This is a companion to Cohen's other edited book, Caring Classrooms/Intelligent Schools. This book addresses an older group of youngsters in school--those passing into adolescence. The 12 chapters cover the theory of social emotional learning (SEL) in schools. A number of SEL curricula or projects are discussed, such as the Comer/New Haven project, the work from the Northeast Foundation for Children, a psychoanalytically informed educational perspective, the Resolving Conflict Creatively Program (RCCP), and others.

This is not really a "how-to" book, any more than was Cohen's other book. Readers will benefit, however, because he systematically reviews SEL programs, and readers will be eager to pursue specific programs from among those referenced.

I missed not seeing any work from Myrna B. Shure, who is a good cognitive-behavioral SEL practitioner (the "I Can Problem Solve" curriculum). Does her work not involve young adolescents? If not, that is a disappointment.

SEL is important because we all 'swim' in a social environment. When that environment is caring and concerned, when students can make heart-informed choices, they 'swim' better and are said to learn better. We certainly know they are happier and appear more productive.

I know many readers will gain a lot from this work, and the other related books in the SEL field. Good luck!

This timely volume presents the range of ways that teachers can help students develop social-emotional skills and competencies. It is very practical and helpful. On one level, teachers have always done this. On another, new information, stratagies and research findings are presented here. Very helpful to "front line teachers" and I suspect, administrators too. It will also be of interest to parents who want to help thier kids feel better about themselves and more able!

I recomend this book to the teachers who want to be challenged. With this book You can change your mind.

Specially to preschool teachers, I recomend this book to read. I hope this book can help the boring and bored preschool teacher change their thoughts concret.

Being an artist and teaching art, I found that Gardner's paper put into words so much of what an artist does naturally. Incorporating reflection about one's own artwork, about a classmate's, and about the "masters" is so very important in teaching art and in bringing children to think critically and creatively. By interweaving reflection with expression, Gardner has identified the cognitive science that can take place so naturally in the art classroom. Another book which also expounds on the importance of thinking skills and how naturally that can be achieved in art education is Perkin's Intelligent Eye. I highly recommend Gardner's book, especially to art educators in the field.

Lazear's book is a fantastic resource to have in all classrooms. This book is wonderful for elementary and secondary teachers. The book has an easy to use format which breaks down each intelligence and gives ideas of teaching to the intelligence. The book also has very helpful charts and facts sheets.

In one volume, this work combines the theories on intelligence advanced during the past century, but especially during the last decades. Beginning with the pioneering work of Piaget, the authors continue with the latter's disciples, whether supportive or in disagreement; a discussion of the brain and attempts to copy its functioning with intelligent machines. Of special interest are discussions of recent theories of intelligence by Gardner (seven intelligences and the experiments how he arrived at them); Mike Anderson, who asserts that intelligence evolves through changes in the organization of knowledge and skills, indicating that Gardner's multiple intelligences are 'sometimes a behavior, sometimes a cognitive process, and sometimes a structure in the brain'; Robert Sternberg, whose theory is a combination of three 'triarchic' subtheories: the componential, the experiential, and the contextual; and, based on Sternberg, Stephen Ceci's but, while the first has stressed the componential aspect ('what goes on inside a person's head when he thinks intelligently?') Ceci emphasizes the contextual aspect ('How does a person 's interaction interaction in the world affect the world in which he lives?'). The final chapters of the book are devoted to how all this new knowledge will affect schools and learning in the workplace. Each chapter has its own list of 'suggested readings' while the final list of references is comprehensive and inviting for further 'in-depth' studies

This is a great book for anyone interested in the subject of intelligence. It's well-written, and does justice to this complex and deep subject matter. Unlike books like "The Bell Curve" this book doesn't try to prescribe a narrow definition of intelligence. Rather it exposes the richness of different conceptualizations of intelligence, and the ways in which intelligence is important in various settings.

Gardner, Kornhaber, and Wake have written the essential book on the subject of intelligence. This book helps to undo some of the damage of books like Herrnstein & Murray's "The Bell Curve." This well-written text presents the many faces of intelligence, across different cultures and different settings such as work and school. It includes psychometrics, artificial intelligence, the role of the brain, and Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, providing a robust introduction to one of the most important topics in psychology and education. This book should be required reading for every educator, and every student of psychology, education, and science.

