Once upon a time I was going to be a secondary English teacher, where I would spend my days in a classroom attempting to get a group of hormonal teenagers to care about dead writers. As an English teacher, the way I would grade these kids would be entirely different than how they are graded in math, science or a foreign language. Regardless of what subject it is, however, the same feeling comes over a student as the teacher walks by with a recently graded tests. The heart picks up a bit, a drop of sweat rolls down your forehead and a sudden lack of oxygen comes over you as you wait for your time to come. In high school, so much pressure is put on grades. Even in college, scholarship money depends on your grades and yet most jobs won’t even look at your transcript. So why are grades so important? Does a letter really define your intelligence?

Albert Einstein said, “Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is dumb.” That is what is wrong with grades. They test you on one aspect of learning and usually education is catered towards one type of intelligence. In reality, there are nine types of intelligence.

1. Naturalistic intelligence

Someone who observes, understands and organizes patterns in the natural environment. Plants and animals are these people’s thing. Henry David Thoreau is considered to have this type of intelligence for his many months in nature.

2. Musical intelligence

You know people who can pick up any instrument and master it in a matter of days? Famous people like this are Stevie Wonder and Justin Bieber.

3. Logical-Mathematic intelligence

Math and science people, you all are great at deductive reasoning, detecting patterns and logical thinking. Sir Isaac Newton is someone who be considered to have this intelligence.

4. Existential intelligence

Philosophers of the world or people who have the sensitivity and capacity to tackle deep problems. It is no surprise that Socrates and Buddha are among those who have this type of intelligence.

5. Interpersonal intelligence

Those people that are just good with people? That’s this intelligence, and they have the ability to identify the needs and wants of those who surround them. Bill Gates and Eleanor Roosevelt are a couple examples.

6. Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence

These people have mastered how to use the human body. Kobe Bryant, Paul Konerko and all athletes arguably have this type of intelligence.

7. Linguistic intelligence

Similar to the music people, this describes those who pick up languages really easily, and are creative writers— anyone who has been told that they "have a way with words." Most authors would be put into this category.

8. Intra-Personal intelligence

This describes the people who are self-aware of their emotions, motivations, beliefs and goals. Gandhi, MLK and Bob Marley are all considered to have Intra-Personal Intelligence.

9. Spatial intelligence

This describes people who can visualize with their mind’s eye and they have great spatial judgment. Leonardo Da Vinci is an example.

Although I may not be an education major anymore, I am still aware of how schools grade and how detrimental that can be to some students. Everyone is born with a certain set of skills and abilities and my smart may not look like my friend’s smart. In the coming weeks, as finals start and the stress slowly weaves its way into your life, remember that grades aren’t a measure of intelligence. However, when I once made this argument on Facebook my mother posed the very good question of, “Who will pay for college if you get bad grades?”