Yogesh Khosla
We all want our children to be intelligent, but have only a rough idea what being intelligent actually means. We don’t know much about the nature of intelligence, how it is measured and most importantly, how can we help our children to become intelligent enough to face the challenges of the future.
Psychologists define intelligence as “the ability or abilities to acquire and use knowledge for solving problems and adapting to the world.” Should intelligence be seen as a potential, limited by our genetic make up or does it depend on the environment, education, training etc. There has been hard debate on the role of heredity vs environment or nature-versus-nurture in Intelligence. Today most psychologists believe that, even though heredity does play some role, but intelligence, like any other skill, can be developed. It depends on the quality of training and on the environment which helps in the flowering of intelligence. Even if intelligence is a limited potential, the potential is very large and is a challenge to all teachers.
Traditionally, intelligence is measured as Intelligence Quotient based on the scores obtained in specially designed test items from the disciplines of language, mathematics and reasoning. High IQ has always been valued by the society, considering it a good predictor of success in later life.
But is it really so? Many longitudinal studies (following the lives of thousands of people through decades) now confirm that high scores in IQ tests and school achievement tests are not highly correlated with income and success in later life. There are other factors, which make the difference. As one leader in the field of ability testing E. Paul. Torrance puts it: “If we identify talented children only on the basis of intelligence, we eliminate approximately 70 percent of the most creative.”
No one in the 20th century has been more widely recognized as a genius than Einstein. Yet his problems with early intellectual development and his peculiar gifts cast great doubt on all our conventional ideas about genius, intelligence and IQ. Psychologists and educators are having a relook on the meaning and scope of intelligence- broadening its meaning and nature, encompassing other factors. The first strong challenge to the glory of IQ tests and the narrow meaning of Intelligence came from Professor Howard Gardner, Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Gardner’s influential 1983 book “Frames of Mind” refuted the IQ view of Intelligence. In his “Theory of Multiple Intelligences”, Gardner proposed that there is not just one, monolithic kind of Intelligence that is crucial for life success, but rather a wide spectrum of intelligences. This revolutionized the way we look at intelligence. Gardner proposed eight separate domains of intelligence, which are listed below with brief explanations:
LINGUISTIC (verbal): This entails facility in the use of spoken and written language- sensitivity to language, competence in composition and appreciation of literature.
LOGICAL- MATHEMATICAL: Capacity to move comfortably in the world of numbers, to calculate averages, percentages, profits or losses, financial or monetary calculations, quantitative reasoning, interpretation of Graphs.
MUSICAL: Production and appreciation of music ( being comfortable in the world of rhythm, melody, harmony, pitch, timbre)
SPATIAL: Ability to form spatial representations or images, visualize spatial structures- skills possessed by architects, sculptors and painters, designers of tools and vehicles, navigators etc.
BODILY KINESTHETIC: Skills possessed by dancers, athletes, sportspersons, artisans, craftspeople, surgeons- people who depend directly on their bodies in order to carry out their work.
NATURALIST: Interest in Biology, Agriculture, Environment, preparation of food, mining, weather study etc.
INTER PERSONAL SKILLS: skills required for building and managing relationships.
INTRA PERSONAL SKILLS: Skills related to acquiring self knowledge, emotional control, stress management.
According to Gardner, an individual might have strengths or weaknesses in one or several areas. This theory has many educational implications- the strongest being the realization that all of us are intelligent in one way or the other and can build upon our strengths.
There is one dimension of Intra Personal Intelligence which is now recognized as a separate vital intelligence:
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE.
The term “Emotional Intelligence” coined first by psychologists Peter Salovey and John Mayer, got international attention after the publication of Daniel Goleman’s groundbreaking bestseller
” Emotional Intelligence” in 1995. In the book, Goleman summarizes abundant research and takes a deep look at the important role played by emotions in our lives. Goleman argues that emotional savvy is just as important in success as high IQ.
Emotional abilities are generally in five main domains which determine high EQ:
KNOWING ONE’s EMOTIONS: Can we identify and define our true feelings? Many of us can’t define our feelings of love, shame, pride or depression. Recognizing the feeling as it happens is the keystone of emotional intelligence.
HAVING A SENSE OF EMPATHY: Can we recognize other people’s feelings? Empathy is the ability to “feel for” other people. People, who are empathic are more attuned to the subtle signals that indicate what others need or want.
MANAGING EMOTIONS: Are we in control of our emotions? Take the famous Aristotle challenge: ” Anyone can become angry- that is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way- that is not easy.”
The term “Emotional Quotient”, popularly known as EQ, as a measure of Emotional Intelligence, is not a scientific term. Emotions, being the internal state(s) of mind, can’t be measured and scored easily. Some questionnaires have, however, been developed which give good estimation of emotional competence.
Twenty four psychologists met in 1986 to discuss and review intelligence. They have added higher level thinking processes like abstract reasoning, problem solving ability, metacognition (monitoring our own thinking) as elements of intelligence. With the expansion of the meaning of intelligence, its measurement has become still more complex.
Let us now consider a wider, deeper and thought provoking perspective on intelligence by the great sage, thinker and philosopher, J. Krishnamurti :
” An intelligent mind is one that is constantly learning, never concluding. Intelligence is not knowledge. If you could read all the books in the world it would not give you intelligence. An intelligent mind is an inquiring mind, a mind that is observing, watching and learning.
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