I bought this book sometime after concluding that national intelligence leadership needed to inspire and appeal to the citizens of the USA at large, rather than being so narrowly focused on staying out of trouble with Congress while collecting secrets. This book reviews leadership of both domains and nations, with case studies on Margaret Mead (Culture), J. Robert Oppenheimer (Physics), Robert Maynard Hutchins (Education), Alfred P. Sloan, Jr. (Business), George C. Marshall (Military), Pope John XXII (Religion), Eleanor Roosevelt (Ordinariness and Extraordinariness), Martin Luther King (Minority) and Margaret Thatcher (National). The best leaders that emerge are those who are willing to confront authority and take risk, while also creating networks of contacts that number in the hundreds or thousands rather than tens. Most tellingly, aleader in a discipline (e.g. intelligence) only emerges as a long-term leader if he finally realizes that "he is more likely to achieve his personal goals or to satisfy his community if he addresses a wider audience than if he remains completely within a specific domain." The six constants of leadership are the story, the audience (beginning with a message for the unschooled mind), the organization, the embodiment, a choice between direct (more practical) and indirect (more reflective and often more enduring) leadership, and a paradox-the direct leaders often lack knowledge while the indirect leaders often have greater knowledge, and transferring knowledge from the indirect leader to the direct leader may be one of the central challenges and opportunities of the 21st Century.

There are many studies of leadership from almost as many perspectives. Howard Gardner focuses on the leader as creator, teller and living exponent of a story, and makes an overwhelming case for the centrality of this function in leadership, and its complement, countering the counter-stories that exist in the organisation. Leaders who understand and use this book will add greatly to their effectiveness.

The idea of the leader as living exponent of a story is combined with the concept of the 'five year old mind'. Simply put, even sophisticated people are not sophisticated in all domains. In other domains, the common denominator of shared understanding is the 'five year old mind', the five year old having a very concrete, literal and emotionally based understanding of the world. For success, a leader should know how to appeal to the five year old mind, as well as to more sophisticated audiences.

There are three parts - and do not miss the preface to the paperback edition. The first is 'A Framework for leadership', which states the main thesis.

"When one thinks of the leader as a story-teller, whose stories must wrestle with those that are already operative in the mind of an audience, one obtains a powerful way of conceptualizing the work of leading. It is important for leaders to know their stories, to get them straight, to communicate them effectively, and, above all, to embody in their lives the stories that they tell."

The second part consists of case studies of people who exemplify leadership across various domains. It includes examples from each of his two classes of leaders (direct leaders who engage directly with others in action, and indirect leaders (like Einstein) who influence others through their impact on how people see the world).

The third looks forward and summarises the enduring lessons for leadership. The principles that he extracts are both important and practical.

Approached as a guide to exercise of leadership, the case studies can be 'dipped into', while Parts one and three are studied for their messages. If necessary, save the case studies for your holidays, because they are well chosen, brilliantly told and make fascinating reading.

It is a book that is not only valuable for the way it treats its core theme. It also provides an immensely fertile starting point for thinking about related issues of change. I first read it during a period in which I was intensely engaged in promoting cultural change in a large organisation and was able to relate very directly to Gardner's analysis and find direct value in his prescriptions.

I am currently half-way through this book. I love it. It has a lot of "meat" to it. The analysis is wonderful. He stresses the importance of stories for an effective leader. He provides substantial evidence for his claim that a leader cannot be effective without a story in which he/she at once tells and embodies.

One of the things I like most about the book is the range of personalities written about (from Eleanor Roosevelt to Alfred P. Sloan, Jr.). The book is also very easy to read. Gardner is a clear writer.

This is my second Gardner book. (I read Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in Practice). I'm enjoying this one better than the first. He seems most at home sitting back and quietly observing the leaders he talks about. Always balanced and never judgemental, I recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand leadership in the twentieth century.

