#I totally didn't skim a scholarly article trying to find specifics about nineteenth century school days just to answer this ask

[little-peril-stories]

Hi, Kate! I have a TQOL/TPOT back-to-school ask for you today! We know Will was far from the best student, but we also know there are many different types of intelligence (visual, spatial, logical, interpersonal, etc.) So which one would be Will's? And going off that, what would be Breanna/Bree's? How do they complement each other? (Bonus question: Is there anything Will actually enjoyed about school? Other than leaving? 😅)

You are so sweet it hurts. 💕 How'd you manage to time this ask to arrive in my inbox on my first full day of classes with all my students?! Thank you so much for sending this!!

Also, what a lovely question! I will be talking about multiple intelligences with my one class probably next week. 😂 I'm using Howard Gardner's theory to answer. :) tl;dr above the read more, rambling below.

Will - bodily-kinesthetic, naturalistic, interpersonal

*Bree/Breanna - linguistic-verbal, intrapersonal, *bodily-kinesthetic

Where do Will's strengths lie? Probably largely in the bodily-kinesthetic area. I suspect he, especially as a kid, was maybe a bit clumsy, but that probably had more to do with being reckless rather than actual clumsiness. I think he would also score high in naturalistic intelligence. He's a pretty outdoorsy guy and it kills him to be locked up inside all the time. 😭 I would also (bear with me, it sounds crazy because he can be such a pain in the ass) that he is actually relatively high in interpersonal intelligence, but he just doesn't use it the right way. He's great at reading people, but instead of using it to, idk, help them like a counsellor or teacher would, he (sometimes….often….) uses it to piss them off.

And Bree/Breanna! She scores well in linguistic-verbal intelligence, although she clearly prefers the written word (I'm thinking of Bree's letter, Breanna's interest in joining the literary society) to the spoken one (WHAT DO YOU MEAN I HAVE TO TALK TO THIS GUY AFTER A YEAR FUCK THAT I'M RUNNING IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION). I'm giving her some points for intrapersonal intelligence, since Bree is usually pretty in touch with her feelings - whether she acknowledges or acts upon them, though, is another story. And, for Bree C. particularly, I think we can argue that there's some bodily-kinesthetic intelligence there (I'm thinking of her becoming so proficient at pickpocketing, etc. in such a short time), although perhaps not to the extent of Will's. I also think she would score okay in interpersonal intelligence, if not extremely high.

How do they complement one another? Other than a lifetime of her teaching him words he doesn't understand? 😅 Okay, I'm kidding...sort of. I really do love the idea of (...when life has calmed down and they can just live and be and enjoy being together) the two of them constantly learning from each other. (gross I'm such a teacher lol.) She teaches him a word; he knows all the best spots to go for a walk to hear the birds and feel the breeze. He can teach her all the IA tricks he's got up his sleeve, and over time, at least with her, he becomes better at recognizing his emotions, too.

I absolutely have this very silly moment living in my brain with him and Breanna H., where they're just outside somewhere and he shows her how to get a bird to eat out of her hand or something, a thing she's never done before, and it's just so goofy and cute and pointless and it so doesn't fit anywhere but it lives in my noggin regardless. 💕

In school, Will enjoyed: the walk there and back, lunch and recess, and finding creative ways to piss off the schoolmaster/schoolmarm. I actually love the idea of Little Will having a teacher he legitimately liked at some point in his life who was so determined to get him to do well and to actually try and care about his learning... Whether or not they succeeded, well, idk, you decide.

Oh! One of the resources I read about 1800s schooling mentioned the pupils doing jobs in the schoolhouse. Will hates chores, cleaning, etc., but one of the job was bringing in firewood. He probably didn't mind that one. 😅 It gets you outside for a bit and bonus if you can find a bug to sneak onto someone's desk...