Morning

Morning, which I usually sleep through during a break such as this, are really not so bad. Not so bad if you are up before everyone else, doing whatever solitary activity, reading, watching a decent huckabee interview on meet the press, ect., that you want to be doing. No, mornings are only bad when there are other participants attempting to talk to you and clancking their coffee cups around. I don't mean any offense, ghandi himself could be around me, and I think I'd glare.

brief feminist rant

hey hey, returning to comment briefly on more, yes, CNN that I've seen. It was a report on the current status of Afghani women, you know, the ones we've "saved" already. The part that struck me most wasn't the child brides, the soccer stadium assassinations, or even the ubiquitous burka shots -- it was when the reporter came across a few "liberal" male teachers and asked them about general social roles. "I wouldn't let my friends see my wife. I just bring a picture," one said. "She's under lock, key, and password," he joked. Another: "If most women dressed like you " (she had a veil and loose clothing on , no burka), "men couldn't handle themselves." It just goes to show us that all -- men and women --need to be vigilant. Most women including myself expect some level of protectiveness and solicitousness from their menfolk, as a sign of their caring, which men are only too happy to provide. The interview showed how complex cultural codes can be, how they can start from the most well-meaning, even universal, intentions.

The boyfriend did it!!

Ok, so the title is definitely an inside joke, but what I truly speak of is, of course, the Bhutto assassination. It won't come out immediately. It won't even come out before around 10 years pass and the revelation is a footnote in the "international" section of our papers' 10th page. But it will out. Bhutto's death has inside job written on it like an epitaph. And I will go further than people who think her email to "blame Musharaff" deals with his lack of action in giving her security detail and at some level "allowing" extremists to off her. Perhaps it wasn't the president himself, but at some level of his administration, there was involvement. Think: while Musharaff nobly offered to "share" power with her, who believed this from the man who shut off the press, civil liberties, attorneys? And would this not be an ostensible effort to paint a (throughly undeserved) picture of innocence amongst his regime? Not only do these suspicious factors exist, but wouldn't a show of shock and angst over the murder allow Musharaff himself what he wanted: an excuse to further grasp at power with the obvious excuse of maintaining order and destroying "the people who killed Bhutto". Someone, somewhere, cut a deal. Nevertheless, I will admit that my assumption is flawed in displaying the type of conspiracy-minded thinking that attributes uncertainties and the random, senseless acts of individuals to far-reaching forces that truly do not exist, as Penne Gillett eloquently stated of the so-called 911 "truthers" on Glenn Beck last night (Glenn himself annoys me, his guests do not). Yet, knowing a fair amount of history makes the connection of intrigue to logical for me to currently resist.

On a lighter note, why the HELL do northerners like cakey donuts? (I am speaking of Dunkin Donuts and their ilk). We all know the gooey glazed of Krispy Kreme that I enjoyed this morning is far, far superior. Even glamorous New York Carrie Bradshaw couldn't disagree :).

Speaking of Bradshaw, I AM looking forward to the Sex and the City movie, I don't care if anyone thinks I am frivolously feminine because of it! I do not think the show was a feminist masterpiece, or even feminist in the least, like some, but the characters are hilarious and I don't watch many girly movies so I'm not a stereotype so there!!! Most of us need a little escapism, and watching women live lives far more glamorous than any of us will experience is sheer joy. I only wish I could have followed it on TV. I wish I could follow ANY show on TV. I work too hard, I need to quit that. Nonetheless, there has always been a bit of the loser-y element to having nothing better to do that sit around and wait for a tv show, at least from my perspective, so maybe I am undermining any televised undertaking subconciously with the mindset that I should be socializing, drinking, dancing, living the glamorous life instead of watching it. But sometimes, watching it is better! Or maybe I am exhibiting a Puritan aspect on the other hand -- I "should" be studying, cleaning, doing something "useful". When I've worked hard, or had a bad day, I can lay down and TV away sans-guilt.

Speaking of guilt, I've just made up fior my holiday lack of blogging. So long!

