Howard Gardner, multiple intelligences and education

"I want my children to understand the world, but not just because the world is fascinating and the human mind is curious. I want them to understand it so that they will be positioned to make it a better place. Knowledge is not the same as morality, but we need to understand if we are to avoid past mistakes and move in productive directions. An important part of that understanding is knowing who we are and what we can do... Ultimately, we must synthesize our understandings for ourselves. The performance of understanding that try matters are the ones we carry out as human beings in an imperfect world which we can affect for good or for ill." (Howard Gardner 1999: 180-181)

To me morality is very important although in the world today morality is a subjective and a relative thing more so than before. And just as religion means different thing to different people, morality is important to understand in order for us to have a more harmonious world. Separate isolationists and elitists world does not work anymore. We are a living in a village where everyone is in close proximity wheather we like it or not. Although far separated geographically our individual impact is far reaching. Therefore the need to understand each other and what each other is thinking is essential for better relations and cooperations.