigned the label of “gifted” in schools if you score high on various cognitive tests which rely heavily on reading, writing, and math skills.
I use the word, “gifts”, to refer to the different forms of intelligence, talents, or abilities that children possess. In my opinion, one of the major jobs of parents and teachers is to help their children or students to discover their gifts and then to support them in developing these gifts.
Our school system and our society have a very narrow definition of intelligence. If you are strong in reading, writing, and math, you are seen as intelligent. There is no doubt that it is very important to be able to read, write, and do math, but intelligence is much broader than just these three subjects. So many students go through school feeling like they aren’t smart and maybe even think that they are stupid because they struggle in reading, writing, or math. It can have a huge effect on their self-esteem, motivation, and success in school. It is very sad that all children don’t receive the affirmation for the intelligence that they possess. What are the different areas of intelligence?
Dr. Howard Gardner, professor of education at Harvard University, developed the theory of multiple intelligences in 1983. He believes that there are eight areas of intelligence. The eight intelligences are:
Linguistic intelligence Intelligence (“word smart”)
Logical-Mathematical Intelligence (“number / reasoning smart”)
Spatial Intelligence (“picture smart”)
Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence (“body smart”)
Musical Intelligence (“music smart”)
Naturalist Intelligence (“nature smart”)
Interpersonal Intelligence (“people smart”)
Intrapersonal Intelligence (“self smart”)
The last two intelligences in this list make up social and emotional intelligence. They provide the foundation for all the areas of intelligence. If you don’t have a strong social and emotional intelligence, it may be difficult to fully actualize your other intelligences. I also believe that intuition is also a form of intelligence.
There are so many examples of kids and teenagers who struggled in school and then went on to do amazing things in the world. They succeeded in spite of their negative educational experiences. Michelangelo briefly attended school, but he had no interest in reading or writing and spent time with the stonecutters. The rest is history as they say. I wonder if he had been affirmed for his spatial intelligence if he might have stayed in school. Temple Grandin, doctor of animal science at Colorado State University, is autistic and has become well known for work educating society about autism. She has spoken about the teasing that she endured in school and about the pain that she felt from the teasing. Temple Grandin has the intelligence of being highly sensitive (intrapersonal). It would have been wonderful if she had been in a school that praised and acknowledged her intelligence.
When children are affirmed for their forms of intelligence or strengths, they naturally want to work on their weaknesses. Parents and teachers sometimes spend a lot of time looking at the weaknesses of children and not enough time looking at the strengths. I had a student in my fourth grade classroom who was struggling in school and had low motivation. She shared a poem with me that she wrote. It was amazing, and I affirmed her for her talent. I also let her parents know about her gift. Once she got praised and seen for her talent in poetry, she began to work very hard in all her subjects, and her motivation, joy, and grades improved dramatically.
I have a dream that every school would take the time to identify the areas of intelligence of each student when they enter the school. Every child in every school would walk down the hall knowing that they are seen and affirmed for being intelligent and valuable. Holding a vision that every child is smart, but in different ways, would create so much joy, inspiration, and respect in schools. Each student would feel valuable and inspired to work hard. Then each teacher could put kids of different intelligences and abilities on teams and support them in working together to see each other’s talents and to use them to create projects.
What can parents do to discover and support their children’s gifts and strengths? First of all, learn about the different areas of intelligence and then be curious about your child and her gifts. There are questions online or in books that you can answer to figure out your intelligences and those of your child. Then you can have a discussion about these intelligences and where they show up in life and how they are valuable. Post the different intelligences of each member of your house on the refrigerator. Keep a journal in which you write a few sentences on those days that you see your child displaying that intelligence or when she is working hard to improve the areas of intelligence that aren’t strong. Finally, talk to your child’s teacher and ask for his input about your child’s areas of intelligence or strengths. When kids are keenly aware of their gifts and strengths, there is a brilliant light that radiates from them. The world needs more light.
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