Cheaters = Good Politicians

I may be stating the obvious and indelicate here, but why the moral crusade against philandering politicians--Clinton, Guiliani, Charlie Wilson, hell even Larry in the bathroom stall--when we all know that the qualities of smarm and charm that gets things done also gets the ladies (and perhaps gentlemen). Now, I am far from being an antifeminist by acknowledging this fact of life. In fact, I am sure the same rule applies to women in politics as well, heretofore unnoticed because:
1) women haven't been involved in American national politics very long
2) women don't get caught.
I am not condoning adultery either, but can we not accept some level of moral ambiguity along with its necessary counterpart, intelligent thinking?

CRITTERS!

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/22/us/22crash.html?th&emc=th

Apparently, more and more unfortunate individuals are encountering DEATH by critter on rural roads...mainly because more people are driving on them from the exurbs...what I want to know is what prevents these people from seeing a grizzly, for instance, right in front of them....or even better -- a flock of wild sheep. Did anyone else know that there still existed wild sheep? Didn't they get domesticated about...ohh 5000 years ago?

haiku

Brad on Larry King,
The smell of cookies cooking;
Always nice to laze at home.

Germ Theory

Is it just me, or was the world a better place before germ theory? No--Seriously. Think. The world would not be so overpopulated and overwrought, and everyone would lead lives away from germaphobia. Right now, I'm getting bugged to get a "flu shot"--me, perfectly healthy, 22 years old. I'd just as soon get the disease than get the shot, personal preference. Not to mention, the year I stop or forget to get it is the year I have the most mind-numbingly bad case of it because, yes, previous years I had gotten a shot!

Romney's Creepy Smile

Just read an article in our surprisingly-good yokel paper, The State, about politicians and their body language. The part that stood out was their discussion of Guiliani's "sneer" as he turns to Romney, and even better, the fact that Romney smiles FOR FIFTEEN SECONDS A POP! It said I quote: NO ONE SMILES THAT LONG. IT'S WEIRD!! Which explains beyond the indecisiveness and the Mormonism why so many people have a problem with this guy, including me. The first word that comes to mind when I see him: smarm. Also, anyone see Huckabee's Merry Christmas ad on tv? "What matters is the birth of christ, and spending time with family and friends." Pandering at its finest. I have to say--I'm impressed. Speaking of smiles and panders, I've also heard that less-muscular men and less-sexy women tend to smile more often in order to ingratiate themselves. Which perhaps makes Romney's smile, coming from a good-looking guy, so very disconcerting.

5 minutes in purgatory

SO, now that I have that previous paper in the bag and graded, I may as well use this blog for what they are for....charting my random observations of thought and politics and sometimes rambling about the tedious details of my life. Hell, if I'm going to do it, it might as well be through a socially-acceptable medium. I currently aim for about five minutes a day --enough for an interesting snapshot, not enough for drifting or time-sucking of myself or whosoever this may concern. Speaking of which, I think that is an old-fashioned colloquialism in need of a ressurection: the phrase applies pretty much to everything on the web, or indeed all thought. Not to one person, not to a caste of people, but to whoever this material may interest or even, somehow, someway need. Time's up!

When the Shoe Doesn't Fit: Jungian Typology, the Educational System, and the Composition Process

Polly Spangler
Dr. Haynes
Eng. 885
12 December 2007

At most university career centers, corporate conventions, religious retreats, and in a pantheon of websites, some shape or form of the Myers-Briggs assessment tool can be found. While certainly not valid for explaining away all the complexities of the human mind or interpersonal dynamics, the "MBTI" test is still an objective and accessible method for examining basic features of personality. It is certainly preferable to say, astrology or those time-zapping questionnaires at http://www.quizilla.com/. Obviously, with its inclusion of lifestyle preferences (whether one is extroverted or introverted, perceiving or judging), value systems (whether one prefers thinking or feeling), and the way one perceives the world (whether through sensation or intuition), the MBTI is able to simplify personality studies while remaining holistic. The combination of these aforementioned traits will sum up a person with a respectable, and more often eerie, level of accuracy. Moreover, its application to both classroom and compositional preferences in the educational system can lead to a greater acceptance of differences, enable both teacher and student to set tangible goals for the writing process, help in examining college composition's current status, and, ultimately, guide us in finding solutions to pedagogical dilemmas. I am primarily using my own abilities as an inventive systems-builder, or an "ENTP," to draw conclusions and determine new real-world possibilities from secondary research; however, my inborn faith in the scientific method may have also led me to supplement this research with my own, primary findings. My "research group" of seventeen graduate and undergraduate students generous enough to take a version of the MBTI (http://www.humanmetrics.com/) and answer questions about their classroom and composition preferences at this hectic time of year is perhaps too small to draw universal conclusions, yet their participation underscored important trends in the educational system only briefly mentioned by my fellow "personologists".

