gets to a room full of strangers. She is
observing,” Elizabeth explains.
This tendency to make careful
observations of social situations is a
common trait amongst introverts.
While a classroom may benefit from
a student body with a diverse range
of social strengths, from talkers to
‘observers’, the ability to observe is
typically not one that is recognised in
an interview.
Elizabeth recalls a time when her
daughter’s introverted personality type
was particularly misevaluated. “When
I gave her a pep talk prior to her last
admission interview, I told her to show
the teachers what she is really good
at,” Elizabeth says. However, this
advice didn’t go as planned.
“Once again, the school called me
to say that she stood back and watched
but wouldn’t really participate. I
asked my daughter, ‘What did you
show them you could do?’ And she
told me, ‘I am great at thinking, so
I was thinking, thinking, thinking
and I showed them how I could think
for a long time and focus and not be
interrupted by others,’” Elizabeth
explains. Oddly enough, children
who pride themselves on being great
thinkers can still be overlooked!
A space for everyone
Mother Michelle Tan* recalls the
stress she felt when her three-year-old
son Aidan* was not admitted to the
international school of her choice after
an unsuccessful interview.
“It takes Aidan a while to warm
up to new situations,” his mum
explains. As a result, when teachers
led Aidan to a separate classroom to
conduct the interview, Aidan burst
into tears.
Michelle knew immediately that
this meant she would have to explore
other options for Aidan. “Everyone
knows that when a child cries, he
won’t be admitted,” Michelle says.
The experience with the interview
worried Michelle. “I went a little
crazy. I enrolled him in drama class
soon after. The experience made me
feel like he didn’t make it,” she says.
Yet, Michelle’s feelings on the
interview process have changed over
time. “Parents are stressed out because
they’re all trying to get into just a few
schools, but there are actually more
choices out there.”
Ruth Benny, school expert and
founder of the education placement
service TopSchools, agrees with
Michelle that there are many
placement options for students and
also stresses the importance of starting
the application process early. About
interviews, Ruth says extroverted
children tend to do better, but adds
that, “If children have been socialised
through experiences such as play dates
and possess appropriate language
proficiency, then they are generally
well-prepared for interviews already.”
October 2014
57
