Intelligence

This week's discussion of Gardner's theories of multiple intelligence really made me question current teacher education. I have been taught Gardner's theory in nearly every education class I've had at Santa Clara. Some of my professors have even included addressing the intelligence's in lesson plan templates. However, after yesterday's discussion, my acceptance of multiple intelligence has changed. As I've been reflecting, I feel I know believe that people can have many skills but not intelligence. Being good at something does not necessarily mean one has an intelligence. I am a singer but I would not say that I therefore have musical intelligence. This theory seemed to be a way to make anyone feel like they were good at something, which is a foundational element of American schooling. This idea I have really been questioning. As a future teacher, I want to believe that everyone has intelligence or the potential for intelligence. I do no want to accept the idea that some kids are smarter than others. This is why I struggle with the idea of general intelligence. This week I have also been reflecting on teacher education itself. I feel that current programs like we discussed last week are too heavy in history and methods. There is not enough "clinical experience". I also feel that teacher education now is a bit opportunistic. If Gardner's theory isn't true, why am I learning it. Should I accept a theory that claims everyone is smart when this may not be true? I wish that teaching programs would be more honest about the field and what we as future teachers should know about the difficulties of reaching every student and keeping them motivated. This class has really helped me reflect on my own education and especially what I want from a teacher education program.

Motivation Reflection

The discussion on motivation this week was certainly interesting. I realized just how much our system as is, is not set up for students to be motivated to learn for the sake of learning. Grades and test scores which have no real meaning to them are the primary forces that drive motivation. School is currently a system where students are motivated to get good grades to get into college to get into grad school to get a good job. This shows to me a loss of the principle of education to educate the whole person or to educate so students enjoy learning. I think that our system needs to shift focus to truly motivate students to learn and do high quality work that they can get something out of. I do not necessarily think the Common Core is a way that students can be motivated because there are strict limitations to what the students are learning and when. Teachers will likely feel a lot of pressure to get students to achieve Core benchmarks and get good scores on standardized tests. With this pressure, I imagine many teachers may be reluctant to make an innovative lesson that is relevant and interesting to students. I think our current system is so limited because there are so many specifics teachers feel they need to stick to that there is little room to think about student motivation. I myself really struggled with the activity where we tried to create a plan to make a school, class or specific lesson that focused on motivation. I think this was so challenging for me because of the strictness of our education system. With so much emphasis on grades and tests scores, I think teachers and students alike find it difficult to think outside the box. I hope that in my future teaching, I will be motivated myself to really look at me lessons and try to make them relevant and interesting so my students will appreciate learning as a process, and not be so focused on grades and test scores like I have been and still am.