Howard Gardner

children understand world mind curious better place

“I want my children to understand the world, but not just because the world is fascinating and the human mind is curious. I want them to understand it so that they will be positioned to make it a better place”

― Howard Gardner

story storytelling leader

“Stories are the single most powerful weapon in a leader’s arsenal”

― Howard Gardner

smart stupid IQ capacity

“While we may continue to use the words

smart and stupid, and while IQ tests may

persist for certain purposes, the monopoly

of those who believe in a single general

intelligence has come to an end. Brain

scientists and geneticists are documenting

the incredible differentiation of human capacities, computer programmers are creating systems that are intelligent in different ways, and educators are freshly acknowledging that their students have distinctive strengths and weaknesses.”

― Howard Gardner

Einstein problem formulate different modes thought

“When Einstein had thought through a problem, he always found it necessary to formulate this subject in as many different ways as possible and to present it so that it would be comprehensible to people accustomed to different modes of thought and with different educational preparations.”

― Howard Gardner

maurity science question discipline approach

“Part of the maturity of the sciences is an appreciation of which questions are best left to other disciplinary approaches.”

― Howard Gardner

mathematics student algorithm formalism sociology humanities

“In mathematics, students are at the mercy of rigidly applied algorithms. They learn to use certain formalisms in certain ways, often effectively, if provided with a pre-arranged signal that a particular formalism is wanted.

In social studies and the humanities, the enemies of understanding are scripts and stereotypes. Students readily believe that events occur in typical ways, and they evoke these scripts even inappropriately. For example, they regard struggles between two parties in a dispute as a "good guy versus bad guy" movie script.”

― Howard Gardner

mistake centuries student individual teach subject

"The biggest mistake of past centuries in teaching has been to treat all students as if they were variants of the same individual and thus to feel justified in teaching them all the same subjects the same way."

― Howard Gardner

resign fired believe worker professional slave

"If you are not prepared to resign or be fired for what you believe in, then you are not a worker, let alone a professional. You are a slave."

― Howard Gardner

academic seriously three people write

"No academic ever expects to be taken seriously by more than three other people, because really, we write for three people in our field."

― Howard Gardner