Today is another holiday, but it does not
require the planning needed as for the holidays. It is World Introvert Day and the joke is
that everyone celebrates this all by themselves. Ha, ha.
I love this day of reflection and focus on
introverts. I am an introvert and I work
in an environment that favors extroverts.
No problem on most days. There
are times, however, when my extroverted colleagues do not understand how
mentally draining constant, engaging interaction can be to us introverts. We make up 25-50% of the US population
according to Psychology
Today. As an adult, I have learned
to cope with overwhelming interactions, but our students may not understand how to do
so.
Last March, Edutopia posted an informative
article about how to help our introverted students in a world of collaborative education. Introvert-Friendly
Cooperative Learning has some great strategies to consider. It reminds me to be cognizant of students who
hesitate to work with a new lab group or who shy away from group quizzes. As my classroom is set up in tables that face
each other, I demand that students work in groups. Today as World Introvert Day is a good
reminder for me to consider how I would like to be a student in my own
classroom.
A final thought: the Ted Talk on “The
Power of Introverts” is also helpful for teachers when considering our “quieter”
students.
Happy World Introvert Day!
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