I used to teach in a school that was home to a number of showbiz personalities as well as sons and daughters of broadcasting icons. I once had a student who is the son of a couple who are both prominent choreographers in a popular TV station. Just like his Mom and Dad, Andrew (not his real name) danced so well that he mesmerized everybody every time he took the dance floor. Unfortunately, he was not good in the core subjects such as Language and Math. Most of the teachers would often say, “Ang utak ni Andrew nasa paa.” Sounds funny and sarcastic, huh? The remark, however, was based on two reasons. First, it was made out of ignorance not knowing that there is really such a thing as bodily-kinesthetic intelligence. Secondly, it was made out of sheer bias that those who do not perform well in academics are definitely inferior to those who do. On hindsight, such generalization is to a certain degree true when we are talking about verbal-linguistic and logical-mathematical abilities. But thanks to Howard Gardner whose Multiple Intelligences Theory became a milestone in the field of psychology and education.
One of the desired goals of Eastbridge School is to instill the idea on the parents that the education of their kids are not the sole responsibility of the school. Being in the academe for twenty years now, the administrators of the school deem that this is a necessary element for a successful learning experience especially in the preschool level. For what is education if not the preparation for life? A person who is trained to only prepare for work in adulthood has only prepared for half of what life is all about. Others may even argue that most of life is interaction with other people. For isn't work even also mostly comprised of this? Thus, it is of the utmost importance that the training that the kids get in a learning institution must touch on this major element.
