Practical Intelligence

Practical Intelligence in a Child

Is Intelligence in our genes ? The answer to that question is Yes. Yes, a child is born with intelligence, at least to an extent. But what kind of intelligence.

There are different types of intelligence.

1. Analytical
2. Practical

So, a child can be born with analytical intelligence. A child can start speaking when six months only. Chris Langan was one of such people who talk himself to read by three years of age. Born in an extremely poor home where he had only one pair of clothes to wear and barely nothing to eat. He was an intelligent child, a born genius with lots of analytical intelligence but no practical intelligence and that is why he ended up buying a house on a farm with books and animals, with research papers he wrote that would never be published since he couldn't continue college and since he didn't know what to do about it.

What is practical intelligence and where does it come from?


The particular skill that allows you to talk your way out of a murder rap, to convince your professor to give you extra time to complete an assignment, to persuade your boss to give you half days and to even get your work done from people etc. falls under Practical Intelligence.
Robert Sternberg, a psychologist defines this as "knowing what to say to whom, knowing when to say it, and knowing how to say it for maximum effect."

It is procedural or practical which means that knowing how to do something without necessarily knowing why you know it or being able to explain it. It is a knowledge or skill that helps you read situations correctly and get what you want.

So where does it come from. It mostly comes from our families. A child is like a blank slate. You keep on writing on it in the early years. You teach them, train them and make them practice.

According to a research conducted by a sociologist Annette Lareau on 12 families of third graders discovered that usually well off or rich families are aware of the fact that they have to take part in the child's practical development and teach them how to create and enhance this kind of practical intelligence. Others, usually the low income families see their responsibility to take care of their children but let them grow and develop on their own. However, it is common to see two types of families everywhere. One that takes active part in the Practical development and the other that doesn’t. Even a rich family that is not so educated or doesn’t realize their role of training and participation in a child's growth can fall in the latter category. In the former category, questioning and reasoning is allowed whereas in the latter parents give commands that need to be followed.

A cat shows its kitten seven houses

So, the important question is how you play your part in the practical development of your child ?

There can be numerous things that you could do to raise the intelligence level like making them take part in activities with other kids, keeping them engaged and scheduling their time effectively in some sort of skill learning classes etc. but the common element in all would be a connection or link to people. Psychologists call this parenting style concerted cultivation.

Implementation

An example of implementing this is encouraging your child to think, analyze and ask relevant questions and clear doubts. This provides self confidence and increases the comfort level of a child to connect to an adult. It provides learning of how to connect to the outer world full of strangers.

A mother of a nine year old boy is taking him to see the doctor. In the car, she asks her son that he should think of any questions to ask the doctor. She tells her son " You should be thinking of any questions to ask the doctor. You can ask him anything you want. Don’t be shy. You can ask him anything."

So the mother is teaching his son

1. He has the right to speak up even though he's going to be in a room with an older person and authority figure
2. It is perfectly all right for him to assert himself

What does the son do?

He asks the doctor the question that came to his mind while thinking in the car. He has bumps on his underarm. So he asks the doctor to check the bumps. The doctor asks him some related questions like if they itch or hurt and tells that he will check up.

The child

1. Takes charge of the situation
2. Gets the focus and attention of the doctor on the issue he chose to discuss
3. Manages to shift the balance of power away from adults (doctor) toward himself
4. Is treated with respect and seen as special and worthy of adult attention and interest. These are the key characteristics of the strategy of concerted cultivation.

A child who is prepared and taught how to deal with the tough outside world is better off than one that is left to learn on his own, a way of natural growth. This child depending on the people he meets and the surroundings he grows into does pick up how to deal or not deal but it is a matter of luck by chance.

I know of a person in his fifties who was a talented sportsman and won championships in the local clubs without any mentor or teacher or trainer but who went through life without knowing how to get things done , what to speak how to speak and when to speak and achieved much less than could have. What was the reason behind what he says, "I never knew how to do it when I was young. And I see people who get their ways but I still cannot do it."

Why exactly do you think happened? His background tells us that he was one who had uneducated parents who taught him nothing. He was left off with other extended family and did not know anything about the practical world he grew up in. This is how important parenting in an effective way is. You have to hold your child's hand and teach him all the tricks of the trade to do better and survive well in the race of the outside world.

I remember a saying that we usually hear in growing years. A cat takes its kittens to 7 houses. As a child I didn’t understand what it meant but this article on development of Practical Intelligence is what the saying is pointing out to.