Shaping human excellence

WE ARE at the end of this millennium looking forward to the expectations and excitement the next millennium is going to offer. Lot of changes have taken place leading one to guess the type of changes that are going to take place in the next century.

The world has become very competitive. The competition has also ushered in huge opportunities for any one who is willing to prepare oneself to exploit the same. In this context, the issue of preparing our students to meet the challenges of the next millennium becomes very critical.

The approach to education and personality development has taken a very different dimension during this century. Parents are very keen to make their children assume greater responsibilities in their lives.

Greater emphasis is given for imparting quality education for their wards. The single purpose of education and curriculum development can only be towards preparing the students to partake in the excitement of the next century.

World over, the emphasis on education has been shifting from not only academic excellence but also to overall excellence. In this context, the concept of Multiple Intelligence is very crucial.

To meet the challenges of change, children should be developed in various parameters. Lot of research has taken place in understanding the human excellence. The brain which becomes the centre of command for the human system has been studied from various perspectives.

One of the researchers is Dr. Howard Gardener, who has done extensive research on human excellence. He defines intelligence as ``the ability to solve problems that counters in real life and the ability to generate new problems to solve.''

He says the human mind should also have the ability to make something or offer a service that is valued within one's culture. He focusses on eight types of intelligences:

(i) Linguistic intelligence: It is the ability of a student to express ideas and concepts in words. Communication is going to play a very vital role in the years to come and students should be in a position to express themselves clearly and succinctly so that they are able to convert their knowledge into usable products. Students who have high level of linguistic intelligence perform very well as writers, speakers and journalists.

(ii) Logical-Mathematical intelligence: It is the ability to concentrate on mathematical problems, hypotheses and to think logically. Scientists, accountants, engineers, computer programmers, researchers all have a high level of this intelligence.

(iii) Spatial intelligence: This is a very important skill which will enable a person to think in a three dimensional perspective. It calls for a high level of visual constructed images and creativity in oneself.

Students with spatial intelligence have the capacity to become architects, painters or pilots, which call for this skill in the day-to-day application of their work.

(iv) Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence: This intelligence is the ability to manipulate various things and objects. It also calls for fine-tuning physical skills. One would appreciate the extent to which athletes and sportspersons manipulate their body. If this intelligence is developed properly, the students will be able to shine well as sportspersons, dancers or surgeons.

(v) Musical intelligence: The brain has two halves viz., the left hemisphere and right hemisphere. The left hemisphere is logical, mathematical and linguistic. On the other hand, the right hemisphere is the hemisphere where the music and creativity talents are developed.

Students who have a high degree of musical intelligence are right brain driven. These students demonstrate their ability to understand and contribute to music. They can appreciate the parameters such as pitch, melody, rhythm or tone.

The students who excel in this become leading composers, music directors, music critics or instrument makers. If this intelligence is developed among students, their right brain is activated and they start thinking creatively.

(vi) Inter-personal intelligence: This is the capacity to improve the rapport and people management skills. In the life of anybody, whatever may be the intelligence and knowledge, if one cannot connect with others they will not be very effective.

In this context, inter-personal intelligence becomes very important. Students who excel in inter-personal intelligence do well as teachers, social workers, politicians or any one who has to interact with public at large.

(vii) Intra-personal intelligence: It is the ability to introspect and understand oneself in newer dimensions. It also includes the ability to plan ahead and direct one's life. Students with a very high level of intra-personal intelligence are able to understand their strengths and weaknesses.

Students who have this ability will become theologians, psychologists, philosophers or original thinkers. (viii) Naturalist intelligence: It is the ability to understand nature and use the gifts of nature for one's own development. Students with high level of naturalist intelligence do well as agriculturists, farmers, landscapers, etc.

It is possible in an educational institution to develop the above eight types of intelligences. With the unfolding of the next century, the opportunities are going to be very wide. In our country, we have been seeing excessive importance in certain disciplines such as engineering, medicine and computer programming.

The world offers equal scope and opportunities in other fields also. For example, there are not many writers, architects, original thinkers or scientists. With the economic reforms and liberalisation of the Indian economy, the migration of students to various parts of the world has become very common. This means that the students have to be prepared not only for the Indian requirements but also to the world requirements.

India is witnessing the entry of multinational organisations. To succeed in the future business environment is going to be a different ball game. If the students are not developed properly to meet the challenges of change, it is going to be very difficult for them to compete in the newly changed order.

Many research and application based books are available to develop Multiple Intelligence in a classroom situation. Applying Multiple Intelligence and Neuro Linguistic Programming skills in a classroom makes a lot of difference in the quality of life and capabilities of the students.

Indian schools and teachers should be able to come out from their tunnel vision of conventional teaching. Indian organisations have already started adopting many of the manufacturing and technological inputs from abroad.

To match these things, Indian schools and colleges should also concentrate on such ideas as Multiple Intelligence and Neuro Linguistic Programming at the school level. If this is not done, Indian students will be left behind in the march towards the next millennium in which all other countries are going to participate.

N. C. SRIDHARAN

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