For those of you who have stuck by us over the past three years, you may have struggled with me as I attempted to maneuver my way through the Spanish educational system. For one year, I eagerly taught English to five year olds in a small Catholic school in Barcelona before joining Catavino full-time. Renowned for its alternative education, the school gained its notoriety based on a methodology it employed called, the Theory of Multiple Intelligence, which also happened to be the main crux behind my master’s thesis in education. Created by Howard Gardner, the theory states that we as humans have a wide range of abilities, or intelligences, that are neither utilized nor nurtured. But through interactive and dynamic learning, where all intelligences are acted upon, we have the ability to truly excel and reach our highest potential.

Let’s bring this down to layman’s terms. Old school methodology that you and I experienced throughout our youth was based on one directional learning. Put another way, your traditional static website, which simply provides information without dialogue. Basically your “I’m the expert, so you must believe what I say” principle. While, the Multiple Intelligence Theory says that learning needs to be hand’s on, interactive, dynamic and conversational - translating to web 2.0 or social networking. Learning now becomes a relationship between the student and the material, where the student can play and manipulate the information.

Now, although the school was an administrative disaster, their intentions were honorable, and the children were able to learn incredible lessons, like the art of winemaking. For two months, these children were immersed in lessons ranging from math (10 grapes minus 6 grapes) to music (create a song from stomping on grapes), which also included …