Intelligence Essay

Intelligence, as we know, is something many people would like to possess. Growing up, as children, we are constantly told that we need an education, so schools have become a competition of who can get the best grades. While this pushes some of us to get good grades, it also stresses those who do not. It is not fair to let children believe they are less intelligent just because their grades are not as high as their peers, because intelligence entails so much more. Most of us assume that with intelligence comes benefits such as a good career, money, and bragging rights. This is why people assign so much importance to it. There are hundreds of tests claiming to test a person’s intelligence, and some are widely accepted as true. An example of a

Some people do best at solving problems in math, while others may do best at writing poems and stories. In Phyllis Adcock’s article he explains a theory created by Howard Garner on Multiple Intelligences. “Howard Garner’s theory that began with seven Multiple Intelligences in the 1980’s has now evolved to eight. Garner suggested that the brain has many capacities for learning that he called Intelligences” (Adcock, 50). Adcock explains Garner’s eight intelligences as Linguistic, Mathematical, Naturalistic, Spatial, Bodily, Musical, Interpersonal and Intrapersonal. To give a brief description of the most common intelligences, Linguistic Intelligence entails a heightened capacity for using words and language, Mathematical Intelligence entails a heightened capacity for numerical or logical patterns, Bodily Intelligence entails a well-developed skill of physical movement, and Musical Intelligence entails an enhanced capacity to recognize rhythm and patterns. This information from the article shows that intelligence really does contain much more, than people realize. It is also clear to see how everyone learns differently, when observing the different career paths chosen by people. A doctor most likely chose the career because he realized that he excelled in science and math. In contrast, a professional athlete may have excelled the most in sports so he decided to continue

Most teachers have a specific way that they prefer to teach, but they need to realize that not all kids learn the way they do. According to Shahzada’s research, “In schools logical and linguistic intelligences are emphasized in teaching. Students who are more developed in other intelligence dimensions are often ignored” (60). This information shows that schools currently cater to students, whose strengths are within the logical and linguistic intelligences, paying little attention to the other intelligences. In effect, a moderate correlation between students whose strengths are linguistic and/or mathematical and high academic achievement has been found (62). In another study, done by Phyllis Adcock, it was found that all students learn better, when their teacher use all 8 multiple intelligence approaches (53). This further demonstrates how grades cannot be used in determining intelligence, when some student’s strengths are being met and others are not. Adding different activities, using multiple types of intelligences, into classrooms may help students enjoy school more and do better in school