Namely, there is a high preponderance of intuitive thinkers, what David Kiersey dubs "The Rational" subtypes (261), in academia in relation to their percentage of the general population. Kiersey estimates "NT's" to be approximately 5-6% worldwide in his germinal Please Understand Me II, a hypothesis loosely born out by other research (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers-Briggs_Type_Indicator, http://www.morten.b.helland.com/mbti/), which places the Rationals at 10 or 4%, respectively. Nevertheless, Daniel W. Salter, Nancy J. Evans, and Deanna S. Forney's "Longitudinal Study of Learning Style Preferences" notes that university faculty "tend toward the INTJ profile" (175). Interestingly, 3/8 of the English graduate students I interviewed exhibited this same INTJ preference. Otherwise, the "types" were evenly distributed. However, if I include my own profile into the mix, literally half of the English grads I investigated are NTs! This result contradicts David Kiersey's own conflation of the Rational "temperament" with science and technology alone (176-78), leading to the conclusion that this subtype could be more heavily distributed in higher education in all subjects and fitting our description of being interested in learning, researching, and theorizing for its own sake. This phenomenon has a heavy influence on academia's culture and its particular style of pedagogy -- not to mention what is preferred in student essays. The reality of "NT" values creating the rules for college education should not be cast in an overly positive or negative light, but both teachers and students should nevertheless carry an awareness of this pattern's advantages, and, yes, typological biases. While it is true that certain personalities will be drawn to certain occupations, credulously maintaining the "NT" status quo in college education carries the inherent risk of accepting academia as a self-perpetuating cycle, in which certain types are singled out for success, others for failure, and those successful few who choose to teach college replicate this process. (As a sidenote, our current "culture wars" between the business world and so-called "ivory towers" may be better depicted as "personality wars". Thus, fairly assessing different personalities in the college setting has great import in relation to the sociopolitical realm at large.) The NT's, ironically, "make up only 10 percent of the teaching staff" prior to college according to Paul Hewitt's polemic article, "Bargaining Within the School Culture" (29), with SJs and NFs predominating instead. Therefore, the "culture shock" that many students experience in their transition from high school to the university in general and in the composition classroom can be readily explained by typological research. Students who were once told to focus on, say, organization and evidence or finding their personal voice may be surprised when judged by how abstract and analytical they must instead become in the traditional "English 101" course. On the contrary, of course, NT students may be praised and graded more highly than they were wont to be before college, even to a level they may not indeed deserve, and experience a new interest in their studies due to what George J. Jensen and John K. DiTiberio observe in their Personality and the Teaching of Composition as our tendency to make "egotistical" assessments, rewarding writing styles similar to our own (139-40).

NT's classroom priorities therefore do not deviate much from standard practice in higher education, for all that they try to break with tradition due to their "autonomous" (Keirsey 185) nature. One INTJ (who chose to remain anonymous) described a "fairly mid-sized classroom," in which students cooperate, participate, and do not overly breach the teacher's authority, in a setting that is a "contained space." Note that while NT's characteristically value inquiry due to their intuitive aspect, they also tend to accept a hierarchical (Kiersey, 171), "logocentric" classroom structure due to their thinking aspect. Ashely, an English graduate as well, wished her ideal classroom to be "lecture-based, but with an engaging teacher, set up in a traditional way with rows and not circles, with a clear delineation between teacher and student no matter which one I am". Yet another INTJ English graduate, Nick Mazucca (whose type came as quite a surprise to me), seemingly lambasted the "traditional" system of higher-education as a "grade-churning machine" with focus on "quantity, not quality". I have also known this particular gentleman to lament the tendency of his students to see education as a means to an end --obtaining their degree, a job, and financial gain -- rather than an end in itself. While I (yet another NT) might tend to concur with this observation, I have come to realize through this research that the proclivity to value "pure knowledge" is a typological facet shared with other intuitive types only. Given that the vast majority of the population (see previous websites) tend to be "SJ's" or "SP's", perhaps more practical applications of college composition need to be made more apparent in order to get most students on board. Indeed, the hegemonic preference of college professors is to teach, and teach first-year writing, as if it is its own goal and its own reward, an assumption that other personalities may not accept. Finally, my own concept of the ideal classroom can also be construed as a result of my own MBTI profile. In contrast to the introverted rationals (with the exception of Nick), as an extravert I have always preferred the egalitarian discussion rather than authoritarian lecture-based class structure and even find my attention lagging when I cannot share my own ideas. However, I also share their preference for a healthy amount of structure: I look to the educator to rein in tangential comments and provide specific topics. A class begun with the open-ended "So, what did you all think/how did you all feel about the reading?" leaves me somewhat nonplussed, though it may benefit improvising, "adapting" (Keirsey 53) Artisans and linguistically expressive Idealists greatly. In addition to discussion, a course that allows for self-paced, "autonomous" research and topic-development in which I can showcase original analyses is also rewarding.

