This past weekend, I was rereading some Tolstoy and an old essay of Isaiah Berlin popped to mind.

He uses an old story of Archilochus about the Hedgehog and the Fox to compare Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. The Hedgehog is driven by one idea, knows one big thing, is an idealist and stubborn. The fox knows many things, is realistic and is flexible, goes with the flow to get his way.

I’m paraphrasing and you can read more online if interested. However, I’ve always been struck while teacher training that this model seems to fit teachers. Which one are you? I’d love to know more about the community!

I hate admitting it but I’m a hedgehog……

Along the same lines, last week I had a nice dinner with two teachers. We talked “shop” about many things (including the new “Teaching English in English – certification I’m now involved in, with great regret grrrrrr). The MBTI came up (Myers Brigg Type Indicators) and we swapped our types.

I taught a quick course on this a few years back for teachers and in my powerpoint – you can easily find your indicator by answering the questions. What MBTI type are you?

Start at slide 21 and select your letters. Put them together and you’ve got your indicator. Read up on yourself. I’m an INFP – “still waters, run deep”.

More MBTI resources for EFL Classroom 2.0 members HERE. Also, these QUIZZES (scroll to the bottom), could be used by yourself or students.