To me, it is of great interest in itself to read about the lives of these seven remarkable individuals. Gardner gives us an account of their lives looking through the window of his theories on creativity. While not 100% convincing in all that he proposes, sometimes resorting to seeing what he wants to see (rather than reporting what he sees), Creating Minds is a valuable attempt at identifying the nature of creativity. I think the book fails to provide a case for the argument that creativity is characterized by "a special amalgam of the childlike and the adultlike." As long as the following question goes unanswered it's only too tempting to rush to conclusions: Do creative individuals retain childlike qualities more than other people, and how exactly do they benefit from doing so? This question epitomizes my general unease with Gardner's study of creativity. If we only look at creative people, how can we understand in which ways and how they stand apart from 'normal people'? Finally, I am not so sure about the significance of that modern era talk.

This book examines the creative process by reviewing the lives of seven highly creative people. I enjoyed the seven mini-biographies, but the attempts to generalize from them seemed ponderous. Some of Dr. Gardner's generalizations seem overly broad, some don't seem to be universally true even among the seven individuals he studied, and in any case seven cases isn't enough to generalize from with much confidence.

This book reminded me of Eric Erickson's biography of Gandhi, which I read years ago with great interest. Erickson's theories about the life cycle and how it applied to Gandhi's life were more satisfying to me than Gardner's generalizations.

There is an excellent 1955 film (Le Mystere Picasso) that shows time-lapse photography of Picasso's work in progress. The film helped me to feel better about my own frequent revisions when writing. It is available on DVD from a French company, Cinestore.com.

This is one of the most enjoyable as well as one of the most informative books I have read in recent years. I have long admired Gardner's work, especially his research on multiple intelligences which he discusses in other works such as Intelligence Reframed (2000), Frames of Mind (1993), and Multiple Intelligences (also 1993). As Gardner explains in the Preface, this volume" represents both a culmination and a beginning: a culmination in that it brings together my lifelong interests in the phenomena of creativity and the particulars of history; a beginning in that introduces a new approach to the study of human creative endeavors, one that draws on social-scientific as well as humanistic traditions." Specifically, this "new approach" begins with the individual but then focuses both on the particular "domain," or symbol system, in which an individual functions and on the group of individuals, or members of what Gardner calls the "field," who judge the quality of the new work in the domain.

This is the approach he takes when analyzing the lives and achievements of Freud, Einstein, Picasso, Stravinsky, Eliot, Graham, and Gandhi. Throughout the book, Gardner makes brilliant use of both exposition (e.g. analysis, comparison and contrast) and narration (especially when examining causal relationships of special significance) to reveal, explain, and evaluate each of the seven geniuses.

Gardner sets for himself several specific objectives:

• "First, I seek to enter into the worlds that each of the seven figures occupied during the period under investigation -- roughly speaking, the half century from 1885 to 1935."

• "In so doing, I hope to illuminate the nature of their own particular, often peculiar, intellectual capacities, personality configurations, social arrangements, and creative agendas, struggles and accomplishments."

• Also, "I seek conclusions about the nature of the Creative Enterprise writ large. I believe that if we can better understand the breakthroughs achieved by the individuals deliberately drawn from diverse domains, we should be able to tease out the principles that govern creative human activity, wherever it arises."

• Finally, "I seek conclusions about the sparkling, if often troubled, handful of decades that I term 'the modern era'...Such a selection [of the seven during the half-century period] allows me to comment not only on [their] particular achievemnents...but also on the times that formed them, and that they in turn helped to define."

Gardner achieves all of these objectives while somehow maintaining a delicate balance between respecting (indeed celebrating) individual genius and explaining the relevance (to each of the seven) of three relationships which are common to them all: the relationship between what he calls the "child" and the "master" throughout human development; the relationship between an individual and the work in which he or she is engaged; and finally, the relationship between the individual and other persons in his or her world.

Of special interest to me is Gardner's acknowledgment that two themes emerged during the course of his research for this book which he had not anticipated when he began. Citing a "confidant" relationship with Fleiss from whom Freud received "sustenance" when he needed it most, Gardner gradually realized that a relationship of this kind, "far from being an isolated case," represents the "norm" among the other six. Besso played much the same role for Einstein, Braque for Picasso, the Diaghilev circle for Stravinsky, Pound for Eliot, Horst for Graham, and Anasyra Sarabhai for Gandhi.

