MI+B2+Chapter+14

Abstract- Grady
The chapter dealt entirely with the idea of a potential ninth intelligence, the [|existential intelligence]. This intelligence relates to a person's ability to process and comprehend issues related to life, death, the universe, spirituality, and other "deep" things of that nature. The reason that it has not achieved the official status as an intelligence is that although it meets some of the criteria for Gardner's definition of an intelligence, it cannot yet be established whether or not it meets all of them. The author also concedes that even if it were given full status, it would likely have to be taught in a much different manner than the other 8 intelligences, causing it to forever remain somewhat separate then the other types of intelligence. The chapter also discusses that, given [|constitutional law], it may in fact be illegal to integrate many aspects of existential issues in the classroom, regardless of its status as an intelligence.

Synthesis-
It seems like virtually everyone mentioned that they had some misgivings about trying to deal with the ethical issues that teaching toward existential learners in their classroom, if indeed this category ever made it as an official intelligence. However, a majority of the class also made a point to say that existential questions can be very powerful in driving important conversations, especially in the fields of English and social studies. While there seemed to be no general consensus in our class about whether or not we believed that it should be added to the list, it seems that all of us had a strong response, one way or the other, regarding existentialism's place in the high school classroom.

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Tiarra
The last chapter of //Multiple Intelligences// discusses the existence of a ninth intelligence called Existential Intelligence. Existential students wonder about big life questions such as “Why are we here” and “What does it all mean”? Existential students are constantly trying to expand their world view and understand their lives from different angles which I personally believe is the goal of education itself. In that regard, we are all existential learners because we have all compiled reasons or non-reasons for our being and developed a unique way of interpreting the world. The purpose of art, literature, science, math, anything really when it comes down to it, is to help people understand their world and their place in it. These subjects expose truths about life in a variety of ways, and there are thousands of different, (and sometimes even conflicting), truths to be had. I believe it is much easier to incorporate the existential intelligence than Armstrong cares to believe, and not nearly as controversial. However, I also believe that Existentialism isn’t necessarily an intelligence but rather a driving force that we all are subject to.

Will L.
In this chapter, it goes over the possibility of a ninth intelligence. This intelligence, according to Howard Gardner, would be called existential. This potential intelligence is where one thinks about life, death, and fate in their life. It seems to stir more controversy than any other of the intelligences, especially because it could take religion into effect. This could cause a potential uproar amongst other students, teachers, administrators, and even parents. Because it is only a “possible” intelligence, I would much rather have it not be in my classroom arrangement, in order to avoid any drama associated with it.

Justin C.
This chapter talks about the possible existence of a ninth intelligence, the existential intelligence. This dives into the deeper meanings of life and why we are the way we are today. It is said that the best way in incorporate this “intelligence” is to integrate it into the content of the curriculum and to consider ways in which other people may have. When it comes to my mathematical way of thinking, touching on topics such as the concept of infinity, negative numbers, irrational numbers and imaginary numbers would be ways in which to include a broader list of concepts.

Grace K.
Chapter 14 reintroduces the possibility that there is a ninth intelligence: existential intelligence. Existential intelligence is defined by Gardner as “a concern with ultimate life issues.” By that definition, I can definitely think of examples of individuals who I would consider highly existentially intelligent. Armstrong acknowledges that existential intelligence is not a perfect fit in Gardner’s scale of “what makes an intelligence,” but it meets many of the criteria well enough that is currently holds an unofficial spot as the “8 ½th” intelligence. Armstrong also discusses the fact that existential intelligence could prove to be much more difficult to apply to various subjects, but I feel like it easily applies to my own; history. I totally agree with Armstrong’s statement that “it is simply not possible to discuss human history in any “intelligent” fashion without bringing in factors related to existential concerns.” Existential concerns are an entirely natural part of examining history, and even if it never achieves full intelligence status, it will always be present in effective history classrooms.

Dan B.
Chapter 14 introduces the idea of a ninth intelligence, existentialism. Existentialism asks the questions of "who are we" and "why are we here." I think that I could incorporate it into a history classroom well. An example of a question that I would ask might be "What were the influences that drove the Pilgrims to leave England to go to America?" I think that the existentialism intelligence would force students to think on a deep level. Although I find it very interesting the existentialist intelligence has a major downfall and that is is that it could be controversial, because it takes religion into consideration and religion can be a very controversial topic. I think that I would probably shy away from it because of the potential controversy that it could generate. If I could stay away from the religious aspect of it I would certainly try to incorporate it into my classroom.

