I
am rather embarrassed to admit that this chapter was very much an eye-opener
for me. I have had a general sense of the concepts of Multiple Intelligences
theory but lacked knowledge of many of its key points. I was not surprised when
the recent inquiry into my most prominent intelligence came to reveal that interpersonal
was at the top of the list; I have always known this to be a forte of mine. In
a pretentious state I assumed superiority of this sense, the highly social
nature of our current society only perpetuated this belief. Thomas Armstrong
does well in this chapter to highlight the strengths of each intelligence, validating
the capabilities of all those who excel in each particular grouping and taking
away any claim I had that all highly social beings sat at the top of the
pecking order. One of the most important revelations that cemented this change
in thinking was the outline on intrapersonal intelligences. I could not have
listed any of the information offered in that paragraph prior and had truthfully
deemed introverts to be less capable, their strengths were lost to me. Another
point that Armstrong does well to make clear is the incorrect assumption of
autonomy among the intelligences, a conclusion easily jumped to through the
process of categorization for definitions sake. There is a high-level of
interconnectivity among the eight. While reading through the descriptions of
each I connected with some aspect or ability, that being said I also came
across many skill sets in which I was lacking in each.
I credit this chapter with really making me
aware of the strengths of each intelligence; I better value those who possess
abilities that don’t necessary translate to most societal definitions of
intelligent. This will translate into how I manage my classroom and curriculum
in the form of being more open and perceptive to alternative approaches and
understanding the necessity of doing so.
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