Intelligence is something highly valued in our society. I first learned of this in my elementary years. Teachers fawned over the students who showed high capability academic-wise. And looking back now, there were a bit of favoritism for the same students who always made consistent placements in the top 10 highest grades of the class.
As I moved on from school to school and eventually to a university, I have come to learn and appreciate the different kinds of intelligence people possess. I have seen those who excelled in the athletic field and move and push their body in ways I could never accomplish. There are those who have a certain way with words and people, just seemingly able to convince and smooth talk strangers into seeing their views. There are number wizards who can decipher problems that span as long as a short paragraph.
As I got more exposed to different people. I got to see all the different ways that people contribute to our society. And just how limiting it was for our small elementary school to so many of the students. Like many children, they were influenced into thinking there is only one form of being smart, and that was achieved through perfecting all quizzes and exams. Those who were given unique gifts, not aligned with what teachers saw as valuable, were unfortunate enough to be in a environment that stifled them and did not allow them to flourish.
But out of all these different kinds of intelligence and how much society values those who can excel academic-wise, perhaps we forgot an equally and perhaps more valuable trait in common sense. As a kid, I was comfortable solving random Sibika-related questions than cooking a sunny side up egg. The more practical knowledge would come to me at a later time.
There are so many people who can contribute to society in their own unique ways. We have smart people, smart enough to rise high to prestigious positions in society but fail to recognize people of different genders as people. Despite the advancement of society as a whole, there still exists a number of people who refuse to see women as equals. And the vulnerable people of society in the forms of children and disabled people who continue to be exploited.
No matter how smart we become, how much tests and quizzes we ace, how smart are we truly if we still harm other people in society. Just as many of us work hard to improve our knowledge, our basic sense of humanity is also one that must always be honed through kind acts which must always be expected from an able and living person. **
