Friday, June 12, 2009

Temperament Inventory



I am in a classroom managment class. Today, we spent an entire day discussing a temperament inventory that categorizes people into 4 categories. Blue is the compassionate type; green is the intellectual type; orange is the adventurous type; and gold is the very organized type. The point of knowing students' temperament styles is to help the teacher be more aware of what makes the students tick. In other words, this was created in hopes of knowing how to teach each student and what temperament styles conflict. I had a hard time buying this approach, and I was frustrated that we spent an entire class period on this topic.


In short, this temperament inventory revealed that people are different and different people require different approaches. I think it is true that people have strong tendencies and specific personalities. My personal belief though, is that people are too complex and too wavering to be placed into one or even four categories. People are as unique as their fingerprint. What works for one student will not always work for another, even if they have similar “temperaments.” This attempt at defining and understanding people is only useful up to a certain point. I have lived twenty two years. It has taken my entire life to make up who I am. I am much different than I was 5 years ago. My personality has changed, my desires have changed, and my tendencies have changed. How can I be defined in 30 minutes? The same for my students; they cannot be defined by a color. However, they can be looked at as a person with a unique story. They are different from me and they are different from each other. Therefore, it will take much consideration and thought as I interact with them. I will use this temperament inventory as a reminder of those things, however I do not think I will incorporate this into my classroom.



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