The NT attempt to balance unfettered inquiry with a logical structure is also perceptible through our writing processes. However, each individual meets this challenge through different means. One INTJ acknowledged that for him, "writing is suffering" due to what he labels as his "perfectionist" tendency to question his own ideas and "agonize over each sentence". This self-evaluation fits exactly with Keirsey's depiction of NT's as "achievement-oriented" and potentially "obsessive" about their work, setting "hard-won triumphs" as the "new standard" (188-9), which could lead to a quality product or, unfortunately, writer's block during the composition process. A typologically-aware pedagogy could focus on forcing NT's to "let go" of the tight reins they place on an essay with practices such as freewriting, timed, in-class essays, and collaborative projects with other types where equal distribution of work is expected. Ashley amusingly characterized her process as "70% procrastination, 20% inspiration, 10% perspiration," which also may tie into my theory of NT perfectionism leading to initial blocks in writing. Her process also mirrors Russell's, an INFP -- both write out their first draft by hand, then transcribe it onto the computer. However, their unique reasons for doing so highlight their individual temperaments: Ashley desires to view her "mistakes while she is making them, returning to see what they are," while Russell depicts his process as a "chaotic" way to "let his writing ferment". Thus, Ashley utilizes her ability of "strategic" (172) thinking to set goals and correct future mishaps, whereas Russell, as an Idealist, emphasizes the freewheeling imaginativeness of his process. Interestingly, Nick also manifested some overlap in the Rational/Idealist compositional processes. Though Jensen and DiTiberio attributed greater ability at audience-oriented rhetoric to Feeling types (175), he imagines his essays "as an artificial dialogue or oratory". When further questioned about this apparent contradiction, he characterized this scheme as "the objective system he subordinates his writing to" rather than the attempt to personally influence or connect with readers. Nonetheless, these NF/NT similarities may signify that there is more common ground between intuitives than there are differences between thinking and feeling intuitives as far as writing and communication goes, an idea also recognized by Keirsey's examination of intuitive vs. sensory word usage (27). Kiersey also postulates several specific differences between Rationals and Idealists, in that the former are prone to "understatement" and the latter to "overstatement," the former to "deductive" and the latter to "inductive" reasoning styles (122), though more primary research is needed to either substantiate or critique these claims. Yet, allow me to include a concrete personal anecdote into these abstract speculations for the non-NT personalities who may come across this treatise: both my sister (ENFP) and a roommate in undergrad (also, ENFP) have confused my essays with their own, but when my sister and I revised a text for our father (INTJ), he laughingly pointed out her "showy" words such as "spectacular" or "poignant" and noted that my own revisions were closer to his own, rather dry style. Thus, there is an identical sense of abstraction in all intuitives' essays, but the intuitive feelers may have a more personal touch or expressive use of diction in contrast to the NT's more detached tone.

