When it comes to looking at surviving in poverty, I consider myself lucky that I have not had to develop these skills. However, I must remember that even some young children have learned such skills as how to find food and how to fight for themselves. In conclusion, these surveys reminded me that every student brings a backpack filled with all their strengths, weaknesses, and experiences. As they change and grow, what might be in their backpack from day to day can change, but as teachers it is our job to give students learning experiences that will force them to show and tell the items in their backpack every day.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Everyone Has a Backpack- By Suzanne C.
Everyone has all of the intelligences. This statement at the end of the Multiple Intelligences Survey summed up my results. My top four intelligences all scored a 50. However, the others were not far behind with scores of 30 and 40. I also realized that my results were different from the last my last completion of this survey. This affirmed that everyone has all of the intelligences, and that you can strengthen each intelligence. While a child is Kinesthetic learner it does not mean that he should be labeled and every lesson should be one that involves body movement. When it comes to Math I am very Logical, but that is not true for other subjects. Therefore, while it is important to be aware of how a student may learn this can change over time. It is our job to provide students with a variety of learning experiences, including ones outside of their comfort zone, so that they can strengthen all of their intelligences.
In saying that people should not be labeled, I thought I was a fairly open and worldly person. However, my results on the other surveys revealed that I have led a pretty sheltered life. I am in the Slightly Multicultural group by one point and all of my responses to the survey on my contact with people with disabilities were sometimes or never. At first, I looked negatively on this and felt I really needed to change my attitudes about people. After more reflection, I realized that I should not blame myself for where I grew up or my life experiences. While I did encounter people of other races, ethniticities, and beliefs than my own it was often just one or two people in a group. I realized that while I might be labeled as a Caucasian, Catholic, middle class female that doesn't mean I am the same as every other Caucasian, Catholic middle class female thus no one should be defined by a a single group or "story". Therefore, it is not important how many interactions I have with people who are in different groups than me, but that I am accepting of them.
When it comes to looking at surviving in poverty, I consider myself lucky that I have not had to develop these skills. However, I must remember that even some young children have learned such skills as how to find food and how to fight for themselves. In conclusion, these surveys reminded me that every student brings a backpack filled with all their strengths, weaknesses, and experiences. As they change and grow, what might be in their backpack from day to day can change, but as teachers it is our job to give students learning experiences that will force them to show and tell the items in their backpack every day.
When it comes to looking at surviving in poverty, I consider myself lucky that I have not had to develop these skills. However, I must remember that even some young children have learned such skills as how to find food and how to fight for themselves. In conclusion, these surveys reminded me that every student brings a backpack filled with all their strengths, weaknesses, and experiences. As they change and grow, what might be in their backpack from day to day can change, but as teachers it is our job to give students learning experiences that will force them to show and tell the items in their backpack every day.
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ReplyDeleteAlison's response to Suzanne:
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with you when you stated: "I realized that while I might be labeled as a Caucasian, Catholic, middle class female that doesn't mean I am the same as every other Caucasian, Catholic middle class female thus no one should be defined by a a single group or "story"."
Like you, I grew up amongst mostly Caucasian people, and wasn't surrounded with much of anyone different. Before stating what you did, I felt like everyone I grew up with was just like me. But you're right; we ARE all different, even if we did grow up the same way or in the same area. We all have different stories and different views on how things should be. And no matter where we grew up, or where our parents chose for us to live, we need to continue to keep an open mind about others because we don't know "their story".
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ReplyDeleteI agree with Suzanne and what she believes about each person’s intelligences, which just like the survey said in the end, we are all meant to grow and change over time. It is almost something that does not even need to be said in my opinion because I believe that that is what life is. No matter what kind, or how much or how little intelligence we all believe ourselves to have, as we grow older it we change and so does our intelligence.
ReplyDeleteJust as I noticed about myself, she has also lived a sheltered life, in her own way. In contrast to me, she has seen it not as a negative. Something I tend to do very often, because I have always been pessimistic, I know that I can’t blame myself for the way I’ve grown and the choices I’ve made in my life.
The title to her blog I believe encompasses what we all need to see in our students because even as adults we always have a different backpack on as well.