On Fri, 14 Feb 1997, Bob Gately wrote:
> How disappointed you will be to find that introverts, like extroverts,
> are quite happy with themselves and do not wish to become someone else.
> Why do we presume everyone wants to be an extrovert? I am an extrovert
> and used to believe it myself.
As an introvert (INTP), I would counter with where did an extrovert find
the ability to make such a rash generalization? Walter Mitty was an
introvert with a rich fantasy life of being an extrovert.
As an instructor, I must make some assumptions about my students. One of
these is that they are there to learn or be exposed to a different
perspective for doing things. I prefer to forego becoming a beloved
member of the faculty in favor of being the one who presents them with
a dose of expectation for performance in classroom in preparation for a
future event.
As far as coercing students goes, GPA requirements, credit hour
requirements, pre-requisite requirements, major curricula requirements,
semester time limits, and core curricula requirements are all forms of
coercing students to conform to a standard. In rhetorical studies, this
is known as eristics, or presenting a false truth under the guise of
acceptablity.
We should at least attempt to avoid hypocrisy by admitting that coercion
is one of the rules of the modern university.
I suspect that we will never agree on this point, but I am willing to
continue with countering arguments. I also suspect that we are caught in
the realm between possibility and plausability. Possibly some introverts
may want to hide in silence. However, it is not plausible that they will
be able to do so in the context of an organization.
______________________
Great Optimism,
Dutch Driver
Dept. of Communication
McMurry University
Abilene, TX
ddriver@cs1.mcm.edu