Indeed, the NF's in my primary and theoretical research often acted as a "mirror image" to the NT's, similar in communication styles but often starkly different in personal goals and values. As intuitives, their writing may be assessed more generously than others by the NT academic hegemony, yet they may feel discouraged by such factors as the "chilly classroom effect," the traditional caveat against the use of first person, the academic preference for expository instead of narrative or creative writing, or other Thinking-personality preferences. Of course, these innate differences express themselves through the NF "Idealist's" classroom ideals. Fittingly, NF's such as Russell focused on the style and interpersonal dynamics of a classroom rather than its structure or setting. This INFP stated that he desires a class that "responds," is "engaged," and most importantly "shows people how to see things from other peoples' points of view," whether he is the teacher or a student of that ideal class. As the first non-NT I interviewed, Russell was also the first to depict the classroom as a way to change people's perspectives or improve their values. Obviously, such a goal might be anathema to strongly thinking-preferring personalities who see the classroom as a tool for education for its own sake, while "Idealists" may find little motivation in education that is not a means of "self-actualization" or an agent for social change (Keirsey 144). Thus, the burden of responsibility in balancing the two goals lies with both teacher and student -- the former, to create some assignments that have social relevance without imposing their own sociopolitical values, and the latter, to either find personal meaning in analytical, academic assignments (NF's) or to be more open-minded about undertaking assignments that make them develop rhetorical ethos/pathos without dismissing them as "busywork" or "fluff" (NT's).

Another difference between the "Idealists" and the "Rationals" is their ideal distribution of power (for lack of a better term) in the classroom. NF's, as is to be expected, request a more egalitarian structure, positing their ideal as "seminar style, mainly focused on what the students think" (ENFP), "informal and very interactive" (David, ENFJ), "intimate with different personalities" (Lindsey, ENFP), and "not so many that I'm just another face in the crowd" (Annie, ENFP). While these particular idealists are extroverted, their Idealist temperament still trumps desire for external stimulation, in that they value a bonhomie among colleagues and the personal connection that can occur in small discussion classes even more. Given that many upper-level English classes are structured this way, (and that 3/8 of my graduate English research group are NF's) we can safely assume that there is some Idealist influence in the English department and its pedagogy -- though many NT's may also desire discussion classes in their desire for inquiry. However, NF's prize the mix of personalities even above the mix of ideas in a class. In order to ensure that these often-talented writers are not indeed "lost in the crowd," freshman composition classes should have a limited class size if at all possible, which would also be beneficial for peer-review workshopping by type and teacher-student conferences. Also, teachers should rein in discussion that gets too sharply competitive, as NF's may be genuinely upset by what they see as personal conflict in the classroom (Keirsey 266). Furthermore, just as NT's abilities as objective analysts are currently harnessed by college pedagogy, teachers can use the NF's mentoring abilities (Keirsey 126) to their advantage, perhaps giving them extra credit for helping a struggling student, which will in turn be rewarding for the Idealists and increase their level of enthusiasm for the class.

The NF's of my study ostensibly turn in a similar "product" as the NT's -- English academic writing -- but their "process" also widely diverges from the other types. While the NT's describe a strategic system or paradigm, honed through observation and perfectionism, NF's depend on their intuition and inspiration. Two out of three NF graduates admitted their process to be "chaotic," and all three admitted a dependence on a solid first draft, which they might revise for style and grammar concerns but very seldom for intrinsic content. Liane, an undergrad, also writes "from start to finish". Process thus evidently relates to personality type, sometimes in mysterious ways. To go out on a limb, NF's may prefer to give their all to a first draft with little change afterwards due to what Kiersey depicts as their internal goals of "self-actualization" and "authenticity" (138); changing their ideas and interpretations may subconsciously interfere with their self-confidence in authenticity. Literary interpretation is thus their personal, authentic perception, not to be tampered with in a large way later on in a rational, "utilitarian" fashion. As Jensen and DiTiberio argue, one's level of introversion or extroversion influences one's writing process as well. David (ENFJ), an undergrad, states that "ideas pop out as I'm writing, and sometimes I completely change my argument," in accordance with their assertion that extroverts need the process itself to develop content (37), as opposed to introverts who mentally plan their text (42). Temperament, however, still seems the dominant influence, as David describes his composition style as a creative process with expressive and hyperbolic language.

