Uniqueness

 

I find it really interesting that in Social Work we talk so often about everyone being an individual and we look at people’s strengths whereas when we are children in school, we are expected from a young age to fit into a specific box and be able to do Maths and English for example.

When I was in a training session this week, they had set a multiple intelligence survey for us to complete before the next session that is usually used with children to establish what areas they are smart in. It refers to 8 different things, all of which bring in the different aspects of someone’s personality so if you are really good at music you would be seen as music smart or if you are really good at Maths you would be math or logic smart. I like the approach that this takes because I feel that it recognises that everyone has their own strengths, and it is not the same for everyone.

They say that anyone who completes it will have 3 areas that stand out for them and that’s what happened with me. I was not surprised at all by the 3 that came up highest for me. Mine were Math, Interpersonal and Verbal. Anyone who knows me knows that I am very chatty which is shown here in the Verbal smart, I also feel this is helpful for my role because I speak with different people from different walks of life all day. I interact with people I support but also carers, care homes and medical colleagues. I do find that the way I speak when I am being professional is completely different to what I am like when I speak with colleagues, and this comes from the comfort level I have with them. Interpersonal talks about relationship building which is another one that I use daily because it is an important part of my role. I also find that this manifests itself in my personal life because I am the kind of person who will strike up a conversation with a stranger and leave as a friend sometimes. I remember once I met someone on a train platform and the train was delayed, we chatted whilst we were waiting and remained friends for years. We live some distance apart now but are still friends on social media.

The third one for me was math or logic smart and this was my strongest subject at school, and it shows in my life currently because I enjoy logic puzzles, sudokus and escape rooms. I was fortunate at school because I was good at Maths, and I did okay in English, so I fit into the box in one way or another but for people who are more artistic or creative their amazing skills are not recognised as much because they are not seen as the desirable skills. If the pandemic has taught us anything it is that when we are left to our own devices with a lot more time on our hands it’s artistic or creative things, we reach for such as music, films, arts, and crafts. I think creative ventures are undervalued in society; people will question why they have to pay for a photographer when people can take photos on their phone. You are paying for their skills, the time they have spent learning and the equipment they have that they will use to create something incredible not just the image itself.

I found this activity really interesting to do because although the results were what I expected they reminded me that I am unique and the questions that are asked in this survey will mean completely different things to people and that is incredible. It would be a boring world to live in if everyone was the same and we wouldn’t have some of the incredible things that exist if people weren’t talented in different areas and willing to share these talents.

If you want to have a go at the survey yourself here is the link: https://www.rcsdk12.org/cms/lib/NY01001156/Centricity/Domain/9842/Multiple%20Intelligence%20Survey.pdf

I would love to hear what 3 areas scored highest for you 😊