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• “Why can’t I just learn out of the book?”
• “Why? Why? Whyyyyyyyy?”
Teachers seldom provide a satisfactory answer to these questions. This is unfortunate, because
INTJ children can be very stubborn in their refusal to waste precious time on activities they see as
pointless. Like all Rational children, INTJs will listen to logic (Keirsey, 1998), but the reverse is
also true—they will not listen to illogic. This may annoy nonNT teachers or parents who justify
their commands on the basis of social conformity, rules, unquestioning obedience, and emotional
appeals. INTJs are as stubborn as mules.
It is perhaps no surprise that some INTJs come to have low respect for their teachers and even to
dislike them. These INTJs tend to perceive their teachers as either unintelligent or Dalek-like to the
tune of, “Do not question!”
The more a course caters to the lowest common denominator, the worse it is for INTJs. In such
situations, the INTJ can excel easily but is not challenged. When assignments are handed out in
such a class, the INTJ will whiz through them and then just sit there waiting for everyone else to
catch up. (Fortunately INTJs have rich thought lives.)
Group Setting and Projects
Introverts do not really care to be jammed into a room with twenty other people all day. In fact,
adult introverts instinctively seek to avoid such environments. INTJs tend to find the school
environment too loud and crowded. They often prefer to take online courses so that they can work
at their own pace and avoid the extraverted school environment. INTJ parents like some quiet time
to recharge after a long day of work, and by a similar token, INTJ youngsters like some quiet time
after school. 242 They are also not as interested in participating in study groups as other types,
preferring instead to study alone.
INTJs are independent and like to control their creations from beginning to end. It pains them when
other people (including parents and teachers) try to "help," "give advice," or "suggest ideas" on their
projects—in fact, such helpfulness can sap their motivation and cause them to drop a venture
entirely. Adults will also try to curb the INTJs' intuitive tendency towards out-of-the-box thinking
by helpfully observing that an INTJ's ideas are impractical 243 and can be fixed by doing X, Y, and Z
—common sense really. This can be a real buzzkill for an INTJ's enthusiasm. It is better to wait
until the INTJ's project is complete before providing feedback.
For obvious reasons, group projects can present a special challenge for INTJs. Mostly, the
challenges are not intrinsic to the project itself, but are presented by other group members. It is
burdensome for the INTJ to have to explain the rationale for their ideas to their teammates—
especially when other members are not interested in achieving maximum efficiency so much as
"getting an easy A," making the project look "cool," socializing, etc. INTJs may also be annoyed by
their teammates' liking for unnecessary group meetings. The INTJ will also tend to get saddled
with the majority of the work—if only to keep their classmates from ruining the project.
Enjoyable projects for INTJs are complex, leave the idea and planning completely to the INTJ,
permit independent work, and do not require periodic maintenance afterwards. 244
242 Tieger & Barron-Tieger, 1997
243 Tieger & Barron-Tieger, 1997
244 Tieger & Barron-Tieger, 1997