Is Your Child

Intelligent?
An interactive workshop by
Salman Asif Siddiqui
Director ERDC
This workshop intends to convey
three points:
1. Who is an intelligent child and what is
intelligence?

2. How our perceptions about intelligence

affect children’s learning

3. What to do as a parent?
 Point # 1:
Who is an intelligent child
and what is intelligence?
Does your child:
1. Perform well in exams and get good
grades?
2. Know lots of things?
3. Remember spellings?
4. Pronounce new words correctly?
5. Remember what is taught in class?
6. Have good handwriting?
Does your child:
7. Finish his/her class work early?
8. Not require support to do his/ her
homework?
9. Not want to be absent from school?
10. Follow what is asked?
11. Read a lot?
12. Calculate mentally?
 Your child is intelligent,
even if all of your 12 answers
were ‘NO’.
Why don’t they ask questions?
• Because questions are discouraged
• Quiet classrooms are appreciated
• Because questions are not acknowledged or
responded well
• Sarcasm of students’ questions
• Lack of confidence
• Teachers’ fear, being afraid
• He prefers to pursue his questions on his own
• Difference in levels of knowledge (because they
are clear on the topic)
• Because of teachers’ favoritism, injustice
Some of the most reflective questions
that students asked:
• Why with all the tax collection, why is the state
of health and education is poor?
• Why parents prefer to send their kids to private
sector schools?
• Did you adopt this profession willingly?
• How they derived the formula – pythagorus
theorem
• How are you feeling now after leaving Lahore?
10 creative ways to kill students’
creativity?
• Not letting students think on their own
• Not letting realize the difference of opinions and
facts
• Not letting students think in the medium
(language) they are naturally fluent in
• Over simplifying complex problems, not letting
them resolve complex problems
• Lack of opportunities of free thinking and its
expression
• Mindless learning, copying from the board, book based
answers, etc.
• Not letting students question
• Prefer “correct response” over “their response”
• Demanding uniformity
• Absence of experimentation, not letting them try out new
things
• Limiting exposure
• Not capitalizing on students’ genuine and original
interests
• Reducing the chances of errors through helping
Perspectives on Intelligence
Ancient belief:
• Either / or

Alfred Binet’s theory:

• Measurable
• Fixed
• Logic/ language

Jean Piaget’s contribution:

• Intelligence is not fixed

Howard Gardner’s research:

• Every child is intelligent
• Not only logic/ language
Howard Gardner
• Intelligence is the ability to solve problems, or to
create products, that are valued within one or
more cultural settings.

• Kids go to school and college and get through,

but they don’t seem to really care about using
their minds. School doesn’t have the kind of long-
term positive impact that it should.
“The true test of intelligence is not how much we know how to do, but how we
behave when we don’t know what to do.”
John Holt
Two stories of unusual kids:
Were they unintelligent?

1. Thomas Edison (1847 – 1931), a self

educated scientist with over 1000 inventions

2. Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965), recipient of

Nobel Prize in Literature, two times Prime
Minister of UK
Two factors that develop intelligence

1. Talent

2. Opportunity
Three characteristics of intelligence

1. Sustainable interest

2. Urge for excellence

3. Expression of creativity
Seven major signs of creativity
1. Observation
2. Experimentation
3. Questioning
4. Mischief
5. Talking
6. Unique connections
7. Humour
 Point # 2:
How our perceptions
about intelligence affect
children’s learning
“I expect you all
to be
independent,
innovative,
critical thinkers
who will do
exactly as I say!”
“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its
ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing
that it is stupid.” Albert Einstein
 “Madam, may I ask you:
Which one of us has truly failed?”
 Point # 3:
What to do?
Appreciate your child for:
1. His/ her questions
2. What he/ she wants to show you
3. What he/ she is actually interested in
4. What he/ she is trying but has not
accomplished
5. What he/ she is different for
 Suggestions for teachers:
1. Identify the creative talent of every child. Make every child feel
valued.
2. Don’t be just the knowledge provider. Be a designer of
experiences and facilitator of their natural quest for knowledge.
3. Create opportunities to interact with people, places, material,
stories and videos.
4. Offer a variety of activities (modes of teaching & learning)
5. Do not teach them ONE-RIGHT-WAY to do things.
6. Value originality, process & fluency over perfection, product &
accuracy.
7. Prepare a strategy for the child who is not responding
8. Be a model learner and reflective teacher.
9. Teach children how to think and how to learn. (Use KWL
strategy)
Charter of Children’s Recognition
Proposed by Salman Asif Siddiqui, director ERDC

1. Listen to and acknowledge children without

losing your temper.

2. Recognize the individuality of every child

instead of comparing children.

3. Treat children with unconditional respect

and trust.
Howard Gardner’s Suggestion:

• Anything that is worth teaching can be

presented in many different ways. These
multiple ways can make use of our
multiple intelligences.
Provide seven types of meaningful
& enjoyable activities
1. Literary activities
2. Mind games
3. Art & craft activities
4. Physical activities
5. Domestic activities
6. Nature activities
7. Social activities
• It’s not that I am so smart, its just that I
stay with problems longer.
Einstein
To learn more about parenting and education, stay in touch and explore other programs of ERDC at:

www.erdconline.org
www.facebook.com/ERDCpk

Thank you.