-
>>Teacher: We're going to
use our bodies while we sing.
-
We're going to do smarts at one time.
-
>>Students: [singing]
-
>>Narrator: At Enota Multiple
Intelligences Academy in Gainesville,
-
Georgia the question is
not "How smart are you?"
-
The question is "How are you smart?"
-
>>Students: [singing]
-
>>Student: The word "smart"?
-
Because I love to read
and I love to write.
-
>>Student: I am mostly visual smart.
-
>>Student: I'm body smart because
I like sports and to dance.
-
>>Student: I'm nature
smart and people smart.
-
>>Student: Because if it was
only a one-smart school at least
-
if I didn't know something
it wouldn't make me feel
-
like a total idiot.
-
>>Narrator: Enota Elementary is one
of a handful of schools in America
-
with curriculum based on the
theory of multiple intelligences.
-
The theory suggests that
there are eight different ways
-
in which humans learn.
-
It was developed by
Dr. Howard Gardner.
-
>>Howard: If we all had
exactly the same kind of mind
-
and there was only one
kind of intelligence,
-
then we could teach everybody
the same thing in the same way
-
and assess them in the same
way and that would be fair.
-
But once we realized that people
had very different kinds of minds,
-
different kinds of
strengths, some people are good
-
in thinking spatially, some people
are good in thinking language,
-
other people are very logical,
other people need to do hands-on,
-
they need to actually explore
actively and try things out.
-
Once we realized that, then education
-
which treats everybody the
same way is actually the most
-
unfair education.
-
>>Amy: Which continent
did you choose?
-
>>Narrator: In Amy
Anderson's first grade class,
-
students work at various stations
that utilize different smarts.
-
>>Amy: My job is never boring.
-
It's always exciting to see what
the children are going to ring
-
to the lesson because
I'm allowing them
-
to put their whole selves into it.
-
>>Students: Three, three, three
-
>>Amy: I try to give
children an opportunity
-
to practice all their smarts
because they're still learning
-
about themselves and still deciding
what it is they feel best about.
-
>>Students: [reciting/singing]
-
>>Amy: I have a group in the hall
and they are using their music smart
-
so that they can practice
naming continents and oceans
-
and their locations in the world.
-
>>Students: [reciting/singing]
-
>>Student: This is flip-book and then
we put the cities and the states.
-
>>Amy: Then they're using the work
that's already been done in the hall
-
and transferring that to a flip-book
-
that they can illustrate
using their picture smart.
-
>>Student: Five.
-
>>Amy: Another group is working
on math facts using dominoes
-
so that they can use their picture
smart and their logic smart.
-
>>Student: Oh!
-
>>Amy: And then I had a third
group that's using their body smart
-
to throw the checkers at the target
-
and then record their number using
their logic smart on the board.
-
>>Student: And then a one.
-
>>Amy: So we try to allow
children to shine in the things
-
that they truly feel good
about, and if we find that thing
-
that they feel most confident
doing, then we can use
-
that to help them achieve
other milestones.
-
>>Donna: The Georgia
Performance Standards are state
-
and mandate standards
that students have
-
to master before being promoted
to the next grade level.
-
Multiple intelligences allow teachers
to teach those standards in a variety
-
of ways so that students can
actually understand them and the way
-
that a teacher can grade that is
not necessarily by a letter grade
-
but more so with a rubric
that really goes into detail
-
about what that child has mastered.
-
>>Teacher: Remember you're
just working it through,
-
confirming your answers at the end.
-
>>Narrator: Pre and post-tests given
every nine weeks help teachers plan
-
each child's individual
learning strategy.
-
>>Donna: Everything is individualized
for a particular student
-
because as we all know
students learn at various paces.
-
And so the pre and post-tests
allows us to get a great feel
-
of what the students have mastered
and what they haven't mastered.
-
>>Teacher: What were those called?
-
>>Student: Figurative.
-
>>Teacher: It was a figurative
language, do you remember which one?
-
>>Student: Um, simile.
-
>>Teacher: Similes, good, Dusty.
-
>>Susan: I look at the
diversity and this population.
-
We have non-English
speaking students,
-
non-English speaking parents.
-
Economically disadvantaged students,
we have country club students.
-
The test scores are better than
any place I've seen in the state.
-
We shouldn't look like this on
paper, but you walk in a classroom
-
and you see the quality
of instruction
-
and you see the multiple
intelligences respected.
-
You start understanding this
is why we look good on paper.
-
>>Narrator: To expand on the smarts
concept and make Enota a fun place
-
to be, parents and staff turn
the school into Smartville.
-
The place where students get
-
to see how their smarts might
play out in adult roles.
-
>>Heather: We thought wouldn't a
little city be a neat way for kids
-
to just really excel and use their
smarts and strengthen the smarts
-
that maybe they're struggling with so
-
that I think was the
first birth of Smartville.
-
>>Narrator: Smartville has
hallways with street names,
-
a Central Park, a culinary academy.
-
>>Teacher: You're studying
fractions in math, right?
-
Alright we're going to
work on our math smarts.
-
>>Narrator: A Metropolitan
Museum of Smart.
-
A Savings and Learn.
-
>>Student: We have
pens and when you write
-
with them it will change a color.
-
>>Narrator: A popular store.
-
>>Student: Which is the one
we had to return to a sender?
-
>>Narrator: And a very
busy post office.
-
>>Emmeline: You can kind
of act like you're an adult
-
and that's really cool and I feel
-
like I have responsibilities
and stuff.
-
>>Student: One cup?
-
>>Amy: They're excited about
learning each day and they're excited
-
about showing what they know, not
just making a grade on the test
-
but actually saying "I can do this.
-
Watch me."
-
>>Student: [playing piano]
-
>>Narrator: At the annual Multiple
Intelligences Fair, Enota's kids get
-
to strut their stuff for
parents and the community.
-
>>Donna: The fair not only displays
the talents that children have
-
or a final product but it also brings
-
out their multiple
intelligences, their smarts.
-
They want to show us
how smart they are
-
and so they showcase
that during the MI Fair.
-
>>Student: The name of my poems
is "The Hall Monitor and Me".
-
I wrote this by myself.
-
>>Amy: Once you begin to think in
the Multiple Intelligence's way,
-
it becomes second nature, and once
you've seen the benefits it's worth a
-
little bit of extra work.
-
>>Student: 3 plus 6, 9.
-
>>Teacher: Good.
-
>>Narrator: For more
information on what works
-
in public education,
go to edutopia.org.