I have thus far exhaustively delineated NT/NF differences and submitted practical solutions to bridge potential divides in resulting pedagogical values and practices, yet I propose that it is the "sensing" types which may face the greatest difficulties in navigating the composition classroom and its personological culture. In fact, SJ "guardians" are multitudinous in primary and secondary education (Hewitt 27), more so than even their total number in the general population, which is the amount of NTs and NFs put together (Keirsey 104-15)! Thus, they may experience the greatest surprise when adjusting to college education than any other type, where their numbers dwindle. The SP's have their own difficulties in education, but they compose a significantly smaller fraction than their percentage of the population (27) in both primary/secondary and college pedagogy; therefore, they may have either developed their own coping mechanisms prior to higher education or, unfortunately, have perhaps given up on the educational system altogether. There was only one SJ "Guardian" in my graduate group (ESFJ), who depicted her ideal class as "between five and ten students, looking at the texts and talking about the ways they make us feel". As a F-preferent, her response is closer to the NF Idealists than NT Rationals, yet she uniquely focused her ideal class on close readings instead of cultural awareness. Non-graduate SJ's, suitably for their typological qualities, did not digress on my rather-abstracted question, merely stating a preference for smaller classrooms which "aren't too loud" (ISTJ).

Perhaps more concrete, sense-oriented methods such as New Criticism, poetic analysis, and analysis of specific rhetorical methods would give beginning SJ writers a leg-up. Indeed, such methods are more often espoused by secondary-education composition teachers, as is the infamous "five-paragraph theme" which the SJs may cling to to give them some sense of order in college composition's swirling abstractions, a tendency Charles Sides takes notice of in his "Psychological Types and Teaching Writing" (33-4). All the SJ's, graduate or not, also stated a preference for making "plans and outlines", usually charting out everything with "not too many drafts" (ESFJ, 2). Once again, similar behaviors with the NF's do not denote similar processes, as the SJs' tendency to carefully map out their writing so that there are not too many unfortunate surprises differs from NF striving for authenticity. Interestingly, all three non-graduate SJs described some reluctancy to initiate discussion in the classroom no matter their level of intro- or extro- version. Sarah (ESFJ) admitted that she is "quieter in the class than in other aspects of life" and Charlie (ESFJ) likewise appreciated a professor that first initiated rapport with him. Thus, composition teachers should make sure they are not overlooking SJ's, as their sense of work ethic and responsibility gives them potential equal to the Idealists and Rationals.

As is evident by the diminishing length of my suppositions, the four temperaments are unequally represented in both my primary research and in university faculty, graduate students, and even college students due to the educational system's current nature and biases. Unfortunately, there were no SP "Artisan" temperament types in either my graduate or non-graduate study groups, demonstrating their smaller representation in the college classroom (or that I need to expand my social circle). Therefore, I must depend upon secondary research and theorization to conceptualize what Artisan preferences and processes may be in composition. Keirsey portrays this "type" as sensation-seeking, proficient in "tactics" primarily, and valuing "artistry, audacity, and adaptability" (50-53). This type may be the worst-inclined towards lengthy, out-of-class projects, but may be adept at timed, in-class assignments where they can decide upon tactics in the here-and-now. Their preference for "concrete word usage" (36) may lead them to be assessed at a lower level than other types, yet Keirsey observes that they, of all types, have abilities in colorful, stylized language use (36) -- particularly as orators. A composition teacher should balance out the composition/rhetoric coursework that usually contains heavy emphasis on expository essays with a few presentations and practice at speechmaking. After all, such practices would be rooted in classical rhetorical tradition (which, interestingly enough, seems to favor all of Kiersey's temperaments more equally than our current pedagogy!). However, Tisha Emberson and Beck Taylor's study, "Interactions Between Personality Type and the Experimental Methods" noted that sensing-type students were actually at a disadvantage in experimental classroom techniques (18), because of their so-called overhaustion of detail. What goes unstated here is that sensory students are disadvantaged in the assessments of college faculty, who do not share their speech preferences, and not by various and sundry methods.

