Identifying And Developing Talents
All people are good at something. The problem is, sometimes, it’s hard to know what each person excels at. So it is important that the children from small, identifying what your strengths to enhance them properly. In other words, it is necessary to help them to identify and develop their talents so that, in this way, they grow up happy and feeling fulfilled.
But do you know what we mean when we talk about talent? Over the years, many authors have addressed this subject and formulated different definitions of this concept. In this article, we’ll focus on Howard Gardner’s vision.
What is talent?
According to psychologist Howard Gardner, talent can be defined as:
Furthermore, according to Gardner, human talents are developed based on eight areas or intellectual capabilities:
- Linguistics : ease of writing, learning languages, using language to achieve certain goals, expressing thoughts and opinions, etc.
- Spatial : ability to recognize and manipulate patterns and large spaces as well as smaller spaces.
- Musical : facility to interpret, compose and learn musical patterns.
- Bodily or kinesthetic : ability to use the body as a means to solve problems or create products.
- Logic and Mathematics : ability to analyze and solve problems through logic and research in a scientific way.
- Naturalist : facility to distinguish, classify and use elements (objects, animals, plants and minerals) from the environment, urban or rural.
- Intrapersonal : facility to understand oneself, knowing one’s own desires, fears and strengths, using this information to regulate life effectively.
- Interpersonal : ability to understand others, understanding other people’s intentions, motivations and desires.
Thus, some children demonstrate an ability to solve math problems, while others excel in verbal communication, others in sports, others in social skills, etc.
They all have a talent, as they are prone to do something well. But it is necessary to train and hone these special skills through education at home and at school so that they are optimally developed.
Identify and develop talents
It is important to highlight that talent arises from a combination of four factors:
- Genetic dispositions.
- Experiences lived in the family, school and social context.
- Interests and motivations.
- Learning style.
Parents and teachers need to keep this in mind and watch children carefully, looking for the specific intellectual skills or abilities they tend to show or practice more often and with better results.
Once the talents of the little ones are identified, they should be promoted through work, encouragement and reinforcement, but without forgetting fun. In this way, talent can grow while children hone skills, aptitudes, interests and motivations.
Likewise, it is necessary that, little by little, they become aware of their abilities, recognizing and understanding their own strengths, so that they can develop their own talent autonomously and independently, making efforts and being persevering.
