Some of you may remember the diary I wrote about
my story with NCLB. That diary was written from a personal level. I told of my own experiences with NCLB type problems in school. This is more acedemic. I am a child development major in college. We have been learning a lot about how children grow, develop, and learn. This education is making me realize just how inadequate NCLB is.
(Unless otherwise noted, the facts I state in this diary are from my child development text books.)
Children learn through play. In the words of one of my teachers, "Play is the work of children." Children learn all sorts of things through play. They learn social skills, they learn gender roles, they even learn math, science, and problem-solving skills. Every situation is an oportunity for education. When children are playing with blocks, they learn to work cooporatively towards common goals, they learn division by splitting the blocks amongst themselves, they learn coordination and balance by stacking them. When teachers are forced to teach to a test, these opportunities are lost. The teachers are being forced to focus on the tests and nothing else. The precious opportunities for learning through experience go unnoticed. For some children, this is not a problem, but for the majority of children, this is nothing short of a tradgedy.
It is an obvious observation that children learn in different ways. However, there has been some research done on this fact. The most notable research has been done by Howard Gardner. He came up with the theory of Multiple Intelligences. He noted 7, quoted from http://www.infed.org/... below:
Linguistic intelligence involves sensitivity to spoken and written language, the ability to learn languages, and the capacity to use language to accomplish certain goals. This intelligence includes the ability to effectively use language to express oneself rhetorically or poetically; and language as a means to remember information. Writers, poets, lawyers and speakers are among those that Howard Gardner sees as having high linguistic intelligence.
Logical-mathematical intelligence consists of the capacity to analyze problems logically, carry out mathematical operations, and investigate issues scientifically. In Howard Gardner's words, in entails the ability to detect patterns, reason deductively and think logically. This intelligence is most often associated with scientific and mathematical thinking.
Musical intelligence involves skill in the performance, composition, and appreciation of musical patterns. It encompasses the capacity to recognize and compose musical pitches, tones, and rhythms. According to Howard Gardner musical intelligence runs in an almost structural parallel to linguistic intelligence.
Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence entails the potential of using one's whole body or parts of the body to solve problems. It is the ability to use mental abilities to coordinate bodily movements. Howard Gardner sees mental and physical activity as related.
Spatial intelligence involves the potential to recognize and use the patterns of wide space and more confined areas.
Interpersonal intelligence is concerned with the capacity to understand the intentions, motivations and desires of other people. It allows people to work effectively with others. Educators, salespeople, religious and political leaders and counsellors all need a well-developed interpersonal intelligence.
Intrapersonal intelligence entails the capacity to understand oneself, to appreciate one's feelings, fears and motivations. In Howard Gardner's view it involves having an effective working model of ourselves, and to be able to use such information to regulate our lives.
Now, obviously most people have traits from more than one of these, or maybe even all of them. Gardner put them in three categories. The first two are the intelligences most commonly valued and stressed in school settings. The middle three are associated with the arts, and the last two are labeled as "personal intelligences." Unfortunately, standardized tests only focus on the first two. However, all 7 are very important in the real world, and not every person learns best using the first two.
There have been studies that show that classrooms which use the theory of Multiple Intelligences and don't worry so much about the tests are more successful later in college and beyond. They are more confident, more independent, and more well-rounded. However, NCLB stifles this. Now ALL schools have to teach to the test. The children who are more artistic or personal in their learning are left behind (no pun intended).
I was lucky. I have a stake in my education. I have a passion for learning, a desire to get out of the pit of poverty I grew up in. However, not all children have the passion or the ability to pull through and adapt. And, I am doing much better now that I am in college and taking a major that understands individual learning styles and incorporates them as much as possible. We need to do this from the beginning if all of our children are going to have a chance at succeding. Until we teach the children in the ways that they actually learn, our children will be left behind.