Danny K.
Chapter 14 is a very short chapter that talks about the possibility of a ninth intelligence. This ninth intelligence is called the existential intelligence. The author defines existential intelligence as “a concern with ultimate life issues.” The existential intelligence meets some but not all of the criteria for a multiple intelligence, which is why there are eight multiple intelligences instead of nine. I believe that existential intelligence would be important in the Health classroom because often we are discussing life issues.

Grady B.
In the process of reading this chapter, my mind played out an internal debate regarding the legitimacy of existential intelligence; this was closely followed by the questions of legal, moral and constitutional viability in the classroom. As I read, I came to feel that while the ability to process the profound does not fit into the other categories, the criteria of use of symbols seemed like a stretch in this case. Regardless, as the author stated, even if this category were to be made an official intelligence, it would be absolutely the most difficult to integrate into a classroom. While I can see the benefits of discussing matters of existential nature in some situations in the class, I feel that the longer a teacher lingers in this territory, the better the chance of inadvertently offending a student or landing into legal trouble. However, after taking a class on this campus which dealt specifically with death and dying, I know that it is possible to navigate this ethical minefield.

Jen R.
Chapter 14 of //Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom// introduced the theory of a ninth intelligence. The ninth intelligence is known as the existential intelligence. Throughout the chapter, Howard describes the ninth intelligence as “a concern with ultimate life issues.” The criteria for this intelligence included, cultural value, developmental history, symbol systems, exceptional individuals, psychometric studies, evolutionary plausibility and brain research. From what I gathered, the existential intelligence is a comprehensive approach to dig deeper into who we are and what we do. After reading this chapter, it is clear to me that I am still very unsure as to how I feel about the ninth intelligence. It seems rather far-fetched and I question its relevance within a classroom setting.

Jonathan B.
Chapter fourteen discusses the idea of a ninth intelligence—the existential. The existential intelligence is described as “a concern with ultimate life issues.” Ninth intelligence or not, this is an important intellectual issue to consider. This intelligence is not specific to any set way of thinking or creed, but rather a primarily introspective venture into what life is about. This abstract subject manifests itself in culture's institutions and beliefs, symbolism, philosophy, brain research, and epistemology. Epistemology is especially important in education because it explores thinking itself. Why do we think what we do? How do we reach the conclusions that we do? How does our way of thinking and ability to reflect on it impact our learning? These are the kinds of questions that are not part of any mandated standard or concentration-based curriculum, yet are ever present. As a social studies teacher, this issue must be approached in terms of recognizing trends in thinking through history. This is key to the ability to //empathize—// an overlooked aspect of social studies, yet so fundamental as students must be able to relate to historical issues and trends in order to connect them to their lives and actually make use of historical knowledge. This goes beyond the old adage of “history repeats itself” and implies a deeper understanding, a feel for global intellectual development. Instead of dismissing people, places, and events in history as disconnected and irrelevant, they should be scoured for meaning, keeping in mind the over-arching existential climate of the setting. I found the chapter's application of existential intelligence to geography to be very relevant. One example I can think of is Europe's transition from small states to unified nations, parallel with the rise of nationalism (especially in Germany's case).

Chris D.
Chapter 14 of Multiple Intelligence talks about the possibility of a ninth intelligence, called the existential intelligence. This potential intelligence focuses on thinking about life, death, morals, and other things that go on in their life. This seems to be more or less religion as an intelligence however when looked at very closely. It definitely could lead to some debates about religion in the classroom, which I want to have nothing of when I’m teaching. I strongly believe in the separation of church and state, and thus this intelligence would seem to break that separation in my opinion.

**Tyler S**
Chapter 14 discusses the possibility of a fourth intelligence type, existential intelligence. To me, it seems as if it is less of an intelligence type, and more of a simple curiosity. If thoughts about life and death or other issues of the sort constitutes a type of intelligence, then I think the same could be said with a number of other categories of interests. If it was to be considered an intelligence type, I would definitely think that I myself would have a strong existential intelligence, at least recently. Up until a year or two ago, it was something I rarely thought about, but as of late it has been at the top of my thoughts. It has in fact affected me so much so that I have considered changing to a philosophy of religion major to look into some of the matters in more depth.

Kaitlin T.
In Chapter 14 Armstrong introduces a ninth intelligence: existential. This particular intelligence could become tricky to nurture in a school due to the separation of church and state. However, when it comes to English literature, there is no other work that is more referenced than the Bible. Typically, those with existential intelligence ask the big picture questions; the Bible tends to have big picture answers. I think I’ll be able to adjust my lessons if I have students who have existential intelligences. Like I mentioned, literature is often a place for deep, analytical thought. I would be interested to see how existential learning could be incorporated in science classrooms. The book does give some examples, but I feel like teaching science to the existential learner will be trickier than it appears to be.