Principal Leadership, Volume 4, Issue 7 (3/1/2004). pp. 28-33.
Language:
English
Abstract:
Personality type concepts have been introduced at Anwatin Middle School, an urban middle school in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where nearly two-thirds of the students receive reduced price or free lunches. In Anwatin's diverse climate--approximately 70% of Anwatin's students are students of color, mostly Black and Hmong--looking at personality preferences focuses on individual strengths and preferences for learning instead of cultural or ethnic assumptions. At Anwatin, teachers are provided with hands-on, personality-type exercises and lesson plans that allow them to experience the different personality styles in their classrooms. This experience has shown that in schools that have incorporated personality type concepts into the classroom, nearly 80% of the students who are identified as either academically or behaviorally "at risk" had preferences for extraversion and perceiving. This suggests that perhaps it is the school structures--rather than the students--that are often the source of the problem for at-risk students. The overarching goal in using personality type theory is to help students and teachers understand themselves and each other. Although students can learn to use their less-preferred personality preferences, educators should remember that it is easier for teachers to adjust their styles than for adolescents to adjust theirs. (Contains 1 figure.)