Group projects. Icebreakers. Participation grades. (Sigh).
If you’re an introvert like me, you probably dread one (or all) of these things. Yet, these elements are becoming more and more important in our education system in the United States. As we turn towards an increasingly communal culture, Socratic discussions, group work, and other collaborative activities seem to be on the rise in our schools. Now, I’m not saying these elements are bad. On the contrary, excellent communication and teamwork skills are essential to success in any company and in any field. Still, if group work continues to taking up larger and larger portions of students’ grades, it begs the question: Are introverts at a disadvantage?
By nature, we introverts find energy from within ourselves rather than social encounters and other outside stimulations. This doesn’t mean we’re necessarily shy or anti-social. We just generally prefer quieter, more low-key environments. Call me a loner, but I’d rather read a book than go to a party, for example.
Sadly, our school systems often seem stacked against this kind of behavior. They constantly pressure students to raise their hands, ask questions in front of the class, and join in group discussions. If they don’t, their grades often suffer for it. One common misconception which arises from this argument is that introverts are simply too afraid to speak up. On the contrary, they often don’t sense the need to sound off in large groups. They’d rather express their classroom engagement in other ways, such as by having more intimate conversations with individual peers or exploring ideas further through independent study. In fact, forcing introverts to continually engage in group work in school may have adverse effects. As an article in Forbesmagazine states, “Although learning how to work together is an essential skill, it can’t justify forcing youth to work in ways that are detrimental to their learning style. Forcing students to work in ways they find overwhelming can inhibit personal growth, development, and can also lead to many missed opportunities and potential innovations.”
So, why do we keep insisting that introverts conform to this education style? Certainly, one answer seems to be that education developments align with general social trends. Our society continues to stress the importance of collaboration and to work towards a greater connectivity domestically as well as globally. Still, a more important answer may be not so obvious. In an interview for The Guardian, Susan Cain, author of the book The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, argues, “In a way, education by its nature favors the extrovert because you are taking kids and putting them into a big classroom, which is automatically going to be a high-stimulation environment…So, school ends up becoming this place where introverted kids learn that they have to act like extroverts.” (As an aside, if you haven’t done so before, I highly recommend watching her TED talk “The Power of Introverts.” It’s one of my favorite TED talks of all time. She’s an especially compelling speaker, and her presentation’s very applicable even if you’re not an introvert).
With this in mind, there doesn’t appear to be an easy solution to the issue. Perhaps, though, we could start by penalizing students less for not performing behaviors which naturally contradict their inherent nature. What do you think?
Sources
https://pldlamplighter.org/articles/opinion/2018/03/30/do-schools-favor-extroverts/
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This is a great topic to cover. As an ambivert I totally understand where you’re coming from, I have days where I want to be fully immersed in my surroundings and others where I just want to fade into the background. I agree with the fact that society is going more towards collaboration, but I think that’s because more minds working towards one goal, tends to bring bigger, better and faster results. Having the group work aspect in the classroom allows kids to prepare for what it’s like in the real world because there are very few professions that require little to no collaboration. I also love the TedTalk you included, I’ve watched it before, for another class, but I loved it. It definitely speaks to a wide range of people.
This was very interesting and I totally agree. I am very much an ambivert, so I don’t have this issue too much, but whenever I have to learn in w ay that isn’t audial, I have such a difficult time and it really hinders me. I never thought about the fact that this same type of thing can be true for introverted personality types. I am very curious about this now and I really hope to check in on your blog some more to learn about how introverts like do things in today’s society.
I do feel myself being an introvert so I definitely see where you are coming and I love my alone time, but I also understand why the education system stresses group work and participation. However, I do feel that one could learn a lot just from listening rather than participating though. For instance, since I’m more comfortable listening instead of speaking I can actually focus on what is actually being discussed instead of feeling pressured or anxious to have to speak or participate or feel like I’m going to be called on. I feel like we could definitely start to penalize students less for not participating in a way that teachers want them to; as long as the students are engaged and as long as there is some participation (obvi there’s going to be some extroverts in almost every classroom) it shouldn’t matter.
What a great blog! The topic is so interesting, yet so overlooked. I love how you included personal anecdotes, as well as professional statements to add to the overall authority of this topic. Coming from a big family, with many different personalities, I completely agree that introverts are at a disadvantage in an education system that rewards students who raise their hand more often and enjoy speaking up in class. I definitely want to read more of your posts to see what you discuss next. Do you have any ideas on how to change the current problem in the education system?