Daily 5 - Year 3, Day 207

Today's Daily 5:

1. First ever RN observation day (and sharing the day with a classmate/friend)
2. Drinks and appies after the observation
3. lots of laughter
4. discovering that my hearing is normal
5. being back at house church
6. the fun of declaring it a day where I didn't worry about what I eat
7. a few cuddles and a hug and kiss goodnight from little M.
8. a surprising chance to talk about Jesus
9. a day full of cheesy food (so bad for my stomach and its lactose issues, but SO tasty!)
10. the feeling of arriving home at the end of a fifteen hour day

The Power of Introverts: Thoughts on Group Work

Some of you might have seen this video when I posted it on facebook a few days back.  I came across it via a blog about introverts in the church, and stopped to watch.  What I saw felt like a breath of fresh air in the midst of a semester of intense group work.  Here was someone who was validating me - who had found strong words to describe the things I was thinking, feeling and experiencing.

So, watch the video, and then I'll share a few thoughts from Susan Cain's talk below:


She had me from the first words.  I was that kid at summer camp.  In fact, I went to summer camp once, on a weekend, when I was around ten years old, and I never went back.  I hated it!  I couldn't figure out this atmosphere with all the stimulation, and the games that required me to make a fool of myself.  And I would have been right alongside Susan Cain in wondering why on earth we needed to misspell "rowdie"!

Perhaps what stood out for me the most in this talk, though, were Cain's observations about a world that is designed for extroverts. I have felt guilty for preferring a quiet dinner with friends, or time alone over a raucous evening out.  I have been that person who felt shouted down, or the one who didn't share an idea, or even feel an idea germinate, because the strength and charisma of an extrovert I was working with was driving the group process.  I loved that she emphasized that it's not a dislike of extroverts.  And I love that she discussed that there is value in group work, and in solitude, and that what is really needed is a greater balance.  That has been my complaint this semester.  I'm not against group work, I just feel overwhelmed by the stimulation of it, and it's an atmosphere that isn't all that conducive to my personal learning or creativity.  I'd love to see a greater balance of individual and group learning, rather than "all group work, all the time." I'm not saying that collaboration is bad, simply that it could use more balance.

I'd like to close by listing Cain's three calls to action, and inviting you to discuss them in the comments:

1. Stop the madness for constant group work!  Just stop it!  Create an atmosphere that has much more room for autonomy, privacy and freedom in schools and workplaces.
2. Go to the wilderness!  Make room to have your own revelations, and not just group think.
3. What's inside your suitcase? Why did you put it there?

I'd love to hear your answers to this last call to action.  

My suitcase still has the books it had when I was a child, but now there's the constant presence of a journal, a set of pens, and maybe even a laptop.  There is food, and maybe a scarf so I'm ready for all sorts of weather and adventure.  These are the things that reflect me - that I love to eat and share.  That I read and write and listen.  That I'm hungry - for food and information.  And that from time to time, I do love an adventure.  I just prefer the sort that require a scarf instead of ropes, screaming, and even body armor!