Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/supporting-the-introverted-child/5024140/
It is the first day of school for Sarah. She is barely visible behind her mother’s skirt. Her mother talks in a loud boisterous voice. “Look Sarah! Look at all the toys they have. You are going to have so much fun!”
Sarah buries her face into her mom’s sweater and covers her ears. The teacher introduces herself. Sarah looks down at her shoes. She stares at the floor. She looks everywhere and anywhere other than her new teacher’s face. The teacher takes her little hand and leads her to the large group of children playing outside. Her mother looks apologetically at the teacher and says, “I’m sorry. She can be so difficult at first. Hopefully she’ll warm up.” They both stare out as they watch the little girl’s small frame slowly walk past her boisterous peers. She slowly walks past the kids jumping rope and plops down on a quiet bench, at which point her mother lets out an audible sigh.
Sarah wasn’t being difficult. She was being an introvert. In a world where the word extrovert is often synonymous with success, we have little patience and understanding for the deep-thinking introvert. And frankly, that’s too bad. Introverts can ...