INTROVERTED TEACHER


I am socially awkward and after taking several online personality quizzes and doing some additional research, I have concluded that I am an introvert. I appreciate my time alone. I prefer to hang out with one to two friends instead of being at large social events. I do not typically call people, but always welcome phone calls. I prefer texting and getting to the point, yet despise lengthy text exchanges. I am even quiet around my family when there is no third-person-buffer to fill in the conversation that I don’t provide.

How does this translate to teaching? Teaching is a major social and energy-draining job. I am expected to collaborate with my colleagues, present lessons in front of 20 plus students,  contribute in meetings, and even  turnkey information to peers. The easiest of these tasks, socially speaking, is teaching my students. This is possibly because their judgements aren’t as significant to me as my peers' and superiors'. Attempting to participate in small talk when walking down the hall or while waiting for a meeting to begin is a chore for me. I embrace the students who are loners when they eat their lunch in my classroom, because I understand their need for peace and isolation. But, I’m not the best when it comes to conversing with them unless they lead the conversation. For some reason, once the class is dismissed and I am alone, I revert to my former self in the isolation of my classroom.

 Early in my teaching career, someone referred to teaching as having an alter ego, and I absolutely agree. The person that I am as a teacher is not who I am in my personal life. As a teacher, you are forced to be sociable, energetic, and engaging. The true me enjoys isolation and intimate settings. I enjoy being around people who won’t be put off by my silence.  I love when people aren't alarmed or concerned when I do not leave my home for an entire weekend because my home is the most comfortable place to be. This alter ego is the reason why I am drained when I get home from work. It takes a lot to be sociable when it isn’t an inherent quality. Teaching takes me out of my social comfort zone, but it is has helped me develop those skills and apply them to other settings.  

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