KMLA is not a suitable place for introverts?
Every year, the freshmen students take MBTI
test, which is one of the most common personality tests of the world. After the
test result comes out, the school counselor announces the results in the
counseling class. Guess how many people were I(introversion) in my class? Only
two, including me. Strangely, the most common personality type of Koreans is
ISTJ(introversion, sensing, thinking, and judgement), but the most common type
among the 16th wavers is ENFP, the opposite of ISTJ. Especially, in
my class about the half of the students were ENFP. Is this phenomenon a mere
accident? Or is there culture more favorable to extroverts?
I believe that this extroverted society was
made mainly because of the entrance interviews. Although teachers must have
tried to be objective and balanced, the extroverts tend to speak with more ease
than the introverts. When an introvert says 8 out of 10, an extrovert says
about 12. I myself felt an interview more burdensome than a paper based exam;
taking a test, I would have been able to go through and check my responses over
and over, but in interview, if I say something there is no way to fix it. If I
had not practiced to deny my predilection not to talk a lot, I might not be
here now in KMLA.
According to Susan Cain, in America many things are set for people who are extrovert and outgoing.
Most schools in the U.S. encourage group works and speaking, but often are ignorant about the
individual works. In KMLA, students do have individual works, as much as the
group works, so we certainly ‘have opportunity’ to develop our introspections. Nevertheless,
students are too busy to use those opportunity properly. Many freshmen and
juniors use up their time doing club activities, practicing presentation in
group, etc. Time, the essence of introspections, is in dearth in our school. Even
the domestic students, though they generally more focus on the individual
works, they tend to devote their energy wholly to keep high rankings and GPA. This attitude may be the best strategy for going to be admitted to a top university but is certainly not a favorable phenomenon in a "leadership academy." In
fact, “the power of introvert” is realized when introvert people share their
ideas with others.
If Korean Minjok Leadership Academy does
aim to raise global servant leaders, students have learn how to use their
abilities for others. Of course, being active and motivated is the primary step
to be a leader. But I wish we all remember that becoming a leader does not mean
simply outgoing or academically perfect.
