Howard Gardner, psychologist and author of the multiple intelligences theory, determined that there are eight types of intelligence. The modern education system emphasizes only two of them, and that is why some students are unsuccessful in their studies and aren’t able to find themselves later on in life. There is also the ’acorn theory,’ which states that nature has given each person their own unique potential. It’s easy to understand your child’s aptitude for them to be happy and successful in the future, if you just define their intelligence.
We are positive that children’s talents should be cultivated and not buried. What if we try and look at our kids this way?
This intelligence shows itself in the love of words, both written and spoken. Kids with this type of intelligence adore listening to fairy tales or stories told by anyone. They are quick to grasp talking, reading, and writing, and find it easy to learn new languages. In their teenage years, they love reading and writing, preparing school papers, taking interviews, writing articles, playing word games, and telling interesting stories. It’s important that their education should be a storytelling process with discussions and reading together. The contemporary school is mostly about this kind of intelligence, because children read, listen, retell, and talk a lot.
- Which professions are good for these children? Writer, scriptwriter, playwright, journalist, politician, proofreader, translator/interpreter.
These kids are passionate about numbers. They are generally good at memorizing dates of events and phone numbers, they love solving math problems, counting, and accounting. They demonstrate abilities in analysis and synthesis, are brilliant at finding cause-and-effect relationships, strive to bring everything to order, and easily deal with abstract notions.
- Which professions are good for these children? Mathematician, accountant, IT specialist, analyst, scientist, detective, logistician, medic.
These children are able to play long hours with wooden or motionless toys. They love doing puzzles and going through labyrinths. They often have an imaginary friend. Kids with spatial intelligence have good imaginations, are daydreamers, and like drawing; they feel color combinations and get an early taste in clothes. Teenagers of this type are usually good at geometry, making charts, drawing, and natural sciences (physics and chemistry). They have well-bred spatial thinking: they’re good at memorizing places and surrounding details, and they read tables and diagrams faster than others. These kids are able to transform the space around them first in their heads and then in reality (such as an apartment makeover). They see the world from a different angle and can produce several vision variants.
- Which professions are good for these children? Designer of any kind, architect, artist, animator, engineer, inventor, sculptor.
The body is the principal means of self-expression for this intelligence. These kids are better at conveying their feelings through movement and dance than via words. They are intrinsically drawn to sports and physical exercise, and they are healthy, strong, and eat heartily. They have well-developed fine motor skills, which is why they like doing things with their hands. They also love performing. One of the key figures in such a teenager’s life is a mentor who will help them achieve success. These kids’ abilities are cultivated in rivalry; they feel failures deeper and need support and praise.
- Which professions are good for these children? Actor, dancer, sportsman, circus artist, clown, sports instructor, surgeon, mechanic, sculptor, artisan, photo model.
These kids feel rhythm, have a musical ear, and are drawn to musical instruments. In their teenage years, they listen to loud music, are interested in musicians, sing in a choir or play instruments with great pleasure. They are capable of evaluating music, quick to grasp and play back tunes, and they often sing to themselves or out loud. These kids are natural composers and musicians, and they sometimes get on other people’s nerves by tapping to a beat when they feel or hear it.
- Which professions are good for these children? Musician (pianist, drummer), composer, conductor, opera singer, DJ, soundman, music critic, radio host, musical editor.
This type of intelligence is attracted to everything live; nature and animals are at its core. These children adore experiments with growing plants and watching them change. They love scrutinizing bugs, anthills, plants and flowers, playing with animals, and watching natural phenomena. In primal societies, such people were perfect hunters, healers, and herbalists. Teenagers of this type are good at biology, chemistry, and environmental studies. They also like hiking and often participate in ecological campaigns.
- Which professions are good for these children? Ecologist, veterinarian, geologist, deep sea explorer, seismologist, archeologist, geneticist, ranger, farmer.
These kids have a strong feeling of identity from early childhood; they understand their feelings and are able to control them. They are able to make discussions and come up with reasonable ideas. Normally, such children are emotionally closed and quite timid. When they grow up, they are often concerned with questions of life and death, as well as other existential issues. They are capable of presenting new theories of the world’s beginnings and hypotheses of various nationalities’ genesis. They are interested in spiritual teachings and philosophic works, stand firm in their beliefs, are able to plan ahead, control their emotions, and follow instructions.
- Which professions are good for these children? Psychologist, psychiatrist, professor and teacher of philosophy, priest, politician.
These are the most communicative kids who quickly make contact with others, know how to make others like them, and use their influence wisely. They feel other people and their emotions, and are capable of adapting quickly. They are born negotiators. Teenagers of this type unite people around themselves and become stars and leaders. They have lots of friends because of their intelligence, communicativeness, good sense of humor, and charisma. To achieve their goals, they use both verbal and nonverbal signs — words, movements, body language, drawings. They can help and support others, thanks to their strong empathy.
- Which professions are good for these children? Politician, pedagogue, public speaker, negotiator, diplomat, manager, director, business coach.
If you know someone who might like this, please click “Share!”