UK Member of Parliament and Paymaster General, Penny Mordaunt, writes in this article of her recent dyslexia diagnosis. She refers in the article to Gardner’s book, Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences.
Howard Gardner first put forward the idea of multiple intelligences in his 1983 book Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. He pointed out that talent is hard to find, but we make it harder still by deciding that it only comes in one form and then by discriminating against those that don’t conform to the model.
Mordaunt describes the difficulties she faced in school and her struggles with reading, experiences which made her feel “stupid” and “lazy.” Her school actively discouraged her from having ambitions. She was ignored, spoken over, and teased. With determination and resilience, however, Moradunt went to university and earned a degree, and has enjoyed a successful and varied career. Mordaunt says her diagnosis of dyslexia at aged 47 is a relief.
Penny Mordaunt was clearly failed by her school. Her story illustrates the need to recognize that people have many different strengths and kinds of mind. Teaching in different ways that allow students to make use of their multiple intelligences is key. As Gardner says,
We should spend less time ranking children and more time helping them to identify their natural competencies and gifts and cultivate these. There are hundreds and hundreds of ways to succeed and many, many different abilities that will help you get there.