Gardner cites what he calls "the Faustian bargain" as the second theme which emerged unexpectedly during his research. This subject is much too complicated to be summarized in a review such as this. Suffice to note now that inorder to maintain their gifts and continue their work, the seven creators "went through behaviors or practices of a fundamentally superstitious, irrational, or compulsive nature," thereby sacrificing normal relationships with family members and friends. "The kind of bargain may vary, but the tenacity with which it is maintained seems consistent." I intend to keep these two themes in mind when I re-read this extraordinary book.

Howard Gardner's book The Unschooled Mind is an excellent source for teachers and administrators alike. It examines the different kinds of learners and how current educational practices are not addressing those learners. By reading this book, teachers and administrators will gain a better sense of cognitive development and can therefore design curriculum to best suit their students' needs. The Unschooled Mind is organized in a very pleasing format. There are three main sections. The first section tells about cognitive, psychological, and educational research, including the theory of multiple intelligences. In the second section, educational norms and institutions are discussed. The third section of the book gives suggestions for solutions and calls for educational reform. I especially enjoyed the format of the book because it sequences theory, practice, and reform. The main question addressed is why students do not master what they should be learning. Gardner states that educators have traditionally accepted rote and ritualistic learning. However, does this show genuine understanding? Even "successful" students often do not possess a deep sense of class material. Teachers need to take into account multiple intelligences and realize that not all students learn, solve problems, or undertake tasks in the same manner. People acquire knowledge in different ways. Studies have shown that children can master complex domains, but not those designed in school curriculums. It was so fascinating for me to read about developmental theorists and, especially, to compare the studies of Darwin and Piaget to modern research about brain development. Since society, education, and culture influence children as they grow, it is important for teachers to create meaningful learning experiences. A quote in the second section of the book completely intrigued me: "By the time the child has reached the age of seven or so, his development has become completely intertwined with the values and goals of the culture. (Gardner, chapter 5) It made me think of how my job as a teacher-in addition to the jobs of administrators, who design school curriculum-is so important. If educators, as experts, design school curriculum, they contribute to the understanding of learners. So how should knowledge be taught so that it provides that deep sense of understanding we seek? Reading the examples of content areas and students' understandings and interpretations of them was very interesting to me because it helped me to see the importance of constructing instructions well. It also helped me to see the great variety of understandings that students have and how to take those different understandings into account for assessment purposes. Education today calls for constructive, activity-centered learning (a la John Dewey). I know that my entire school day does not consist of strictly collaborative learning. Learning basic skills requires some drilling. I just need to find the best balance in my teaching. The Unschooled Mind helped me realize how important parents and teachers are to children's lives and how they need to take great care in creating meaningful learning experiences for their children.

I read this book a few years ago as part of a course in my Master's degree program. I had some familiarity with Gardner's work, mainly the seven intelligences. However, until an educator has read this book, the educator can not apply the seven intelligences in the class room or teach effectively.

My dad once told me that I never learn anything until I break something. I was 16 and had just wrecked my first car. I never crashed again. This is the concept behind Gardner's book. We learn from our experiences. We learn by applying knowledge in real life situation. Knowledge is not necessarily power, but it is part of the equation. After teaching concepts in my class with follow-up assignments which were real life activities/experiences, I saw test results improve and student interest increase dramatically. Students only want to learn what is useful to them so teachers must show subject matter to be relavent to the student's lives. Gardner explains how a students mind can grow through these means.

This is a great read even if you are a parent who want to explore how your child learns. Highly recommended!

I have read and re-read Unschooled Minds by Howard Gardner to better understand how my colleagues and me, as teachers, can better instruct our students with regard to each student's cognitive and skills abilities in mind.

Gardner's theory that each child contains several intelligences (i.e., mathematical/logistical, intrapersonal, interpersonal, kinesthetic, with one or more predominating) appears to be a viable thoery in my experiences as an instructor. This book has allowed me to understand why some children simply don't respond to the traditional ways of teaching. Reading this has reduced the frustration level for both me and my students, and has let me expand my methods and level of instruction. Since I also am in favor of apprenticeships for students (matching their skills w/ jobs) and taking risks, this book appealed to my own philosophies.

Possibly the best legacy of Gardner's teaching is that many children who would otherwise be left-for-dead instructionally are now being taught to good results using Gardner's methods, including my own.

