School Matters

I am faced with a dilemma.

Working on a Malaysian School Reform Programme, one of the key components of our professional development training is to develop co-operative and collaborative learning structures in the classroom, in the teaching and learning environment. Assigning group roles, and ensuring equal participation by all members in a group, and giving teachers strategies and means and ways to include this in their planning, delivery and the organisation of classrooms.

I was running with this pedagogical theme and commitment, until, that is, I read Susan Cain’s Quiet: the Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking.  Suddenly a torrent of early child hood memories came to the surface, the quiet, shy boy at school, and the reality of seeing many students just like me in the schools in which I now work.

The quiet introverted type – how do they participate fully in group activities, and to what extent should teachers do their best to “bring them out of their shell”? I myself have written many a school report, where I referred to a child as very quiet in the class, and that they need to share their opinions more. Yet, I never did this myself – certainly not as a Primary school student, and even at Secondary level, I was a reluctant contributor, preferring to listen and mull on what was being discussed, rather than answer questions publicly or engage in animated debate.

To be fair, within the remit of our training programme and good classroom practice, we do encourage time for independent learning, but perhaps we need to consider further the learning styles of our introverted school children, who may learn better if allowed to learn on their own even more. Of course there are always times when we need or should say what we are thinking and feeling; and sometimes it is a matter of conscience or a deep value trigger which propels the quiet one to speak up or appear to out-burst. But there is still a tendency, I feel, to regard the quiet, introverted type in the classroom as problematic.