Eighth Intelligence
Naturalistic Intelligence as Howard Gardner explains it, the eighth intelligence is something that our education system in India needs to consider. The latest Tsunami disaster in the South Asian coastal belt has had a great impact on my writing this column. I read in one of the post Tsunami articles that did some "forensic analysis" about the aboriginal of Andaman-Nicobar islands and their ability to pickup clues from nature of disasters.
There were many articles on how the aboriginal and other "intelligent" animals could sense the danger lurking beyond the calm sea shore. There were no casualty recorded of wild animals in their natural habitats near the coastal belts. Amazing!
While board exams are being given the optimum importance in a child's life, schools should wake up to this lesson we need to learn from these events. We need to become more nature savvy. Children should be taught to develop the skill, the eighth intelligence. The only way to do this is to encourage field trips and make environmental studies a part of the curriculum.
I do not deny the fact that the current geographic studies curriculum does cover much about nature, environment etc. But is that it? Is there any importance attached to the topics covered? Are these children really understand whats in the book? Are they taught how to convert the bookish lessons into some real knowledge?
We all need to think.
There were many articles on how the aboriginal and other "intelligent" animals could sense the danger lurking beyond the calm sea shore. There were no casualty recorded of wild animals in their natural habitats near the coastal belts. Amazing!
While board exams are being given the optimum importance in a child's life, schools should wake up to this lesson we need to learn from these events. We need to become more nature savvy. Children should be taught to develop the skill, the eighth intelligence. The only way to do this is to encourage field trips and make environmental studies a part of the curriculum.
I do not deny the fact that the current geographic studies curriculum does cover much about nature, environment etc. But is that it? Is there any importance attached to the topics covered? Are these children really understand whats in the book? Are they taught how to convert the bookish lessons into some real knowledge?
We all need to think.
