Somni Porta
The global pandemic that effectively shut down our society has obviously been incredibly stressful, but for introverts, being stuck at home has some silver linings. Pearl Subban explores how all this isolation has affected introverts in the article “For introverts, the COVID-19 lockdown has an upside.” Subban explains that working and learning from home means introverts no longer need to engage in “self-monitoring” their behavior or “recharge” after exhausting days surrounded by other people. In addition, many introverts who were overlooked in traditional classrooms because of their shyness are now able to shine in online environments.
As an educator who is also an introvert, I’ve definitely seen the benefits of learning online. Pre-pandemic, I used to spend seven hours a day pretending to be extroverted, so teaching from home has been a refreshing change of pace. But I’ve also noticed that a lot of my shyer students are excelling in this online environment.
In an effort to make my classroom feel less like a dictatorship and more like a collaborative community, I like to periodically survey my high school students about their opinions on my class. When we switched from a fully remote schedule to hybrid (i.e., some students attend in person while others stay remote), I asked them to share their thoughts on hybrid vs. remote learning so I could adjust my instruction accordingly. While the majority said they prefer being fully in-person, almost 30% of students like learning from home better.
Many of my students left comments on the survey explaining their preferences. While a good number of them spoke about the simple pleasures of being able to attend school in their PJ’s or sleeping in without fear of missing the bus, a lot of comments clearly and thoughtfully expressed just how beneficial learning from home can be for introverted and shy students.
For example, many students explained that there’s less pressure and stress in an online environment:
“I feel like I’m learning a lot faster and grasping the information a lot better than I would in actual school. I know a lot of people don’t like remote school, but I personally really like it. I feel a lot less pressure than I would in real school.”
“I’ve been learning so much better than I would at in-person school. The learning experience at home has been a lot less stressful and I think that being at home takes a lot of the pressure off of me. I’m actually taking the notes and doing the work, and I try not to use my resources on tests so I know I actually grasped the information.”
Other students discussed how learning from home not only allows them to have a more independent and individualized educational experience, but it also helps them avoid some of the social problems they’d face in-person:
“Personally, I feel like I can focus a lot better and do the things that interest me, such as reading, writing, etc.”
“We have more choice over how we learn. We can choose to take notes a certain way. choose [sic] how to spend our breaks. Bullying is less of a problem along with other social issues. [It’s] just a lot easier to focus.”
These testimonies support Subban’s point that many introverts may “experience challenges reintegrating” into society once the world begins re-opening. For many students, learning from home has been less stressful and has provided more opportunities for autonomy than in-person instruction. However, I fear that instead of learning from the experience of remote instruction during COVID-19, schools are going to do everything they can to return to business as usual. But going back to “normal” won’t work for all students. My hope, then, for post-pandemic education is that schools will continue offering online options for introverted students who excel in a remote environment.