I like to maintain as much privacy as possible, hence, the stick figure picture of me. Now, with a bit of work you can connect that back to my actual name, but no actual pictures of me, which is how I like it and loss of points over this fact means absolutely nothing to me.

I was teaching at a school, but I left due to substantial safety concerns. I started teaching because I wanted to help people and kids in particular. I still want to teach however.

I can't really like both?

I took the two personality tests. TeamTechnology seems to think I'm either an ISFP or an INFP while Kisa seems to think I am an INTP. So we can really only conclude that I'm introverted (shocking, I know) and "perceiving". TeamTechnology had some really nonsensical dichotomies, while Kisa's mostly made sense but had only three options.

Kisa thinks that math and logic is certainly the way to go for me which is great, because I needed justification from a script, and thinks that I enjoy word puzzles but doesn't know that I am literally the worst Scrabble player on the planet. Also, Kisa says that "They spend considerable time second-guessing themselves." because no one else, only INTPs ever do that. (Which is why you never see constant reposts of the aphorism about comparing oneself to other being like comparing your blooper reel to their highlights.)

Meanwhile, over in "Learning and Teaching Styles"...

NC State University rates me as around the middle between "Active and Reflective", "Sensing and Intuitive", "Visual and Verbal", and "Sequential and Global." Meanwhile, the Grasha-Riechmann Student Learning Style Scales rates me as high in "Independant", "avoidant", and "Collaborative" and Moderate in "Dependant", "Competitive", and "Participant", so I apparently am motivated to learn the content and completely unmotivated to do so at the same time. (It actually depends on content and my approach depends on the situation. I retain what interests me and leave behind what doesn't.)

So how does all this relate to how I interact with my students? I try to be strict, but understanding. If I know why a student is demonstrating certain behaviors or where they're having difficulty, I can better help them. I will deal with the reality of the situation, but I will try to find a way to help even if I have to come up with it myself. I like abstraction, but I know that concrete is often easier to grasp. For a student to see and demonstrate by using measuring cups that 1 1/4 = 5/4 can often be more useful than simply teaching the standard algorithm. Once they see why it works, they can understand why the method works. 

The approaches can be balanced and they have to be in order to maximize reaching the entire class. Combining learning styles and activities in appropriate and accessible ways will enable more students, if not all students equal access to the content. This is what we want to do and what I've been trying to do.

All things in moderation.