April 3rd--Back on Campus as an ENFJ

I will return to the topic of evil in the next day or so but this was such an eventful day that I think I would like to do some reporting on events.  I had two classes: Topics in Love and Evil again (this one meets twice a week) and the Golden Apple Seminar.  I am going to defer conversation about the Topics class, not because of a lack of interest but only to get on to chat about the seminar.

The Golden Apple Seminar is a special part of this sabbatical process.  It is a class consisting only of the nine Golden Apple recipients from 2013.  (There are ten but one of our colleagues is ill and cannot attend the class.)  This seminar gives the fellows the opportunity to work together on issues about education that are of interest to them.  It is ably led by Penny Lundquist (herself a GA Fellow.) Her vision is to allow the nine of us to help determine what we will study.  That direction was part of today's meeting.

We spent part of the time today taking and discussing the Meyers Briggs Inventory.  We looked at it both as awareness of the diversity among our students but also to better understand the positions of our colleagues.  I always score about the same in three dimensions; one is so even that I have tested into both dimensions at one time or another.  I am ENFJ.  For those unfamiliar with the letters, that means first that I am an extrovert (E.)  No great surprise there for my friends and family.  In fact, the "preference clarity category" indicate that my inclination to extrovert is "very clear."  N stands for "intuitive."  Persons with this preference tend toward future-thinking, patterns, possibilities, abstractions, and novelty.  It is oppose to "sensing" which is generally more present and concrete in orientation.  Once again, no doubt on this.  Preference was classed as "very clear."

I am going to skip one and go to the J, which is judging.  My preference was just slightly less; it categorized as "clear."  Judging is contrasted with perceiving.  It indicates that I, and those like me, prefer to have a planned and organized approach to life.  I agree with this one as well.

I scored slightly, but only slightly, more "feeling" than "thinking."  I have, mostly at times when I held an executive position, tested slightly more thinking.  I have always felt that this was one of the most ambivalent parts of my personality.

I was interested to learn that both President Obama and Joe Biden are ENFJ.  So were Nelson Mandela and Vaclev Havel.  All good.  Ronald Reagan was as well though, which is not a happy thought.  Joseph Goebbels is even worse.  

In Simpson terms, I am Apu and I am told that, in Harry Potter, I would be Dumbledore.  The characterization is "The Mentor" and I am comfortable with that.  The description seems pretty apt for a teacher and that is the role that I am happiest in.  If my memory serves, four of the nine of the GA 2013 Fellows are ENFJ, and another varies from this in just one preference.  That would suggest that a lot of great teachers have this personality.  It is worth noting though that a great teacher Kate Dube was nothing like this.  I think she might have been opposite in every dimension.

The seminar also included a number of other discussions about education and teaching.  The eight teachers with me are so distinguished, each in his / her own way, that the conversation is rich and enlightening.  Teaching, like other professions, can often be plagued by staleness and lack of vision.  None of that is present in this seminar room.  You sense a hunger for any idea that will improve the learning of their students. Our dialogue occurs in a setting of community and with a tone of optimism and joy.

So Day Three of the sabbatical was wonderful.  It was long--I left on the 8:00 AM train and did not get back to Oak Park until eleven hours later.  I was able to spend most of the train time reading material for tomorrow's class in Body / Embodiment and Materiality. Very heavy, philosophical stuff.  Narrating the Law, which was canceled on Tuesday, will meet tomorrow afternoon.  I still have reading to do for tomorrow but I have enough hours in the morning to get that done.  Tonight it is time to shut it off and get some sleep.  

I am curious.  Do you know your Personality Type?  What is your opinion of this kind of categorizing? Leave a comment here or on Facebook.  I do moderate these comments so yours will not appear until I get to sign it off.