Quote from Pam01 on Apr 15, 2012, 8:46am

But to another family, I express concern about their introverted daughter, who is not comfortable speaking up for herself. We are on the same page - all aware of how much she takes in by watching and listening, how well she does working by herself even amidst a busy preschool classroom, but concerned that she is not comfortable speaking up when others draw on her paper or take her materials.

That may be a feature of cultural expectations.

It seems extroverts are equated with confidence, introverts aree seen as insecure or low self esteem. The problem as I see it is there is some truth to these assumptions??

This calls to mind a true story from when I was in kindergarten, over 50 years ago. My mother raised me to be a mannerly child and be polite: not be pushy, grabbing things, loudmouthed, etc. After a few months in kindergarten, the teacher reported to my parents that I must have a severe psychological problem because all my drawings were done in black or brown crayon. So (fortunately!) my mother asked me why, to which I replied that after the other kids mobbed the crayon box and took all the colored crayons there was nothing else left but black and brown to use. Obviously it didn't bother me as much as it did someone else.

Isn't it remarkable that teachers of young children think they are qualified to make such psychological diagnoses with such certainty and authority? It probably would never have occurred to the teacher to ask me why, or that there might be another simpler, benign reason; the implication is that young children are not considered capable of expressing themselves and saying what the problem is. That in itself is a form of bias or prejudice.

Well, I never forgot the experience and many years later I painted paintings in a palette of pure, vibrant colors as a 'tongue in cheek' way of having the last laugh. <LOL>. If Rembrandt had been in that woman's class he would have been considered to be disturbed, too, for preferring such dark tones.

Part of assertiveness is having the awareness of the possibility that one may be wrong.

Watch out for those assumptions…