You're my crack of sunlight.

Chelsey Hann

Instructional Technology

Dr. Shellie Gutierrez

August 18, 2011

I become frustrated a lot. I knew it was a part of my personality to want to teach others how to find themselves in this world, and how to have their own moral code that matches my own, all the while exploring the world that is out there; but I did not realize how much that characteristic defined my personality until I took the Keirsey Temperament test.  The Kiersey test defined my temperament as Idealist.  Idealists, in general, love to contemplate themselves and their own personal growth, as well as the growth and development of the people around them. We as Idealists see things in black and white, right and wrong. I immediately felt a connection with the report while I was reading it, it described me almost perfectly!  Reading further through the report, it said that Idealists are kind of rare, only making up about twenty percent of the population, which gave me reassurance that I was not always requesting too much of people, but rather that we’re just different personalities and see the world in a different way. I am okay with this concept, but I am still working on how to incorporate that knowledge into my daily life, how do I go into a classroom and teach a body of students who do not think as I do? With love and lots of patience, hopefully. The MI Learning Styles test was a little confusing for me, seeing as how a lot of the numbers matched very closely to one another. Maybe it is trying to tell me that I do not have a particular learning style that I prefer best, but that I do have some that I do not like at all (Naturalistic was only a 26%). Linguistics and Music were my highest levels, with Music at a 45%, and Linguistic at a 43%. Mathematics and Kinesthetic followed closely behind, both with a 39%. I think the test was pretty accurate, I love to read, I talk with my hands, I love putting anything together with my hands (or taking it apart),  and currently while writing this paper I’m listening to Pandora Radio. Most people that know me well would disagree with the mathematics as I have never done well in a math class, but I do love logic, and I think I just find math classes lacking in challenge and importance.  The VARK questionnaire just solidified what I already knew from the two previous tests, I have a multimodal learning preference (a little of each). Reading/Writing and Kinesthetic were tied at a 7, Visual was 6, and Aural was 5.

The knowledge that I was slowly coming around to figuring out on my own was answered in these tests. I love to teach and help individuals find their way through life, but I can very easily get frustrated when it seems that they are not on the same page as me. When working with children, that is something that I will have to take into consideration. I have known a lot of teachers who spend a lot of time yelling in class, and I know a lot of parents who spend a lot of time yelling at home. I do not want to ever be either of those. That being said, I also do not want to worry so much about how I come across to my students that I never teach them anything because I’m too afraid of pushing them too far. I think knowing my personality temperament is a swell thing, but I think knowing what the other temperaments are will affect my teaching style more, because I will have incorporate those into how I think and how I teach.

I would like to be able to say that I do not have any weaknesses but since I do, instead I’m going to say that acknowledging my weaknesses for what they are is actually one of my greatest strengths. I am driven, and passionate, and honestly want to make each child that I come across realize that the world is completely open to them in so many ways as long as they apply themselves. I love kids and I love teaching, and every time I skip count in front of a child and watch their brains click and make connections it just brightens my whole day. On the flip side, I know that being who I am means that I sometimes want too much from my students; that I have too high of expectations of them, and that if I do not keep that bar of expectations down to child height I could end up stressing everyone out, myself included. I have excellent communication skills, I’m organized, I am a planner and a list-maker, I’m creative (which I tend to think is an extremely excellent strength when it comes to children), I work well under pressure, and I’m not afraid to reach out to those around me for help. However, I am also (slightly) demanding, impatient at times and easily stressed out in small situations. I do not really care for rules, but I’ve never figured out whether I honestly think that is a strength or weakness.

I will have to adapt who I am into a classroom of diverse students, because very few people out there are like me personality-wise. Instead of imagining what it would feel like to have each of my children get the highest score possible in the state assessments, I will have to learn to focus on more tangible, realistic ideas. The majority of personalities out in the world are a Guardian temperament, meaning that they have very realistic views of the world, and if I stood up in front of the classroom with my art equipment each day they would all start running for the hills. Showing them concrete proof of what it is that I am trying to teach will reach them more effectively. That also is being said for the other two temperaments, but in their cases I will have to adjust my ways of thinking to acknowledge that they might cut corners to get the results that they want, and that I need to be appreciative of the fact that they at least got the correct answer (that does not say that I condone cheating, merely thinking outside of the box). Everyone has to adapt in life to get along with each other, and I think that those who were born to be teachers (and I do think that people are “born” to be something) are naturally able to adapt better than others.

Intellect has powerful muscles, but no personality (Hey, wait!)

I am taking Instructional Technology this semester which I thought meant that I would be learning how to use technology (i.e., doing nothing), but apparently I was incorrect. Instructional Technology is how to incorporate technology into education, I guess that's why this class is required for my degree (boo, Chelsey). So our first assignment is to take three tests - one personality test and two learning styles tests, and then write a paper reflecting on our personality/learning types and how to use those/adapt in the classroom.
So! The first test:

Custom Keirsey Temperament Report for: Chelsey Hann

Idealists, as a temperament, are passionately concerned with personal growth and development. Idealists strive to discover who they are and how they can become their best possible self -- always this quest for self-knowledge and self-improvement drives their imagination. And they want to help others make the journey. Idealists are naturally drawn to working with people, and whether in education or counseling, in social services or personnel work, in journalism or the ministry, they are gifted at helping others find their way in life, often inspiring them to grow as individuals and to fulfill their potentials. Idealists are sure that friendly cooperation is the best way for people to achieve their goals. Conflict and confrontation upset them because they seem to put up angry barriers between people. Idealists dream of creating harmonious, even caring personal relations, and they have a unique talent for helping people get along with each other and work together for the good of all. Such interpersonal harmony might be a romantic ideal, but then Idealists are incurable romantics who prefer to focus on what might be, rather than what is. The real, practical world is only a starting place for Idealists; they believe that life is filled with possibilities waiting to be realized, rich with meanings calling out to be understood. This idea of a mystical or spiritual dimension to life, the "not visible" or the "not yet" that can only be known through intuition or by a leap of faith, is far more important to Idealists than the world of material things. Highly ethical in their actions, Idealists hold themselves to a strict standard of personal integrity. They must be true to themselves and to others, and they can be quite hard on themselves when they are dishonest, or when they are false or insincere. More often, however, Idealists are the very soul of kindness. Particularly in their personal relationships, Idealists are without question filled with love and good will. They believe in giving of themselves to help others; they cherish a few warm, sensitive friendships; they strive for a special rapport with their children; and in marriage they wish to find a "soulmate," someone with whom they can bond emotionally and spiritually, sharing their deepest feelings and their complex inner worlds. Idealists are relatively rare, making up no more than 15 to 20 percent of the population. But their ability to inspire people with their enthusiasm and their idealism has given them influence far beyond their numbers. Idealists at Work Your beliefs are the arbiter of your actions, even if you cannot articulate those beliefs specifically. You hold a strong, clear sense of the way the universe works, what's "right" and what's "wrong," and what your purpose is in the overall scheme of things. In your ideal job, you can embody those beliefs in your relationships with other people. Because you likely have a talent for de-escalating situations and can almost always find just the "right words", you often significantly improve the morale of organizations to which you belong. 

These few paragraphs were like my own personal bermuda triangle. I started reading and it just sucked me in. This is me (minus the part about always being able to find the "right words")! I've already started writing my paper and have almost finished it, which isn't due until the 29th (over-achiever Chelsey to the rescue!) and I will be suuuure to share it with you as soon as I am done!