Amnesia is the loss of memory, something that happenes to many with brain injury. What medicine does not understand is why the brain does what it does, what motives it. Gardner has put into words what many have tried but never done successfully: describe and relate the indescribeable and unrelateable. I was amnesic for over 16 years; recovery showed me about "self", identity, and reasons for our actions and thoughts. Gardner has expressed what I learned without having to have been amnesic. A must for anyone who wants to learn about personality, what it is, what impairments can do to one's personality.

"The Shattered Mind" was first published in 1975, and its usefulness has not diminished in the quarter century since then. Yes, there have been dramatic changes in the neurological sciences since that time, but because the book deals with the "basics," it is still as relevant and useful as when it was first published. Howard Gardner's tone is uniformly optimistic and up-beat without being saccharine, something that is probably greatly appreciated by those suffering a sudden brain injury and by their relatives. The book allows them to acquire useful factual information and it also encourages them to develop the more rare and desirable qualities of hope and optimism when facing their difficult times.

Gardner was given the MacArthur Prize Fellowship ("The Genius Award"), in part, for this book. There was a time in my life when I frequently had to deal with relatives of stroke victims, and it was this book that I most often recommended when I was asked for literature about brain injuries and their effect on the emotions and personalities of the victims. This book has done incalculable good to those needing a quick manual to allow them to understanding the brain and its functions.

The book manages to be scientifically rigorous while at the same time making its material easily accessible to any reasonably intelligent adult. There is no need to know neuroanatomy or neuropathology to enjoy the book. Its prose is compellingly easy, and the material is rendered with a story-teller's touch. Readers who have sampled the masterful work of neurologist Oliver Sacks ("The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat," "Awakenings" and many other books) will also treasure this one.

Having worked for America Online 6 years ago (right before that I worked at a restaurant by the murrah building in okc when it was blown up by mcveigh), I feel I have a pretty good perspective on this kind of stuff. Quoting Gasset "The mass crushes beneath it everything that is different, everything that is excellent, individual, qualified and select...anyone not like everybody runs the risk of being eliminated.."
The book in a sense tells about two types of people. Those who care about others, and those who care about themselves. Unfortunatly in a world where the competitive nature of man always leads to violence (be it physical, or of the subtle, mental sort) the bad will almost always win out. Having lost a number of friends (literally) due to the operant conditioned nature of life today, and through the media forcing kids to be "cool" to fit in (...)
Anyway, the issues presented in this book, which essentially are an argument against Skinner's promotion of "blank slate" minds that are to be conditioned through "experience", are good ones...however, if you truly understand that you can never, ever do enough to combat the hate and the evil that is so prevelant in the world today, you might want to not read this book...however, if you are aloof and like to buy products and watch movies that the critics agree are "explosive" and, if a sequal "twice as explosive as the first", you might find this book interesting...but probably a bit too academic, and will feel that it should be reserved for Intellectuals or whatever...(...), what do i know.

I was intrigued by the title of this book and really wanted to like it, but found myself struggling to stay focused while reading it.

The three contributing authors have impressive academic credentials and I suppose this work will be used in university classrooms throughout the country, but I think the people who really need to hear the message that technology, economics and ethics can (and should) co-exist will not be attracted to this format.

The authors define people who do good work as: "People who do good work, in our sense of the term, are clearly skilled in one or more professional realms. At the same time, rather than merely following money or fame alone, or choosing the path of least resistance when in conflict, they are thoughtful about their responsibilities and the implications of their work."

The authors spend a lot of time discussing Journalism and Genetics and how ethics and good work in these two arenas are under seige from a market-driven economy. They offer up solutions on how to restore good work to the world and they share their methods of studying good work and their interviewing protocols, but the subject matter is just too academic for the average worker who struggles with ethics v. economics.

Maybe the book will reach university professors...and they'll share it with their students...and they'll go out into the world and strive to do 'good work.'

Let's hope so.

I am a special education teacher and bought this book so I could better understand why some teachers refuse to give learning disabled a chance. I wanted to better understand how some teachers forget the commitment they have to the students they serve. Well, I wished I never read the book. I now understand why people are not commited to their jobs and why administrators asked teachers to "fake" paperwork. I felt lonely while reading this book, because I understand clearly that there are very few people willing to have ethics and excellence meet in their job performance. I am one of those few people and it is a lonely place. The book is a bit dry, much like a college text book. Read it slowly with a dictionary by your side.