Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences

Gardner returns to the examples he presented in the first chapter of the book: the Puluwat child training to be a sailor in Micronesia, the young Islamic scholar memorizing large tracts of the Koran, and the Parisian teenager using a computer to compose a piece of music. All three of these children were socialized distinctly, engaging in culturally dictated forms of education that shaped them and allowed their intelligences to flourish in specific ways. Education and the transmission of cultural practices thus seem to be a fundamental building block of culture: Humans pass on their knowledge and their traditions to their children in a way that is “as natural as breathing” (348). However, intelligence research, particularly IQ research, has shaped education in very particular ways, some of which Gardner views as unhelpful to society as a whole. 

Gardner warns that his framework for analyzing educational processes is both comprehensive and complex. Methods of transmitting knowledge are as multifaceted as intelligence itself, so a framework that can adequately analyze education has to be multifaceted as well. Different methods of teaching engage different intelligences, giving them opportunities to flourish. For instance, many children learn via example, or by watching adults perform a task without giving any other instruction.