Photo By:Miguelb
I’d rather sit alone or with one person at a quiet lake than be with one hundred people at a hipster bar. I understand the introverts in my classroom well. They need time and space alone to process. They need often need more covert ways (back channels, one-on-one meetings etc.) to contribute and demonstrate understanding. They especially need teachers to stop telling their parents they need to “participate more in class.”
What I don’t understand in an intuitive way are extroverts. The way they are so visibly “on” all the time and their need to talk to a million people all at once makes my stomach turn. When I interact with them, I want to say, “Hey you don’t have to tell me everything and wear a sparkly suit, I can observe about half of what is going on without you saying a word.”
Sometimes however we have to become (or at least hang out with) an extrovert to really understand them. I wish I could say I was writing this post from ISTE12. But I let the introvert get the better of me. Last year when I attended I nearly combusted from all the interaction. There was no time or place to recharge (oh boo…hoo). So I decided not to go this year. In retrospect, ISTE11 was a great start to my journey to better incorporating extroverts into my lesson planning.
Part of becoming a better teacher often means getting over ourselves and doing things that make us uncomfortable. So, if you are an introvert at ISTE12, take time to recharge alone, but don’t let fear and who you perceive yourself to be, stand in the way of interacting and learning from the non-introverts around who surround you.
Love this!!!
Katie,
As an introvert at ISTE12 I can tell you that I do seek out those spaces and I do feel overwhelmed at times. That’s the beauty of these online spaces, they allow me to pull away, yet still be connected.
I hope I get to see you at educon or ISTE13, perhaps you and I can go hide somewhere together.
Nice post. Well said.
Tony! You are by far my favorite introvert. You have an amazing ability to be comfortably introverted in a crowd. It was your session back at Educon that got me thinking about this topic in the first place. It really changed how I structured things in my classroom. Hope to see you before ISTE13.
Now go find some good hiding spots!
Wow! You have captured the way I have always felt at conferences – and many other places (and never really could articulate). Having spent over 20 years in education as a teacher and then administrator, I was always comfortable interacting with people and felt the atmosphere in a school/school district environment suited me well. I, too, recognized this need in some students when I taught. Yet, I only recently figured out the aspects of my work where I felt a disconnect – generally at conferences and in meetings where there was little to no time allotted for the type of quiet processing and mulling I needed. (I also felt that way in my last student experience during my doctoral program; the constant group work and producing projects with limited individual ‘think time’ was a killer).
I am not at ISTE this year either (but not because I chose not to attend; just did not work out), but your post has given me something to contemplate for the next conference I attend. Thanks so much!
Great post.
My Gemini-ness comes out when at places like conferences. I think I want the hipster bar routine, but when I get there, I usually stand alone and watch the others. I like to feel that I am included, but when I am, I would rather sit on the side and watch. Or, I get there and I feel that I am part of the group, but not part of the conversations. And listening to some of the conversations, I don’t know if I want to be
And, the hipster bar scene was cool/fun when I was 24, but now, I would rather get a small group together at a brew pub and chill/talk/drink. Maybe I am less introvert than just old 
One way I found to help mix in some extrovert time into my introvert conference experience is to PRESENT a session! That has totally helped me in a lot of ways. Being the forced center of attention is exciting/excruciating/GREAT! Not only does it help me get more comfortable in previously uncomfortable situations, it looks good in the eyes of the boss (and potential bosses).
Glad it resonated. It’s always nice to find out I’m not alone in some of my feelings. You should also check out this post and generally all posts from Tony Baldasaro
Yes, you could just be getting old.
The presenter route is an interesting thought. For me, it’s the actual interacting with people that “crosses my wires.” If I’m up giving a talk, I’m nervous for other reasons, not because I’m an introvert. It is a good thing to think about though…how to take baby steps towards being/understanding extroverts. I tend to apply a sink or swim, jump in with both feet approach.
Katie I missed seeing you at ISTE this year; your feelings resonate with me as well, I have challenged myself to network and share, but it is draining. If you were in San Diego last week, most often you would have found me re-charging: both literally and figuratively (my 4G phone simply would not hold a charge). I used to feel guilty going off by myself to process and unwind, but over the years I have grown more comfortable intentionally taking time out to “re-charge ” and reflect. I like that you are thinking about how you can maximize your learning from others, I have never really thought much about it-I just knew I needed more than my own little corner:-)
Cathy,
I’m always amazed to hear how many introverts there are out there. I think it is a life long challenge to understand the balance of recharging and hiding. On the one hand I know I need to recharge. At the same time, there is a point when the battery is full and fear is what is keeping me in the corner.
I think the introverted leader and learner is going to continue to be an interesting conversation into the future. So much of my teacher preparation focused on creating visibly active students. Social media and its acceptance as in learning models may just bring the golden age for the introvert.