Thinking about my personality, I tend to think that I am more of an extrovert. But, I do have a lot of times where I believe I am an introvert also.
Most people who know me would say I am an extrovert because I love to work with people and talk! I am involved in many activities such as coaching sports, playing sports, and volunteering because I always want to be around people. I have recently moved back to the city because I like the all the different people and action that is going on. I really enjoy different social events and will get bored when I do not have something planned. I tend to live my life by diving right into things and choosing experiences with others over having alone time. I am a person that thrives off of taking risks and I make decisions quickly.
Now there are times where I may seem that I am an introvert. There are days that I do like to have to myself because I don't do that often. I also may come off as an introvert if I don't know you that well. I do tend to be more quiet when you first meet me because I like to observe and decide if I'm going to come out of my shell.
As an educator, I need to make sure that I am reaching, respecting and appreciating my students being both introverts and extroverts. I need to realize that a quiet classroom is necessary to have during parts of the day, so that students can use that time to think and focus. I also plan to set up my desks different ways throughout the year instead of always putting them in groups. If I put my desks in rows or have the option of an individual spot, I will reach those introverts. Having different sharing options will also reach both students. I will mix it up with partners, groups, recording with technology, whole group, etc. This way I will reach all student's comfort level of sharing. In first grade, we do a lot of group and partner work. I want to implement more opportunities to work independently first and then move to group work so again I am giving both introverts and extroverts their needs. I think it is important for both introverts and extroverts to be put in their uncomfortable situations to learn how to work through them, but I need to balance it for both personality types instead of leading my classroom for mainly extroverts.
