Self-Smart Intelligence - Use it While Learning and Doing Homework

Self-smart children, those with intrapersonal intelligence strengths, tend to be quiet. They need alone-time and physical space. They think deeply inside of themselves by reflecting. These children can appear to be slower learners because no question is easy and they want to think of every possible answer before choosing the one to share. They may appear to be uninvolved because they may share less often in class. Most often, though, they're deep in thought and involved.

This intelligence is one of the harder ones to engage in learning and studying situations. Some self-smart children may struggle in school because teachers ask for their answers and opinions which they'd rather keep to themselves. These children need to be willing to play the game of school - to answer teachers' questions even if doing so doesn't enhance their own understanding.

Although highly self-smart children are satisfied knowing what they know, and it's not important to them that others know, you can encourage them to participate in class and completely answer their teachers' questions. If they don't, their grades may not always reflect their true knowledge or abilities.

It goes beyond that, however. Self-smart children often have excellent insights because of their deep-and-wide thinking. If they can realize how much others may benefit, it will build their confidence and motivate them to stretch beyond their comfort zone by expressing their thoughts.

These ideas may help you help self-smart children:

• Self-smart children prefer to study alone. They can view your desire to interact with them as interference. That's the word some self-smart children use when I talk with them about school.

• Grading is often unpleasant for self-smart children because it involves the evaluation of ideas. Providing an answer key for the first few problems of an assignment helps some students. When these children get immediate feedback and see how they're doing, they gain momentum and concentration to complete the assignment.

• Since self-smart children are quiet and find it difficult to talk with their teachers, their teachers may not know them well. Nevertheless, it's crucial that they do! I've found that teachers may judge self-smart children harshly just because they don't understand them. Parents may need to help teachers understand their child's self-smart strengths and the difficulties they sometimes cause.

• Because it may take self-smart children longer to collect their thoughts and respond to a discussion question than other children, teachers can give them time to process their ideas. They can let children know they'll call on them fourth, at the beginning of tomorrow's class, after Kevin, etc. These types of considerations honor children and increase their confidence. This, in turn, facilitates a smoother class discussion.

• As much as possible, connect topics to these children's personal lives because that's how they think - by relating learning to their lives. You can look over their homework and help them discover how the topics are relevant and how they might be relevant in the future.

• Self-smart children like choices and options. These can be simple - write in cursive or print, do the first or second set of ten problems, and read a biography or mystery for their next book report. Of course, being given a choice is a privilege. If they complain about their options or take too long to decide, tell them they've lost the privilege. Then tell them specifically what to do.

• Self-smart children will also benefit from individualized instruction and assignments they can complete independently.

• You also motivate them by creating opportunities to engage their feelings.

To determine how strong the self-smart intelligence is for your children, I invite you to download a free guide here: http://www.celebratekids.com/infocollect1.html - From Kathy Koch, Ph.D., ("cook"), Celebrate Kids, Inc.
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