Different Kinds of Smart

Last week I participated in my Garden Club's Flower Show. Now I am NOT good at flower arranging. In fact, I am in the Garden Club because I enjoy the people and I appreciate gardening and flower arranging and like to learn about these things. I was able to make it through the flower show without sweating it because my flower show partner was Amanda Cottingham, who I consider the "Martha Stewart" of the Delta. Amanda is a well-known wedding coordinator, caterer and flower arranger. So I just assisted her with our arrangement. But this experience reminded me of some earlier studies about the different kinds of intelligences. I remember how liberating it was to discover that people could be gifted in different ways and still all be considered intelligent.

According to Dr. Thomas Armstrong in his book Seven Kinds of Smart there are 7 major categories. They include:
1) Linguistic - This kind of intelligence has to do with verbal abilities and those who possess great amounts of this type of intelligence tend to be very good at writing and reading. Because conventional IQ tests place a great deal of emphasis on linguistic abilities, as well as the next category - math abilities, a person who is linguistictically inclined is considered to be very smart in our culture.
2) Mathematical - People who have this intelligence are good with numbers, patterns, and logical reasoning. These people often become our great scientists, mathematicians, and philosophers.

3) Spatial - Spatial intelligence gives a person the ability to think in vivid mental pictures. They have the natural ability to visualize how something could be as easily as what it is. My gifted garden club friends have this ability. I once asked Mollie Stock, who is our president, if she could visualize what an arrangement would look like before she made it, and she said yes.

4) Musical - People with musical intelligence have a natural rhythm and love for music. They often sing and play musical instruments. This type of intelligence can persist into old age and that is why people with good singing voices maintain them throughout life.

5) Bodily-Kinesthetic - This intelligence reflects a high degree of ability in bodily movement or physical activity. This includes those who can skillfully use their hands, such as surgeons and mechanics, actors and artists, as well as great athletes.

6) Interpersonal - These people have great people skills. They are able to understand, appreciate, and get along well with people. They have a good sense of discernment and can read people well.

7) Intrapersonal - This intelligence often expresses itself in solitude. It is a natural gift of understanding ourselves, knowing who and what we are, and how we fit into the greater scheme of the universe.

As you probably know, intelligence is usually measured in terms of IQ tests which measure how well a person is likely to perform in the current, traditional school system. But IQ tests do not come close to predicting a child's potential for success later in life. This, I hope, is comforting to parents who want their children to achieve academically but who recognize their children may have different gifts and talents. God had indeed gifted us in all kinds of ways and we need to recognize each other's unique contributions.

According to Gardner, we can all develop a reasonable use of all seven intelligences, but chances are a person tends to excel in one, two or three of these areas. Therefore, I recognize I am not gifted in the spatial intelligence of flower arranging, although I can appreciate it, but I see myself as more of a linguistic (#1) and intrapersonal (#7) kind of person. What about you? What kinds of smart are you?