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ONLINE ARTICLES
Celebrating Multiple Intelligences, Community in Yokosuka, Japan
By Steve Parker 01-Oct-11
MIME Festival activities included Japanese cultural classes, as well as some old standbys (photos: Steve Parker). Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan—The Sullivans School held its ninth annual Multiple Intelligence Festival last May, to the delight of students, parents, host nation presenters, and teachers. This year’s festival included students from Ikego Elementary and Richard E. Byrd Elementary, who took a field trip down to Sullivans to enjoy the festivities. Commonly referred to as the MIME Festival, this yearly celebration of the educational theories of Dr. Howard Gardner has grown into an international cultural and recreational festival that is a highlight of the Sullivans School year. The festival is the brainchild of Dr. Andre Elliott, a former teacher at Sullivans who has since moved on but left a wonderful legacy behind him. Dr. Howard Gardner is a psychologist at Harvard University. His theory of multiple intelligences states that not only do human beings have many different ways to learn and process information, but these methods are independent of each other, leading to multiple “intelligences.” Gardner lists the seven intelligences as linguistic, logic-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. This year‘s festival highlights included a guitar demonstration by Michael Symonette, who teaches several instruments at Yokosuka Community Center, and a rousing demonstration of the up-and-coming sport of Roller Derby presented by Yokosuka’s own hometown team of all-female skaters, The Sushi Rollers. The perennial favorite, Taiko Drumming, was presented by Ms. Kathy Korcal, a Taiko instructor at the Community Center and Kosui, a local Taiko Drumming family group. Our host nation contributed a hip-hop dance class from Hana Japan, while the Sparkling Spurs, a Japanese country and western dance group, taught the children line dancing formations. Many Japanese cultural classes were taught by members of the Yokosuka International Association, Sullivans host nation teachers, and others. The Pumehana Hula Group performed Hawaiian dances, and the USNH Health Promotion Department set up a fitness circuit for students; Shellanie Ferrer and Laura Batista presented Zumba and Salsa classes, while Bethany Metzger taught American Sign Language. In all, close to 200 presenters performed all day long in almost 40 different presentations, at 16 different venues all over the Yokosuka naval base! The Festival Committee would like to thank all the individuals and community agencies who supported the festival, as well as the entire Sullivans School community.
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10/25/2011 - Dr. Elliott
I am the founder of the MiMe festival. I am writing to express appreciation to Tamara Choate and Manami Mikami, two of the teachers who were there at Sullivans when the festival became an all day event several years ago. We are greatly indebted to many individuals who embody the spirit of the festival which aims to inspire and inform students to become what they see within themselves. I tip my hat to Steve Parker, the teacher at the Sullivans School, who knowing that I would eventually relocate, positioned himself to ensure that the MiMe festival will endure for many years to come.
