The New Smart: How Nurturing Creativity Will Help Children Thrive

For teacher and novelist Roberts (director, National Padeia Ctr., NC; A Short Time To Stay Here), creativity, not traditional IQ, is key to thriving in the 21st century. Basing his work largely on the research of Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner, who wrote this book’s foreword and pioneered the study of multiple intelligences (the idea that intelligence is fluid, multifaceted, and evolves over the course of one’s life), Roberts here attempts to profile personalities that will prosper in the next century: ambitious but not self-obsessed, resilient—a symphonic blend of multiple intelligences. Roberts proposes how schools can foster the new “smart” by nurturing the habits of reflection and action and utilizing project-based learning. The ideal teacher is a coach leading the work and allowing each student to personalize their studies, bringing their own imagination and passion to the classroom.