Family Matters
Intelligence is more than just being good at math
By Ka'ohua Lucas
Each of us knows of someone who we can point to and say, "So-and-so is really smart!"
We usually refer to someone who succeeds academically.
We may have a cousin who went off to Harvard, a niece who knows her ABCs — and she's only 2 years old — or a father who is a successful lawyer.
According to Webster's Dictionary, an intelligent person is someone "who has a good understanding or high mental capacity or someone who is quick to understand."
I have a few of these people in my 'ohana, and they have no qualms in letting me know.
"Hey, son," I began as I was driving home with my 11-year-old. "You really do enjoy math worksheets, don't you? I don't know too many kids your own age that thrive on that."
"Yeah, I really do like 'um," he said unabashedly. "Today, I had a test and out of 50 problems I had only one wrong."
"So when would you say is the best time of day for you to do academic work? Mom functions best in the morning, while your dad works best late at night."
He sat staring out the passenger window, contemplating. "Well, to tell you the truth, I'm pretty awesome the whole day, but I peak at about 12 noon."
I looked at him out of the corner of my eye to see if he was teasing, but he was very serious.
In Hawaiian culture, intelligence was perceived as all-encompassing — the mind, the body and the spirit.
As Hawaiian scholar and educator Manu Meyer writes, "Notions of intelligence are tied to the universe. An intelligent Hawaiian knows her directions, he knows how to feed his family, she is connected to her elders, he develops his essence, she cultivates her spiritual insight, he understands his environment. An intelligent Hawaiian is a balanced person connected to all that was before him."
My 11-year-old is academically gifted.
But this is only part of the whole package.
For Meyer's dissertation, she interviewed the late George Kanahele, and this is what he had to say about intelligence:
"I've always felt that it is not about one's mathematical ability, you know, scientific ... the way we define IQ, but it's also about one's emotional capacity to relate to each other, about one's aesthetic capacity to appreciate what's out there; it's also to commune with forces beyond us."
My 7-year-old seems to have developed his appreciation for and understanding of the elements that surround him.
"Mommy, look at the fish! They are swimming against the water," he said. We were visiting Waikalua Loko Fishpond in Kane'ohe.
"You certainly are observant," I said. "Why do you think the fish are doing that?"
"I don't know, but it looks cool. There must be a reason why they want to go into the fishpond even though the water is pushing them away."
"You're right," I said. "For some reason, they seem to be attracted to the current."
Those of us who have children of our own know that each one is intelligent perhaps in a different way.
As parents, it is up to us to stimulate their interest and imagination and provide them with experiences.
Go ahead, I dare you to do something unconventional with your child.
Take a moonlight swim, plant an impossible garden, build a fort with blankets or watch a snail as it makes its way through the morning dew.
Mary Kawena Pukui, Hawaiian scholar and educator, had it right: "'A'ohe pau ka halau ho'okahi." ("All knowledge is not taught at the same school.")
Ka'ohua Lucas has an 18-year-old daughter and two sons, 11 and 7. She holds a master's degree in education curriculum and instruction, and works as an educational consultant on Hawaiian curriculum. Write: Family Matters, 'Ohana Section, The Honolulu Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802; e-mail ohana@honoluluadvertiser.com or fax 535-8170.