A rather unexpected intersection in typological preference occurs between "Thinking" females and "Feeling" males, and, conversely, "Thinking" males and "Feeling" females in terms of their perception of gender, type, and composition. Here, "temperament" matters less than one's gender and one's value preference. Though most of my subjects were somewhat perfunctory in their response to my question, "how do you think gender influences your writing process, ideal classroom, and/or psychological type?", those who did elaborate presented an intriguing trend. Most MBTI articles or sites cite a gender disparity in the thinking-feeling dichotomy (Salter, 178), with 60% of females favoring feeling and 60% of males favoring thinking (http://www.uwsp.edu/education/lwilson/learning/kirby4.htm). Traditional gender roles, as applicable to the MBTI, may viewed as more valid by the slight majority of people to whom they may more accurately apply. My primary research solidified this hypothesis. Emily (ESFJ), while a feminist in some opinions, still characterized gender differences in an "essentialist" manner, stating that "Men tend to write from a more objective point of view than I ever will. In general, they think more strictly in terms of logic. I know that is stereotypical, but that's the way the world works." Of course, her acceptance of traditional roles here is a classic SJ trait according to Keirsey (92), but it may be more suitably portrayed as the common-sense view of reality from the eyes of a feeling-type female who has primarily observed thinking-males and other feeling-females. However, gender perception and type cannot be described as "feminist" vs. "antifeminist", but "relativistic" vs. "essentialist". Note the differences between Mary Wollenstonecraft's "Declaration of the Rights of Woman," a "logos"-centered, equality-minded treatise which sought to erase gender differences and Marion Zimmer Bradley's Mists of Avalon, which sought to instead supplant patriarchal with "cooperative, peaceful" matriarchal values. Both are feminist works, yet they disagre about the extent of gender difference (I would guess Wollestonecraft to be a Rational and Bradley to be an Idealist). An INTJ male expressed the desire to "project a sense of masculine authority in the classroom" and an ENFP female depicted males as more "authoritarian," females as more "conversational and democratic...which could explain my typological preference". Another feeling-female said "females are naturally supposed to be more emotional, intuitive, and nurturing," once again preferring those very aspects herself. Male "Feelers" and female "Thinkers" had starkly different responses. Some characterized themselves as inaccurate, even ostracized representatives for their gender; others rejected the idea of gender difference altogether, even expressing a certain repugnance at the question itself. Charlie, an ESFJ, stated, "I don't think my gender has anything to do with this," and William (INFJ), asserted, "the more I think about gender the less I believe in it". Russell (INFP) similarly felt that "academically gender doesn't come into play...I do not come across as being 'gendered' and it has nothing to do with me as a person". Ashley and I were the only females in this particular study that exhibited the "Thinking" preference and, predictably, our attitudes towards gender roles and our "type" were similar: Ashley explained, "I attempt to break the boundary and the stereotype that women aren't logical. I am very analytical, but I don't think my gender makes me so. I have heard that being an INTJ is unusual for a woman". Thinking females and feeling males may find themselves in a double-bind, in that members of their own gender expect them to share their values and members of the opposite gender expect them to fill a complementary role. A study of Jungian personology can help to erase gender stereotyping of individuals and can also demonstrate that neither an essentialist or relativist view of gender is somehow closer to the truth, but is based on individual perceptions that arise from their particular psychological type. Either way, studies of composition as it relates to gender that either promote or demote difference should be read with an eye for typological worldviews.

Although I have already developed several solutions as they apply to each individual temperament type, some pedagogical practices can, conveniently, also apply to all and yet still acknowledge the validity of the MBTI as a teaching tool, such as Jensen and DiTiberio's advocation to first "support" and then "balance" (108-16) beginning writers' typological qualities. Applying this theory practically on a one-on-one basis between teacher and student may be a near-impossible goal, therefore, in a larger composition class it may instead be beneficial to have students take the Myers-Briggs test, and then pair them with classmates with their same/similar type in the class's outset and a complementary/opposite type later on. Though of course counseling is not the job of the composition teacher, we must ultimately keep in mind that the well-balanced person is also the well-balanced, maturing writer: both are indivisible in intellectual and personal growth.

Works Cited

Emerson, Tisha L.N., and Beck A. Taylor. "Interactions between Personality Type and Experimental Methods." Journal of Economic Education (2007): 18-35.

Hewitt, Paul. "Bargaining Within the School Culture." Leadership (2007): 26-30.

Jensen, George K., and John K. DiTiberio. Personality and the Teaching of Composition. Norwood, NJ: Ablex, 1989.

Keirsey, David. Please Understand Me II. Del Mar, CA: Prometheus Nemesis, 1998.

Salter, Daniel S., Nancy J. Evans, and Deanna S. Forney. "A Longitudinal Study of Learning Style Preferences on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Learning Style Inventory." Journal of College Student Development 47.2 (2006): 173-84.

Sides, Charles H. "Psychological Types and Teaching Writing." Writing on the Edge (1990): 23-40.