Multiple Intelligence the Key to Excellence

The usefulness of intelligence follows a four-tier structure - first, the accumulation and organization of knowledge and information (which involves the head); second, expression through skills (hands); third,  valuing  (heart); and fourth, concern and involvement (humanity). These 4 Hs are the pillars of education.  

Miss Veny Valdez Rotor

Workshop speaker and Facilitator

Faculty Development, DWC Vigan
Former faculty, Siena College QC, Divine  Word College Vigan and St Paul College of Ilocos Sur

  

More than anything else  I wish you all a very pleasant, Good Morning. Indeed, I am deeply honored to be with you today. 

When I received the invitation to give the opening remarks in this significant gathering of minds and talents, it came immediately to my mind,  as a teacher for a long time – some 35 years, to give you a message that the KEY TO EXCELLENCE IS THE FULL USE OF THE EIGHT REALMS OF MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCE.

There was once a student of mine who asked me, “Ma’am what does it take to be intelligent?”  I said, study hard.

Another asked me, “Why are there good orators, writers, singers, dancers?”  I said, they have the talents and have discovered them.

Before I could continue another continued to question, “Ma’am, what make a good musicians, dancers, painters.”  Why are there engineers, linguists, writers, politicians, architects, priests and nuns?”

Many young people have often asked me these and similar questions.  In fact some one asked,  “Ma’am is there any kind of food or drink that makes one intelligent?”  I said, there’s none in particular. Just be good, live a clean and healthy life.

Indeed we are a society composed of all walks of life. Every one is unique in his on way.  That is how the Creator distributed His gifts to man – it is by random. Random means every one – all of us without exemption - is compensated in one way or the other.  Simply there are those who possibly received more and possibly too, with better combinations of talents, than others.  But to all of us these gifts are innate and engrained in both the hemispheres in their brain which we use alternately and in harmonious combination.  

The eight realms of intelligence are: INTERPERSONAL (friendly relations), INTRAPERSONAL (meditation and reflection), LINGUISTICS (expression through language), KINESTHETICS (sports), LOGIC (analysis and reasoning), MUSIC (art in sound), SPATIAL (painting, sculpture, architecture), and NATURALISM (green thumb).

But the Good Creator gave humans more gifts as a way of compensation. These are the gift of proper training and education, and the gift of conducive environment and exposure.  

And then there is the gift of periodicity –  when we came into the world, and where we lived. It is something that is beyond the measure of statistics. 

Simply we are here and we may not know the reason.  And because of this, there must be a meaning - a meaning of our existence. 

This is the meaning of our gathering today.  It is not to compete in the sense of winning or defeating one another, but to show to our schools and organization, to the whole province, and therefore to our community, that here in this small place are gathered the best local minds, the best talents, the best citizens, and children of God.

I wish you all a very successful affair, and may we offer this as our expression of thanks and gratitude to the One up there for His gifts, and  but not the least, our thanks and gratitude to the organizers and hosts of this significant event.

  

Workshop Proper

I would like to give you the concept of multiple intelligence which is the most important tool in today’s event.  That is, each and every contestant is endowed with the eight realms of intelligence in various and unique ways.. 

Concept of Multiple Intelligence

1.     Man’s intelligence is vast and varied, permeating into five divisions, namely, logic, mathematics, science, philosophy, history and humanities.

2.     Knowledge becomes self-conscious, that is, knowledge is reflective of its diverse disciplines, modes of inquiry, fields of scholarship and systematic study.  The thrust is what and how far do we know of the knowable universe.

3.     Knowledge builds upon knowledge with the divisions of knowledge closely interconnected.  It is not a matter of summing up knowledge, because knowledge is synergistic, which means that the whole is far greater than the sum of all its parts. 

4.     The growth of knowledge is enhanced through encyclopedic growth and development as it bridges history, cultures and generations – indeed mankind’s greatest heritage to its members and society.

5.     Like the Maslow’s ladder organization, the usefulness of intelligence follows a four-tier structure - first, the accumulation and organization of knowledge and information (which involves the head); second, expression through skills (hands); third,  valuing  (heart); and fourth, concern and involvement (humanity). These 4 Hs are the pillars of education.  

Multiple Intelligence

(The 8 Realms of Intelligence)

1.     Interpersonal (human relations) - Sometimes this is referred to as social intelligence. Leaders, politicians excel in this field. “They exude natural warmth, they wear disarming smile,” to quote an expert on human relations. Name your favorite characters.  I choose Nelson Mandela, Henry Kissinger and our own, the late Carlos P. Romulo.

2.     Intrapersonal (inner vision self-reflction and meditation) – Masters in this realm are priests, nuns, poets, yogis.  St. Francis of Assisi is a genius in this domain. Didn’t Beethoven compose music with his inner ear and  Helen Keller “see” from an inner vision? 

3.     Kinesthetics (athletics, sports, body language, dance, gymnastics)- Michael Jordan and Bjorn Borg excel in their respective sports.  Now think of your idol in the sports world, or in the art of dance.  Lisa Macuja Elizalde is still the country’s top ballet dancer.

4.     Languages or linguistics - There are people who are regarded walking encyclopedia and dictionary. The gift of tongue in the true sense is in being multilingual like our very own Dr. Jose Rizal.  How fast can you learn the dialect or language of a  place?

5.     Logic (dialectics, Mathematics) -  Marxism is based on dialectics which is a tool in studying and learning social sciences like philosophy. Likewise, this realm includes the intelligence of numbers – mathematics, geometry, accounting, actuarial science, etc. This is the key to many IQ tests.  Einstein, Newton, Socrates, Aristotle are popular figures who represent this realm.

6.     Music (auditory art) – Frederick Chopin, Nicanor Abelardo, Ryan Cayabyab, Lea Salonga – name your favorite. Beethoven is one of the world’s great composer.  The irony is that he could hardly keep his steps when dancing.  I like to listen to Pangkat Kawayan play Philippine music. I cannot miss hearing the  Madrigal singers, the Vienna Boys, and the UST Choral Ensemble.

7.     Spatial intelligence (drawing, and painting, sculpture, architecture, photography) - The greatest contemporary artist, Pablo Picasso, was robbed in his studio. Hog-tied, he carefully studied the robber, the way an artist studies his model. After the incident he sketched the face of the robber and gave it to the police. The police made a hundred arrests without succeeding in pinpointing the culprit.  The sculptor Rodin wanted his subject to look as if it were melting, like clay softened by rain.  What could be a better expression of poverty for his masterpiece, “The Burghers of Calais?”

8.     Naturalism (Green Thumb, Relationship with the Natural World) - There are people who are said to have a “green thumb”. Their gardens are beautiful even with little care. There are those who can predict weather, fishermen who know when a fish bites, farmers who pick the reddest watermelon, fullest macapuno nuts, just by feel and sound.  Good doctors, I am sure are not only good because of high scholastic records, but have the green thumb as well.

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