Cultivating multiple intelligences
(First of two parts)
Decades ago, I was thrilled to chat with renowned psychologist Howard Gardner, who conceived the concept of multiple intelligences. He posits that everyone has not just a single general ability but eight intelligences: linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, body-kinesthetic, naturalist, interpersonal and intrapersonal.
Mary Joy Canon-Abaquin, founding directress of Multiple Intelligence International School (MIIS) decided to recognize individuals who exemplify each intelligence—former president Cory Aquino (interpersonal), dancer Liza Macuja (body-kinesthetic), etc., including me (logical-mathematical)—and invited Gardner to come over for the awarding ceremony.
In a country where having a catchy tag (witness the proliferation of Montessori schools, even if some eschew Maria Montessori’s philosophy in favor of traditional ways), having Gardner’s official imprimatur lends credence to MIIS.
“MIIS in the Philippines is recognized by Gardner as being the only school [that] has combined two of his life’s works—multiple intelligences and good work,” says Abaquin. “Every student has the right to learn in ways that are respectful of how they learn, and the right to be recognized for their intelligence profile so that they can contribute to society.”
After completing a master’s degree in early childhood education from Boston University, where she experienced what developmentally appropriate education meant, Abaquin set up Child’s Place Preschool in 1996.
“The preschool years are foundational to a child, as 90 percent of the brain develops before the age of five,” says Abaquin. “It is a critical period that can shape how a child learns and thrives. Unfortunately, most preschools in the Katipunan area then were traditional schools that existed to prepare children for the ‘big schools.’ Child’s Place aimed [to] make the child at the center of learning that was progressive and developmentally appropriate.”
In line with Gardner’s theory, Abaquin believes that “all children are intelligent,” and respects their individuality. “Very few schools allow children to learn in different ways and help them develop their different intelligences to be excellent at what they are passionate about.” At the turn of the millennium, Child’s Place became MIIS, which today offers programs from grade one to senior high school.
At the start, a big challenge was to affirm to parents the importance of progressive and international education. “Most parents grew up knowing only a traditional school experience. We overcame this by continuous parent education to raise awareness about the importance of developing 21st-century skills and their child’s unique intelligences so that they can succeed in a fast-changing world. Students cannot be educated for the future with tools of the past. We show them how MIIS is always seeking to be relevant and incorporating best practices around the world.”
“Identifying a target market aligned with our vision” was also a challenge, especially since MIIS is a blend of global and local (“glocal”), which offers international education at affordable local prices. “We want to be an instrument for national development through educating the next generation of Filipinos to be globally competitive. Thus, we offer international education at tuition rates as competitive as local schools.”
Abaquin’s vision has borne fruit, since MIIS turns 30 next year, with a move to a new campus at Parklinks in Pasig City, envisioned as a leadership hub for sustainability. Her husband Raymond is finance director, whose skills I know firsthand. He aced his calculus class when he was my student in college.
“More than education for excellence and development of intelligences, I want to advocate for the next generation to use their intelligences to make a difference,” says Abaquin. “I do not want to educate students to just be intelligent. I want them to do good work to make the world kinder, more equitable and sustainable.”
Visit the MIIS website at mischool.edu.ph.
(To be continued next week)
Queena N. Lee-Chua is on the board of directors of Ateneo’s Family Business Center. Get her book “All in the Family Business” at Lazada or Shopee, or e-book at Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks. Contact the author at blessbook.chua@gmail.com.
